Chainsaws

[yotetrapper]

My Dh is wanting a chainsaw for Christmas. The 4 brands I've saw here are Poulan, McCoughlough, Husquarvarna and Stihl. I'm leaning towards one of the latter two, but am wondering are the high end saws really worth double the cost of say, a Poulan?

Also, if they are, which of the two (husky and stihl) do you like better, and why? There's only a $20 difference between the two, but one I can put on layaway now, the other I can't.

Just looking for everyone's opinions on saw brands. This is the only forum I go to that my dh doesnt go to as well LOL.

 

[Poison Ivy]

I bought my husband a poulan 20" chainsaw several years ago. He likes it and it runs great. I do remember him saying once when we borrowed a friends that if he ever got one he wanted one with a longer blade then our friends had. So that along with the price was the reason why I picked that brand.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Yeah, the longer blade is important. I have an Echo I paid around $300
for and later upgraded it from 18 to 20".

I can't comment on the quality of any of those. My Echo has been great
though.

 

[lurky]

My husband chose the Husqvarna 460 as the best of the choices for that brand.
He might not 'need' it for what he does, but he LOVES his chainsaw!!!!

 

[Indiana hens]

I have 2 wildthings; Poulan. My neighbor has 3. I had a McCulloch for 1/4 tank of gas. The associate told me ,when I bought it, what I needed to do if I had to bring it back;CLUE!! Buy any of the others. I will say that at Rural King here the Puolan chains are $5 cheaper than the others, and they are color coded which makes buying them easier.

 

[sdshoars]

ok, i dont mean to thread hijack, but i have a question. my husband wants a "big" chainsaw, not a "little" one. it would be used for cutting cedar fence posts, wood gathering, etc. is "big" just a longer blade? or is it more powerful? i am clueless.

 

[lockedhearts]

We bought a Poulan a couple years ago 18", I like it cause I can start it easy.

 

[lockedhearts]

Quote:
Look for the CC's and blade length. Hubby and I are not big people (I am 5' 1" and he is 5' 6" ) we can both handle the Poulan Pro 18" easily.

 

[tomcio]

I use a 'small' sthil (180b-ce). It's on it's 3rd season and the most I ever had to pull is 3 times from cold.

There are 2 things that you should look at when you talk about size:

1. The size (displacement) of the motor. I.e. mine is 30cc, but I would prefer the Sthil 270 or 290 with 50cc+ displacement. Meaning more power to turn the blade.
2. The size of the bar. Again, mine is 16, but you can go dor 18 or 20 inch bar as well. Meaning longer reach.

To give you a bit of background, I do my own woodcutting & splitting and with 16 inch bar on my 30cc saw, I can take down a 60ft tall, 30inch diameter Oak and have it dismantled into 18" chunks in a matter of 1-2 hours.

That said, with a bigger saw, there is less finesse needed to get the job done.

Lucky husband... You should talk to my wife

 

[ChickenTender63]

Quote:
I have owned both Stihl and Husquarvarna's and have to say I love both of them. If it were up to me buying one side by side, it would be a hard choice. I think the Stihl is actually a little smoother running saw with less vibration, but really not enough difference to say it is much better or not.

I would choose the one that best fits your budget or layaway plan the best. Either one of those saws under the tree for him is going to make him one very happy man come Christmas morning, and in turn will make you one very lucky and happy wife as well.

Good luck, and happy holidays to you!