Lightweight chain saw for older user

[LAndrim]

My dad won an MS-180 at a raffle what seems like 10 years ago, but it must have been much longer. He used it for light duty stuff occasionally for years. When he got it, he would have been in his 70's I would guess. That saw has seen no maintenance and still runs great today. It just sits up at our camp and it starts whenever I need it.

When my wife wanted a saw, we looked at Echo, Husky, and Stihl. She preferred the MS-180 so that is what we got, with a 14" bar. Just to needle the Husky fans.... she said the Husky felt too plasticy and called it a "Barbie" saw.

At the time all I had was my old blue and heavy Homelite from the early 70's with a 20" bar. I found myself grabbing her MS-180 a lot for smaller stuff and limbing.

The only problem she ever had with the MS-180 was starting it due to the compression. My dad's is the easy start version (MS-180 C) and she likes that better. Just last year we got her an MS-182 C, which has the recoil assist on it. The MS-182 replaced the MS-180. Now the MS-180 is mine.

I am not a Stihl fan in particular. I buy what makes the most sense. My new larger saw is an Echo. But, I sure do like the small Stihls I have used. They feel underpowered to me but if you keep the chain spinning and don't let it lug down, they cut just fine with a sharp chain.

Hey Mongo, You are in good company! I've gotten many recommendations for that particular Stihl model, and my Ace Hardware had a sale, so it's now my new go-to saw! Thanks much

 

[Montanalocal]

Yea, my 180 has become my main saw after I opened up the muffler and put a more aggressive set of dogs on it.