Product Review Of Stihl Chainsaws
This is a guest post by Adaptive Curmudgeon:
The Author's Stihl MS-361 in it's natural habitat.
There are few tools as dangerous and powerful as a chainsaw. Nor are many so indispensable. When you’ve got a tree lying across the driveway (it happened to me!) or a woodstove that needs feeding your chainsaw will be your best friend. If you aren’t careful and don’t know how to properly use one it can be your worst enemy.
Classes of Use
The quality and expense of chainsaws varies widely. Saw users span the range from macho Paul Bunyanesque loggers to tubby Wally Weekenders. You’ve probably met mostly “casual user” saws and sawyers. Unfortunately they’ve given chainsaws a bad reputation as hard starting dangerous contraptions which make more smoke than progress. It’s true that an occasional user might be get by with a cheap or beat up saw. But it’s also true that such saws have a tendency to be poorly built, poorly maintained, and immensely frustrating to use.
Years ago I ran chainsaws daily. I learned that a properly running chainsaw will always run circles around poorly running saws. It’s vastly harder work to cut wood with a crappy saw. When it’s time to buy a chainsaw I recommend you get a good one. Why? Because cutting wood is hard enough and there’s little upside in wearing yourself out with inferior equipment. Not to mention the danger of using a poorly-made chainsaw.
Basic Features
A good saw will start every time, have excellent power for it’s size, and blast through wood as effortlessly as a politician breaks a promise. Weaklings and cheap manufacturers need not apply. Don’t consider anything unless it has a chain brake, automatic bar oiling, and good vibration isolation on the handle. I’m not sure anything lacking those features is even sold anymore.
All saws run on gas/oil mix. Possibly because of regulation, the ratio has been increasing over time. A hat tip to progress on that feature because I like having less smoke and more power. My Stihl uses 50:1 and most others will too. Saws which run “richer” are still capable but less desirable.
New (good) saws aren’t cheap so consider your purchase a long term investment. Few of us will “wear out” a well built chainsaw. If you honestly “wear one out” you’ll have definitely gotten your money’s worth. Parts for Stihl and Husqvarna are widely available and almost anything you’ll conceivably break can be fixed. (Parts for cheap saws are a different story.)
Brands
People favor brands like they root for sports teams. If I “dis” a brand I’ll surely receive complaints from fans of that particular saw. Too bad because here goes; cough up the bucks and get yourself a Stihl or Husqvarna and ignore everyone else. In the long term you’ll thank yourself. In my opinion Homelite especially sucks. Sorry Homelite fans but that’s my opinion. Same for off-brand stuff at a garage sale, most saws you’ll find at a box store, and that clunker your uncle is trying to sell you. Poulan might be good or junk but I lack experience with them.
When you’re halfway through your third season of cutting firewood you’ll have forgotten the purchase price but you’ll remember how hard it was to start that morning! Incidentally new Stihls (and possibly Husqvarnas) cost nearly the same price no matter where you buy one. Shopping around wont usually yield much savings.
Of course, if it runs on electricity it’s junk. I just had to put that out there in case you had any doubts.
Have I made enough enemies? Good.
Size
The real “size” of a chainsaw is the engine (“powerhead”) displacement but we invariably rank saws according to the length of the bar mounted on it. Some folks think: Long bar = more macho. Spare me the posturing Mongo! Excess bar length means excess weight extended far from your center of gravity where it has the greatest leverage against you. The bar’s useless tip winds up sticking out trying to lodge into dirt or a stray branch and either annoyingly dull the chain or dangerously kickback. Get a bar that’s “just right” for the work you actually do. Be honest with yourself. It sounds cool to be harvesting massive trees but if you’re cutting small diameter stuff just accept it. I use a 16″ bar for cutting firewood in the Midwest. It’s puny compared to saws I’ve used in the Rockies but it’s perfect for what I do.
Most people have one bar for their powerhead but there’s nothing wrong with having more. I’ll occasionally swap to a 19″ bar if I encounter bigger trees. With that I can easily fell a 36″ tree. If I get a lot of wood that’s bigger than my current sources I can get a bigger bar (within reason) for my still adequate power head.
As for raw power I’m happy to report that chainsaws seem a lot stronger now than “back in the day”. The powerhead I own now just plain cleans the clock of comparable powerheads I used then. While shopping for a saw I underestimated the level of improvement and it was a delightful surprise. Good job engineers!
Specific Models
Sthil product lines are marketed for “occasional use”, “mid range”, and “professional”. A special case is the Stihl Farmboss which is wildly popular among “amateurs” and “professionals” alike. I think it’s an older design that’s a bit heavier and cruder but you can’t argue with that much popularity.
My firewood cutting isn’t “professional” but poorly functioning saws are so maddening I decided to pony up for the “professional” level. Theoretically I’ve paid for superior quality and not merely hype. I believe I’ll be proven right over years of use.
Stihl offers spring based “autopull” gadgetry as an option on some models. I view these with suspicion since you pull the starter cord occasionally but carry the extra weight continuously. My saw has a decompression valve for starting…that’s a “no extra weight” design.
Conclusion
If you can tolerate the price, I heartily recommend a Stihl powerhead in a size that’s comfortable for your needs (or slightly larger if you can justify a “professional” saw) fitted with a bar that’s not too long. If you can’t tolerate the price you have my sympathies. I wish there were cheaper options but this is one of those “get what you pay for” moments.
Adaptive Curmudgeon, May 2010
Related searches: Sthil chainsaw, and Stihll chainsaws for those who can’t spell. 
This review covers the basics of purchase, but I’d like to make a clarification to the Stihl product marketing categories … “occasional use”, “mid range”, and “professional” aren’t realistic names for what Stihl offers. You can’t purchase a “professional” chain saw that weighs less than 12 pounds (without a bar). Weight goes up with cost, but there is something to be said for a lighter weight saw – which falls under the “occasional use” category – for professionals and serious users. I find that, at 5′ 9″ and 155 lbs., I can use the Stihl 250 one-handed for limbing AND cutting. However, this saw is only about 11 pounds, and thus is at the top of the “occasional use” category. So, as good as this saw is, and as nice as it is to not have to have TWO chain saws (one for limbing, and one for cutting), it’s unfortunate that Stihl’s marketing puts this saw in the category for “weekend warriors”. Not all of us are beefy enough to handle a model 360, or higher, but that doesn’t mean that we are “occasional users”!
I can’t argue the quality of Stihl chain saws, but for me if the logs are in my door yard I prefer my Poulan electric 16″. It is lighter, quieter, and stops faster than a gas model. At less than $100.00 if I get 3 years out of it I’m satisfied. I use heavy duty extension cords so there is no power loss. The cost of electricity is offset by the savings on the gas/oil mixture. Like you I rely on my Stihl when off in the woods. I have also invested in a pair of safety “chaps”, a hard hat with face shield and ear protection, heavy duty gloves, and lastly steel toed boots. I prefer to come away from my wood cutting with all the body parts that G-d gave me, so safety is the primary goal.
Thirty years ago I bought my first chain saw and it was a used
Stihl 075. A big brute of a saw but since I live where downed old growth timber was still around for wood cutters it came in mighty handy. I had a 36″ bar on it and sometimes that was too small. I bought another used Stihl, an 041 and it was a great saw also. I have had occasion to use Poulan saws for wood cutting and have no real complaint against them for that purpose.
Patrick: I agree that “occasional use”, “mid range”, and “professional” aren’t the best phrases but that’s what Stihl calls them. One might use a small saw A LOT for specific purposes like limbing, orchard work, from a ladder, etc… Considering anything small “occasional use” does a disservice to those users. I blame marketers. I doubt many marketers can run a saw at all.
Neil: An electric chainsaw’s consumption would be so small that it’s virtually free (and maintenance is probably much easier) but it only makes sense for the rare users with AC on site. I don’t sweat the cost of gasoline for a saw. Saws do so much useful work per gallon consumed that it’s well worth it at nearly any price. Glad you mentioned chaps. Chaps are the greatest chainsaw “accessory” ever invented. I ALWAYS wear safety gear. Chaps only have to work once to be the best investment you’ll ever make.
I’d like to share some thoughts of my 20 years or so chainsaw experience. The post is right on the mark.
Get a Stihl! In twenty years time, it will be still working. Husqvarna gets second place, good, but spend the extra $50 and get a Stihl!
a 16″ bar is fine for most applications, I have a 14″ bar and fall 24″ diameter Grand firs, no problem. Its the chain that matters.
a sharp saw is the key. When in doubt, spend $25 and get a new chain, especially if you have a few cords to cut.
Lastly, USE 94 Octane gas, available from Chevron, on the west Coast. Your chainsaw will love you and you your chainsaw.
May 7th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
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