Echo Chainsaws

[G6 at Snook TX]

I see many threads about Dolan, Stihl, and Husqy chainsaws, but few about Echo. Their trimmers are great, but what about their saw? I am not looking to buy as I have and love Stihl, but curiosity made me post this question.

 

[StihlHead]

I have owned a few of their small saws and several blowers. The small saws are OK (300-3000 series) but over time they tended to just wear out on me. Mostly plastic that cannot be fixed, and the filters and stuff are not in the best of places (ie., where the chips fly). I have never had a Stihl that could not be fixed or sold off as parts. My big old MACs are still running, though they are so heavy and vibration prone that they are not used for any more than doorstops now. Echos are OK saws for the price (half what a Stihl will set you back), but when I was last at my brother's place he was using his Echo and it was just plain underpowered for cutting down English Laurel hedges with. I pulled out my (then) Stihl 250 and ran circles around it. I have not run any of their larger saws, but they get reasonable reviews. I prefer Stihl and Husky saws though. Tanaka and some of the other off brands are probably better now.

 

[wkpoor]

I bad mouth Echo chainsaws ever chance I get. Over priced, underpowered and heavy and generally problematic. I would take a chance on any one of the off brand stuff out there available today from China that you can get for throw away prices before I would buy an Echo.

 

[Dunragit]

I have a cs450-p. It does everthing I want it to do. Starts easy and doesn't seem too thirsty.

 

[CTYank]

Dunno why some get woody about Echo. Still running a saw and brushcutter from the '70s.

If somebody needed an irrational target, Stihl might work, with their pricing from screws to whole saws.
Reminiscent of Porsche 10x pricing of nuts & bolts. Peevishness is petty.

 

[RobC]

The ECHO CS341 is an awesome saw for it's power to weight ratio. Makes for a good topping saw or brush saw. I use it in wood pile if I have a lot of 4" and under to cut. It's also a $300+ for a very small saw. So, unless I knew what I was looking for, I would have walked right by it.
In fact I used to run a little Italian saw called a "Red Line" and I was just thinking how similar these 2 saws are.
If my 341 broke tomorrow I would walk right into my local dealer and buy another one.
Any way that my ECHO input and it ain't all bad.... as some say. If your not happy with a product ask to speak with a area sales rep. That's what they are there for.
On a side note. After you burn 10 or so tanks of mix take you saw back to dealer and have him readjust the carburetor to get the saw up to full power.
Cheers Rob.

 

[StihlHead]

Well, you can poo-poo Stihl all you want, but they make better tools than Echo, and by a long shot. I sold off all my Echo equipment and never looked back. Not bashing Echo, but they are just not in the same league. I am far happier with my Stihl saws, they are far easier to work on, they work better, they last a lot longer, they take a lot more abuse, and there are far more dealers and parts available for them than Echo had or ever will have. If you wanna whine about Stihl prices in the US, they commonly sell for 1.5 to 3 times what we pay for them overseas. We are getting a bargain on the better brands of chainsaws here in the states.

Stihl prices are not much different than Husky or Dolmar for similar size saws either. I have owned and run some really good Husky saws as well, like the 346Xp-II and the 372Xp, and those are two of the best saws that were ever made. Same can be said for the Stihl MS361 and the MS440, or the Dolmar 5100s and 7900. High end overpriced saws? Not in my book. I have managed 100+ acre stands where you need reliable saws that do the job, and I have burned upwards of 10 cords a year of firewood that I have dropped and bucked myself for the last 8 years. I still have all my digits and limbs (wiggling fingers and toes).

If you only need a saw once a year to limb the trees in the yard, well then get a cheapie saw and it will not really matter, will it? You want something that will last a lifetime and be rewarding to run? Get a better brand of saw.

 

[G6 at Snook TX]

As I said in my initial posting, I am not getting rid of my Stihl saws "from my cold dead hands". Anyhow, I have been impressed with the Echo weedeater and blower. I have a Stihl 110r--a contractor grade--and an Echo 210i--when bought it was the lowest end of the straight shafts. The Stihl is robust, heavy and will flat eat up weeds, but so will Echo, and drink less fuel to boot. If I had buy another trimmer, I wouldn't hesitate to go Echo again. Does Echo put its eggs in the trimmer and blower line and let the saws be the weak sister? As for the blower, I have an Echo, but I don't have that much to clear and it works fine whereas I have a lot to weed eat.

 

[MasterMech]

I see many threads about Dolan, Stihl, and Husqy chainsaws, but few about Echo. Their trimmers are great, but what about their saw? I am not looking to buy as I have and love Stihl, but curiosity made me post this question.

Their top-handle saws have a loyal following. My dad loves his. I've run a few of their saws from various era's and I have no complaints. For what it's worth I don't really see a lot of their equipment on my workbench either.

 

[wkpoor]

I have owned and run some really good Husky saws as well, like the 346Xp-II and the 372Xp, and those are two of the best saws that were ever made. Same can be said for the Stihl MS361 and the MS440, or the Dolmar 5100s and 7900. High end overpriced saws? Not in my book

I like the way you think.

 

[jlightning]

My dad purchased an Echo weed eater years ago probably in the late 80's and is one of the best weed eaters i have ever seen. The only thing that ever needed replacing was the fuel lines. That being said i believe its one of the pro/top end models which are always a better quality then the home owner versions. I purchased a used Echo 300 top handle chainsaw a little while back and didn't think it was much of a saw and sold it back to the dealer the next day for a credit on a ms180c stihl chainsaw and oooohhhhhhh what a difference! Now that being said I would still buy an echo weedeater due to the experience w/ my dads weedeater but i am also going to look at the stihl weedeaters too due to my positive experience w/ stihl. Chainsaws im gonna stay w/ stihl.

 

[Bill]

I have a number of saws and one Echo, its light, starts easy, and runs great. I have no complaints and besides I bought it cheap new on Ebay.

 

[gpcollen1]

The Echo stuff is pretty darn good. My local shop sells them and Husky. They say they have more Husky issues than echo, but neither have many issues. Some landscapers use their stuff too with great success. I have an Echo attachment series unit; trimmer, pole saw...love the unit.

 

[basswidow]

I have an 16 inch Echo 370 I bought from HD when I first got started cutting firewood 4 years ago. I've cut alot of wood with it since. Performs flawlessly. I had to replace the bar - but that was my error (pinched the tip sprocket). Starts and runs great. I would buy another Echo chainsaw without blinking. I also own a Stihl farmboss. I like it too.

If I am not mistaken, ECHO has a 5 year homeowner warranty - and that beats any other makers warranties that I have seen.

I also agree - I have an ECHO weed eater and it also performs flawlessly. Very happy with it.