Chainsaw

[mntraveler]

I am looking at buying a chainsaw to do a little clearning before the WI deer opener. From the research I've done it looks like a Stihl 250 will probably be my best bet, but I'm wondering what everyone else thinks is a good saw for general, mostly household/brushing work. I'm hoping to make a lifetime investment here, I don't really want to be buying a new one every couple years. Thanks for the input.

[Walleye Guy]

I have had a Stihl for 4-5 years and use it quite a bit. It is a great saw that I would highly recommend. You cannot go wrong with a Stihl.

[icehousebob]

I run a small tree service and have 8 or 9 saws. All but two are Stihls. The other two are Echos. Echo makes a lighter weight climbing saw for carrying into trees and I,m an old man. You can get parts for Stihls that are over 20 years old. The 250 that you mentioned is a good all-around saw, especially for a first saw. I always worry when a beginner gets too big a saw. You can get overpowered and that can be dangerous. If I had to pick one saw to go to a job with, the 250 would be a good choice.

[Powerstroke]

I agree whole-heartedly with icehousebob.

I work for a tree service and own 2 Stihl saws myself and the company I work for uses Stihl saws exclusively. There are over 20 of them with the oldest being more than 8 yrs old. These saws see use at least 3 times per week in any number of environments.

My oldest saw is 4 yrs old and is used for climbing trees. It needs some new rubber bushings, but it still starts on the 3rd pull no matter what the weather is.

Get the Stihl. A 250 would be fantastic.

[MNice]

I have 2, a stihl 029 farm boss and a small echo. Both have worked great.

[fivebucks]

I have 2 Stihls and they have never failed me. I have an 036 that's about 15 years old and has cut many a cord of wood.

[JEV]

My dads old jonserud finally gave out on him. He thought the oiler had gone out on it and brought it in to have it fixed. Turns out the main bearings were giving out. It was 22 years old, so I'd say he got his moneys worth. We've cut hundreds of cords with that old saw.

[Wavey Davey]

I have a Stihl and a Husqvarna. I like the Husky better.

Jonsered are also good saws. I agree with your thinking to buy a quality saw.

[mntraveler]

Thanks for the replies guys. I guess at this point I'm still leaning toward the Stihl 250 or the Husky 345, but the Stihl is on sale for the rest of the month. Again thanks for all the replies.

[IFallsRon]

I've had the Stihl 250 for almost two years and really like it. I buck up about four cords of fireplace wood a year and the 250 has taken care of the biggest logs.

[Knotwood]

I've fixed thousands of saws since working on them for over twenty five years. The sales and machines have changed considerably over the years with processors taking over the pro market. The big push for cost effective "week-end warrior" equipment has kept the premium designs only available in the pro user market, but quality of materials in all saws has evolved a lot. There are still some saws in a few manufacturers' line-ups that are "better" than some of their competition, but overall, the Stihl saws are consistently number one. The MS 250 is a nice, lightweight, affordable, and dependable saw that will do a great job, limiting factors would be if you cut over 5/6 cords a year, or getting into bigger hardwood, then you might consider upgrading to a larger engine size. Dealer networks, and decent parts pricing along with availability of them will also be a deciding factor.

[DuluthGuy]

I run a Husqvarna and love it. However, for the weekender a Stihl will fill the bill.

B2