Stihl vs. Dolmar

FLASHMAN said:

clarkharms said:

FLASHMAN said:

WOODBUTCHER said:

Sledge⋀ said:

I'm new to the forum but have been looking for a new saw as well, I was curious, why is the 290 considered a dog? It's one of the models I am considering, along with the 310 which I can get for $365 having been a good customer of a local dealer. I'd also mention that here in southern CT, the best price I can find on the dolmar PS 5001 is $425 with most in my area around 460-495 8-/ . So I wonder how prevalent the price point of $400 is for the dolmar. I was leaning toward the 290 which I could get for $325, but the dog description has me curious? any thoughts would be appreciated.
Regards

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I can't believe dealers are bumping the price of the 5100s to $460-$495....even $425 is high. I paid $379.00 back in May and my Dealer has only bumped the price to $399.00 which is still good.
Your asking about the MS290.....Well go handle it and then handle the 5100s. The 290's big, bulky and has got alot of plastic where the 5100s has an aluminum body (including the bar oil chamber) and is more the size and weight of my Craftsman.

WoodButcher

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I'm Butcher's bro-in-law, and I must say, as much as I love my Stihl (I run the MS660), I'd never buy the 290... He has that Dolmar, and it's a GREAT saw... For the money, in that size range, I don't think you can beat that Dolmar... His saw RIPS...

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I think it is a mute point now, he already bought the 290. I would like to know if you have ever run the 7900 and what you think of it as opposed to the ms660. The 7900 is pretty much right between the 460 and 660 by power rating.

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I have never run a 7900, but I did look closely at them at Butcher's dealer. As you pointed out in one of your posts, the 7900 is almost a direct comparison, (in terms of power), with the MS650 (another saw I wouldn't buy). I did do a lot of research before buying my saw, and it basically came down to the deal I got. I bought a pre-owned 660. Now to the nitty-gritty:

I knew I wanted to have a bigger saw, not only to say I had one, but to make sure there would never be a job too big for me and butcher to handle between us. We cut roughly 16 cords a year, plus the occasional partially lightning-felled giant spruce like the one that damn near crushed my truck the other day. I digress...

If I was going to go with a Dolmar, I'd have to go all the way up to the PS-9010 to get a saw that compares to the 660, and even then, the Dolmar is both heavier (17.4 compared to 16.5) AND less powerful (6.9 BHP compared to 7.0BHP) than my 660. Combine that with the fact that Dolmar, being a relatively new, (in this country anyways), and less known brand, there are hardly ANY used ones out there for sale, especially in that size range.

As I said in my previous post, if I were to buy a saw in that smaller size range, I'd probably end up with the Dolmar 5100. It has more BHP than the 290, AND it's damn near a full pound lighter. There is also something to be said for local, quality service and support, which I'd have with either saw, as I have a really good Stihl dealer nearby, (a crappy one too, but I don't go to them), and Butcher's Dolmar dealer, they are excellent, and very knowledgable. For me, it just made sense to go with the Stihl, and if I had the same choice to make over again, I'd make the same one. I LOVE my saw.

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TMonter said:

If you want an 80cc saw are are going to run bone stock or a slight muffler mod go Dolmar. If you are going to port or mod the saw buy the Stihl.

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clarkharms said:

polaris said:

Gee, I've heated /cut using my farm boss for almost a decade with no problems. I am really glad I never knew my saw was such a pos or I would have had real trouble with it. I did notice that on the History channel show"axe men" They sure use a lot of Sthil's to make their livings, but what would a lumberjack know about saws?

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I don't think anyone said Stihl is a POS. Having run Husky, Stihl, and Dolmar I am now very pro Dolmar. I won't go into my numerous reasons again, however if you read the whole thread even I recommended, in this case to go with the 290 over the 510. My personal choice would be the 5100 but that was out of the price range. I do believe Stihl is a good product just over priced or said another way not as good a value as the offerings from Dolmar. I should note I hadn't heard of Dolmar until I started to read reviews on this and the arborist site. I read the reviews with an open mind and decided to give Dolamr a try and I am happy I did.

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polaris said:

clarkharms said:

polaris said:

Gee, I've heated /cut using my farm boss for almost a decade with no problems. I am really glad I never knew my saw was such a pos or I would have had real trouble with it. I did notice that on the History channel show"axe men" They sure use a lot of Sthil's to make their livings, but what would a lumberjack know about saws?

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I don't think anyone said Stihl is a POS. Having run Husky, Stihl, and Dolmar I am now very pro Dolmar. I won't go into my numerous reasons again, however if you read the whole thread even I recommended, in this case to go with the 290 over the 510. My personal choice would be the 5100 but that was out of the price range. I do believe Stihl is a good product just over priced or said another way not as good a value as the offerings from Dolmar. I should note I hadn't heard of Dolmar until I started to read reviews on this and the arborist site. I read the reviews with an open mind and decided to give Dolamr a try and I am happy I did.

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I didn't mean to come across as defensive. I guess all the "it's a dog" things kinda got to me. Maybe I'm just happy with my Sthils because I don't know any better. I did notice that there is a new dolmar dealer that opened in this area. Maybe they are worth a look see.

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FLASHMAN said:

polaris said:

clarkharms said:

polaris said:

Gee, I've heated /cut using my farm boss for almost a decade with no problems. I am really glad I never knew my saw was such a pos or I would have had real trouble with it. I did notice that on the History channel show"axe men" They sure use a lot of Sthil's to make their livings, but what would a lumberjack know about saws?

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I don't think anyone said Stihl is a POS. Having run Husky, Stihl, and Dolmar I am now very pro Dolmar. I won't go into my numerous reasons again, however if you read the whole thread even I recommended, in this case to go with the 290 over the 510. My personal choice would be the 5100 but that was out of the price range. I do believe Stihl is a good product just over priced or said another way not as good a value as the offerings from Dolmar. I should note I hadn't heard of Dolmar until I started to read reviews on this and the arborist site. I read the reviews with an open mind and decided to give Dolamr a try and I am happy I did.

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I didn't mean to come across as defensive. I guess all the "it's a dog" things kinda got to me. Maybe I'm just happy with my Sthils because I don't know any better. I did notice that there is a new dolmar dealer that opened in this area. Maybe they are worth a look see.

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well, the person who said 290's are "dogs" are either too spoiled from running bigger saws, or they just don't know any better. Some people do have concerns about weight because of how long they run the saw in a day, which is certianly understandable... I will say this though, like I said before, if I were buying a new saw in that size range, and after comparing the two, I'd go with the Dolmar. With bigger saws, I'd stick with the Stihls, but that's a matter of personal preference.

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smokinj said:

Still happy with my stihl no matter what i paid for it vaule is in the eye of the beholder when you had your dolmer for 10 years+ we will see how they are then.Hard for me to put dolmer on top until the track record is there

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sl7vk said:

smokinj said:

Still happy with my stihl no matter what i paid for it vaule is in the eye of the beholder when you had your dolmer for 10 years+ we will see how they are then.Hard for me to put dolmer on top until the track record is there

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81 years of trackrecord in Europe.

My father in law is a professional arborist in France, and strongly recommended Stihl, Husky or Dolmar. He owns all three.

He felt the Japanese saws were good, but a half step down from the 3 mentioned above.

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polaris said:

S17vk, You repeatedly refer to them as "dogs" But then say you have never even started one let alone cut with it? That's sorta like me me claiming the Dolmars are substandard clunkers even though I've never so much as pulled the cord on one. Hardly grounds for an intelligent unbiased review.

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smokinj said:

Still happy with my stihl no matter what i paid for it vaule is in the eye of the beholder when you had your dolmer for 10 years+ we will see how they are then.Hard for me to put dolmer on top until the track record is there

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polaris said:

S17vk, You repeatedly refer to them as "dogs" But then say you have never even started one, let alone cut with it? That's sorta like me me claiming the Dolmars are substandard clunkers even though I've never so much as pulled the cord on one. Hardly grounds for an intelligent unbiased review.

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clarkharms said:

smokinj said:

Still happy with my stihl no matter what i paid for it vaule is in the eye of the beholder when you had your dolmer for 10 years+ we will see how they are then.Hard for me to put dolmer on top until the track record is there

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Dolmar made the worlds first gas powered chainsaw, no other manufacture has made gas powered chainsaws for longer then them. The track record is there and with the backing of Makita they are in a good position to expand. Other than dealer network the other down side is lack of line up. The 5100 and 7900 dominate their respective classes but those two saws are the only real class leaders. Who knows what they may come out with next, hopefully a bigger saw to replace their 9 series something that will knock a 660 on its can. In the end we the consumers are going to benefit from this competition I just hope Dolmar keeps their pricing down.

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clarkharms said:

polaris said:

S17vk, You repeatedly refer to them as "dogs" But then say you have never even started one let alone cut with it? That's sorta like me me claiming the Dolmars are substandard clunkers even though I've never so much as pulled the cord on one. Hardly grounds for an intelligent unbiased review.

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I don't have strong feelings for the 290 one way or the other but many of the guys on the arboristsite do and it ain't good. Just remember to put their reviews into context as many of them are proffessional users they will tend to be more critical of a saws short comings. Most of their critisisms would not be noticed by the average homeowner.

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clarkharms said:

smokinj said:

Still happy with my stihl no matter what i paid for it vaule is in the eye of the beholder when you had your dolmer for 10 years+ we will see how they are then.Hard for me to put dolmer on top until the track record is there

Click to expand...

Dolmar made the worlds first gas powered chainsaw, no other manufacture has made gas powered chainsaws for longer then them. The track record is there and with the backing of Makita they are in a good position to expand. Other than dealer network the other down side is lack of line up. The 5100 and 7900 dominate their respective classes but those two saws are the only real class leaders. Who knows what they may come out with next, hopefully a bigger saw to replace their 9 series something that will knock a 660 on its can. In the end we the consumers are going to benefit from this competition I just hope Dolmar keeps their pricing down.

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FLASHMAN said:

clarkharms said:

smokinj said:

Still happy with my stihl no matter what i paid for it vaule is in the eye of the beholder when you had your dolmer for 10 years+ we will see how they are then.Hard for me to put dolmer on top until the track record is there

Click to expand...

Dolmar made the worlds first gas powered chainsaw, no other manufacture has made gas powered chainsaws for longer then them. The track record is there and with the backing of Makita they are in a good position to expand. Other than dealer network the other down side is lack of line up. The 5100 and 7900 dominate their respective classes but those two saws are the only real class leaders. Who knows what they may come out with next, hopefully a bigger saw to replace their 9 series something that will knock a 660 on its can. In the end we the consumers are going to benefit from this competition I just hope Dolmar keeps their pricing down.

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The pricing being relatively low on the Dolmars is a temporary thing IMO... Remember, even though they are the oldest chainsaw company in the world, they're trying to break into the US market which has been DOMINATED by Stihl and Husky forever. That's why the US prices are lower than the prices in Germany where they're made right now. IMO, the Dolmars WILL go up in price, probably closer to Stihl prices once they establish themselves in the US market. In all likelyhood, unless dramatic changes are made, that will do a lot more to hurt Husky than Stihl.

All that said, maybe they'll make something COMPARABLE to the 660, but knock it on it's can??? that's going to br a tough row to hoe...

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smokinj said:

FLASHMAN said:

clarkharms said:

smokinj said:

Still happy with my stihl no matter what i paid for it vaule is in the eye of the beholder when you had your dolmer for 10 years+ we will see how they are then.Hard for me to put dolmer on top until the track record is there

Click to expand...

Dolmar made the worlds first gas powered chainsaw, no other manufacture has made gas powered chainsaws for longer then them. The track record is there and with the backing of Makita they are in a good position to expand. Other than dealer network the other down side is lack of line up. The 5100 and 7900 dominate their respective classes but those two saws are the only real class leaders. Who knows what they may come out with next, hopefully a bigger saw to replace their 9 series something that will knock a 660 on its can. In the end we the consumers are going to benefit from this competition I just hope Dolmar keeps their pricing down.

Click to expand...

The pricing being relatively low on the Dolmars is a temporary thing IMO... Remember, even though they are the oldest chainsaw company in the world, they're trying to break into the US market which has been DOMINATED by Stihl and Husky forever. That's why the US prices are lower than the prices in Germany where they're made right now. IMO, the Dolmars WILL go up in price, probably closer to Stihl prices once they establish themselves in the US market. In all likelyhood, unless dramatic changes are made, that will do a lot more to hurt Husky than Stihl.

All that said, maybe they'll make something COMPARABLE to the 660, but knock it on it's can??? that's going to br a tough row to hoe...

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No one will knock stihl on its can with any of there pro saws just compete is all they are trying to do.what size bar you running on that 660

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FLASHMAN said:

smokinj said:

FLASHMAN said:

clarkharms said:

smokinj said:

Still happy with my stihl no matter what i paid for it vaule is in the eye of the beholder when you had your dolmer for 10 years+ we will see how they are then.Hard for me to put dolmer on top until the track record is there

Click to expand...

Dolmar made the worlds first gas powered chainsaw, no other manufacture has made gas powered chainsaws for longer then them. The track record is there and with the backing of Makita they are in a good position to expand. Other than dealer network the other down side is lack of line up. The 5100 and 7900 dominate their respective classes but those two saws are the only real class leaders. Who knows what they may come out with next, hopefully a bigger saw to replace their 9 series something that will knock a 660 on its can. In the end we the consumers are going to benefit from this competition I just hope Dolmar keeps their pricing down.

Click to expand...

The pricing being relatively low on the Dolmars is a temporary thing IMO... Remember, even though they are the oldest chainsaw company in the world, they're trying to break into the US market which has been DOMINATED by Stihl and Husky forever. That's why the US prices are lower than the prices in Germany where they're made right now. IMO, the Dolmars WILL go up in price, probably closer to Stihl prices once they establish themselves in the US market. In all likelyhood, unless dramatic changes are made, that will do a lot more to hurt Husky than Stihl.

All that said, maybe they'll make something COMPARABLE to the 660, but knock it on it's can??? that's going to br a tough row to hoe...

Click to expand...

No one will knock stihl on its can with any of there pro saws just compete is all they are trying to do.what size bar you running on that 660

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I have a 20" that I use primarily for bucking on the ground, and I also have a 28" with full skip chain that I can swap to if I have a really big trunk to buck or if I'm felling...

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sl7vk said:

I referred to the saw as a dog once.... and I clearly underestimated how personally some would take it.

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sl7vk said:

The comment, as outlined above, was based on the feel (heavy) and reviews I had read.

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computeruser said:

A couple points:

1. Modifications to the saw, whether drilling holes in the muffler, removing a spark screen, or pulling the cylinder and doing porting work, will void the warranty. Period. For some folks this matters. For others, not so much. Every new saw I've ever purchased has been torn into before I ever filled it with gas, and I'm OK with that. Some folks aren't.

2. I'm sick of all this ignorant MS290/310 bashing. Yeah, 'Troll and a couple other guys on AS really like to talk smack about it. So f'in what. It gets the job done and has a tremendously good record for durability in the face of non-pro use, being left full of stale gas, and the sort of general neglect that occasional-use saws tend to experience. Having owned both, I'd take an MS290 over the much-loved MS260 for any purpose other than limbing super-small stuff; for what it's worth, though, I now own neither of those two models. For most guys, any incremental increase in performance derived from a fancier saw is negated by their inept chain sharpening, which makes a bigger difference than increased HP or decreased powerhead weight anyway.

3. Dolmar makes great products with terrible distribution. If this matters to you, buy Stihl or Husqvarna or Jonsered or Echo.

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smokinj said:

FLASHMAN said:

smokinj said:

FLASHMAN said:

clarkharms said:

smokinj" date="1219263457 said:

Still happy with my stihl no matter what i paid for it vaule is in the eye of the beholder when you had your dolmer for 10 years+ we will see how they are then.Hard for me to put dolmer on top until the track record is there

Click to expand...

Dolmar made the worlds first gas powered chainsaw, no other manufacture has made gas powered chainsaws for longer then them. The track record is there and with the backing of Makita they are in a good position to expand. Other than dealer network the other down side is lack of line up. The 5100 and 7900 dominate their respective classes but those two saws are the only real class leaders. Who knows what they may come out with next, hopefully a bigger saw to replace their 9 series something that will knock a 660 on its can. In the end we the consumers are going to benefit from this competition I just hope Dolmar keeps their pricing down.

Click to expand...

The pricing being relatively low on the Dolmars is a temporary thing IMO... Remember, even though they are the oldest chainsaw company in the world, they're trying to break into the US market which has been DOMINATED by Stihl and Husky forever. That's why the US prices are lower than the prices in Germany where they're made right now. IMO, the Dolmars WILL go up in price, probably closer to Stihl prices once they establish themselves in the US market. In all likelyhood, unless dramatic changes are made, that will do a lot more to hurt Husky than Stihl.

All that said, maybe they'll make something COMPARABLE to the 660, but knock it on it's can??? that's going to br a tough row to hoe...

Click to expand...

No one will knock stihl on its can with any of there pro saws just compete is all they are trying to do.what size bar you running on that 660

Click to expand...

I have a 20" that I use primarily for bucking on the ground, and I also have a 28" with full skip chain that I can swap to if I have a really big trunk to buck or if I'm felling...

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Thats the same setup iam running on a 460,i bet that 660 would be a sight

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FLASHMAN said:

smokinj said:

FLASHMAN said:

smokinj said:

FLASHMAN said:

clarkharms" date="1219268815 said:

smokinj" date="1219263457 said:

Still happy with my stihl no matter what i paid for it vaule is in the eye of the beholder when you had your dolmer for 10 years+ we will see how they are then.Hard for me to put dolmer on top until the track record is there

Click to expand...

Dolmar made the worlds first gas powered chainsaw, no other manufacture has made gas powered chainsaws for longer then them. The track record is there and with the backing of Makita they are in a good position to expand. Other than dealer network the other down side is lack of line up. The 5100 and 7900 dominate their respective classes but those two saws are the only real class leaders. Who knows what they may come out with next, hopefully a bigger saw to replace their 9 series something that will knock a 660 on its can. In the end we the consumers are going to benefit from this competition I just hope Dolmar keeps their pricing down.

Click to expand...

The pricing being relatively low on the Dolmars is a temporary thing IMO... Remember, even though they are the oldest chainsaw company in the world, they're trying to break into the US market which has been DOMINATED by Stihl and Husky forever. That's why the US prices are lower than the prices in Germany where they're made right now. IMO, the Dolmars WILL go up in price, probably closer to Stihl prices once they establish themselves in the US market. In all likelyhood, unless dramatic changes are made, that will do a lot more to hurt Husky than Stihl.

All that said, maybe they'll make something COMPARABLE to the 660, but knock it on it's can??? that's going to br a tough row to hoe...

Click to expand...

No one will knock stihl on its can with any of there pro saws just compete is all they are trying to do.what size bar you running on that 660

Click to expand...

I have a 20" that I use primarily for bucking on the ground, and I also have a 28" with full skip chain that I can swap to if I have a really big trunk to buck or if I'm felling...

Click to expand...

Thats the same setup iam running on a 460,i bet that 660 would be a sight

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There's a pic of it here: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/19836/ I'm gonna have Woodbutcher put together a video of me cutting with the 660 at some point... I'll post it.

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