M
MasterMech
Guest
So while visiting my friendly Stihl dealer today, noticed that they had a bunch of boxes that said MS251 on the side. I tore it open like a 4 year-old on Christmas morning and assembled the saw so I could compare it to the venerable MS250.
![0220131343.jpg 0220131343.jpg](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/94/94350-addab8ca758366808a20809785b8bd3f.jpg)
MS251 on the left and the MS250 on the right. The MS251 feels slimmer and better balanced side to side. No discernable difference in overall weight. Both saws were wearing 18" bars with .325 chain. (26RMC3) Notice only 1 bar nut on the MS251, but IMO that's adequate for this saw and it's intended application.
![0220131340a.jpg 0220131340a.jpg](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/94/94348-eda305e86ffd7ec49f627904b3b1d1f7.jpg)
Yup, it's official, the MS251 is ridin' on springs. That's going to be a very noticeable improvement over the MS250.
![0220131339.jpg 0220131339.jpg](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/94/94346-ef561ca6b66e5e112400ca0a26fd2c89.jpg)
Here is another big difference and I gotta say, way to go Stihl! The air filter not only seals up better to the airbox, it has a lot more surface area as well. It simply twist-locks on or off the mount.
![0220131345.jpg 0220131345.jpg](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/94/94354-c8a205c12446fe033b434018d57ffd98.jpg)
All 3 carb adjustments present and accounted for on both saws. The 1 thing I really miss from the MS250 is that the air filter is no longer accessible without tools. You need a scrench or T27 to pop the top on the MS251.
![0220131343a.jpg 0220131343a.jpg](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/94/94351-95a6bfee17cececbc03242416e19c39a.jpg)
Check out the translucent fuel tank. Another thumbs up!
Holding the MS251, the huge improvement in the overall build quality of the saw is obvious. The rear handle is better plastic, feels much more smooth and solid too. This saw looks and feels an awful lot closer to the pro saws than the MS250 ever did. The MS250 was a tough little saw but apparently Stihl has had a lot of time to think this one over, as the 025 (The 250's grand-pappy) was introduced 20 years ago, give or take.
Another thing I noticed is the felling sights carry over the recoil side of the saw, over the top and to the clutch cover as well. 10 seconds with a sharpie or a paint marker and you'd have much more useful sights on the saw than the smooth topped MS250 had.
The choke/ignition lever feels great, not flimsy or mushy at all.
One look at the muffler tells me that there is probably quite a bit of extra power to be found with a drill/dremel.![Wink ;) ;)](/talk/styles/default/xenforo/smileys/wink.gif)
Overall? I love it, really considered taking it home with me to feed it some wood! But my sensible side prevailed (hate it when that happens) and I'll have to wait for one of you to buy one and post some video. Get on it.![lol ;lol ;lol](/talk/styles/default/xenforo/smileys/lol.gif)
Oh yeah..... everyone's wondering, what's all this improvement cost? Honestly, less than I thought. $359 for the saw in the pics and $379 for the C-BE version with Easy2Start. Is there another $60 bucks worth of saw here (MS250 = $299.95)? I think so. . It's inevitable that the price on complete model revisions will edge upwards and Stihl held the $300 line on the MS250 for a LONG time.
Whadda y'all think?![shade smirk >> >>](/talk/styles/default/xenforo/smileys/shade_smirk.gif)
![0220131338.jpg 0220131338.jpg](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/94/94345-387f60edbd373a15dac7e70aba78ed19.jpg)
![0220131344.jpg 0220131344.jpg](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/94/94352-a1986a61ef19b7eaea61a556a1e453b2.jpg)
![0220131342.jpg 0220131342.jpg](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/94/94349-f8aeb360dd6de8d179371dd99cd6eb4a.jpg)
![0220131343.jpg 0220131343.jpg](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/94/94350-addab8ca758366808a20809785b8bd3f.jpg)
MS251 on the left and the MS250 on the right. The MS251 feels slimmer and better balanced side to side. No discernable difference in overall weight. Both saws were wearing 18" bars with .325 chain. (26RMC3) Notice only 1 bar nut on the MS251, but IMO that's adequate for this saw and it's intended application.
![0220131340a.jpg 0220131340a.jpg](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/94/94348-eda305e86ffd7ec49f627904b3b1d1f7.jpg)
Yup, it's official, the MS251 is ridin' on springs. That's going to be a very noticeable improvement over the MS250.
![0220131339a.jpg 0220131339a.jpg](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/94/94347-860f34d8e1f476985c807fb67d7a466a.jpg)
![0220131339.jpg 0220131339.jpg](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/94/94346-ef561ca6b66e5e112400ca0a26fd2c89.jpg)
Here is another big difference and I gotta say, way to go Stihl! The air filter not only seals up better to the airbox, it has a lot more surface area as well. It simply twist-locks on or off the mount.
![0220131344a.jpg 0220131344a.jpg](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/94/94353-b712f82d19db1a190c793470e7dce3ef.jpg)
![0220131345.jpg 0220131345.jpg](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/94/94354-c8a205c12446fe033b434018d57ffd98.jpg)
All 3 carb adjustments present and accounted for on both saws. The 1 thing I really miss from the MS250 is that the air filter is no longer accessible without tools. You need a scrench or T27 to pop the top on the MS251.
![0220131343a.jpg 0220131343a.jpg](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/94/94351-95a6bfee17cececbc03242416e19c39a.jpg)
Check out the translucent fuel tank. Another thumbs up!
Holding the MS251, the huge improvement in the overall build quality of the saw is obvious. The rear handle is better plastic, feels much more smooth and solid too. This saw looks and feels an awful lot closer to the pro saws than the MS250 ever did. The MS250 was a tough little saw but apparently Stihl has had a lot of time to think this one over, as the 025 (The 250's grand-pappy) was introduced 20 years ago, give or take.
Another thing I noticed is the felling sights carry over the recoil side of the saw, over the top and to the clutch cover as well. 10 seconds with a sharpie or a paint marker and you'd have much more useful sights on the saw than the smooth topped MS250 had.
The choke/ignition lever feels great, not flimsy or mushy at all.
One look at the muffler tells me that there is probably quite a bit of extra power to be found with a drill/dremel.
![Wink ;) ;)](/talk/styles/default/xenforo/smileys/wink.gif)
Overall? I love it, really considered taking it home with me to feed it some wood! But my sensible side prevailed (hate it when that happens) and I'll have to wait for one of you to buy one and post some video. Get on it.
![lol ;lol ;lol](/talk/styles/default/xenforo/smileys/lol.gif)
Oh yeah..... everyone's wondering, what's all this improvement cost? Honestly, less than I thought. $359 for the saw in the pics and $379 for the C-BE version with Easy2Start. Is there another $60 bucks worth of saw here (MS250 = $299.95)? I think so. . It's inevitable that the price on complete model revisions will edge upwards and Stihl held the $300 line on the MS250 for a LONG time.
Whadda y'all think?
![shade smirk >> >>](/talk/styles/default/xenforo/smileys/shade_smirk.gif)