What is the better chainsaw brand?

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Which brand chainsaw be more better?

  • Stihl

    Votes: 38 63.3%
  • Husky (includes Poulan & J-red)

    Votes: 15 25.0%
  • Dolmar/Makita-Dolkita

    Votes: 6 10.0%
  • Other: Echo, Tanaka, old MAC/Olympyk, RedMax, Homelite, etc.

    Votes: 1 1.7%

  • Total voters
    60
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with way better AV

Was all set to pull the trigger on one and when it materialized, rubber based AV (similar to the 460) and no mTronic killed it for me. Maybe you guys in the PNW will get a better version? To me, the current version is a strato-charged MS460. And not much more. Not that that's a bad thing, but I was looking for a revolution, not an evolution.
 
It's strange because every 372 owner that has run my stock 440 has told me that their 372 didn't come close to the power of the 440 and they liked the balance of the 440 better too. Even converted one husky guy to go buy a Stihl.


I have owned two older 044's and a 440. stock for stock, the 044 has more grunt in my opinion. The husky revs quicker, but if you lean on it, it bogs way to easy. the 372 is also a touch heavier once fueled and oiled. the 372's are more vibration friendly. My 372's have all been ported for years and honestly wouldn't want to run a stock one. The 372xpw (74cc) was a strong saw, but the same characteristics. The 372xp X torque has more grunt. it runs more like a 460 out of the box. mine is ported and i love it, it is dolmar 7900 power without the weight. alot of guys dawg the 372XT on arborist site, but i like my ported new (smogged strato) saw better. it is stronger and uses about 1/3 less fuel than the old ones
 
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Husqvarna Construction Products is the world's largest producer of saws,blades,drills & other cutting equipment for the stone/concrete/masonry industries.In the late '90's they acquired several other well known companies that produced these same items.Target Saws/Blades/Core Drills/Wall Saws originally from Kansas City MO & Partner of Sweden are 2 of these.Partner invented the gas powered cut off saw in 1958.

Originally designed for fire & rescue crews.In the early 90's they made the first ''ring saw'',a machine with a 14" diamond blade,that has 10" depth of cut capacity due to its off center arbor.It was powered by hydraulic lines.Pretty cool machine,I used one that employer rented to cut some access holes in concrete walls for duct work in a office tower remodel.The same saw is still made today,also in pneumatic & more portable gas powered models.
 

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Here we come Ash Can but I can't let this go....;)

Hate to disappoint you but Husqvarna started life in 1689 as the official armorer for the king of Sweden. Look at the logo for Husqvarna, the crown on top of the box, its a depiction of looking from the rear to front thru sites from the shooters view.

Their rifles were made into the 80's, even some by S&W and are some if the most sought out by military collectors fetching thousands of dollars.

They still make motorcycles, mostly motorsport or what folks would consider " dirt bikes" but still well respected in that industry too.

Lastly, they do still make sewing machines too - top of the line expensive ones under the Viking name if you want to buy one for that special someone in your life

Granted, I don't know much about their chainsaws, I don't have one but the rest of their products are top notch.

Anything else I can clarify for you, just let me know, as the woman here I have an obligation to keep ya' all in line :p HAH!

lol - others have already told me about all of the above. Seems they had even been bought out at some point by Electrolux or something. If I really want to know more, I can use goole and Wiki. At this time though, not on the top of my list of priorities. Curiosity got me. Went to Wiki and it appears they made bicycles too, another thing that I am heavily involved in, and I have NEVER heard of a Husqvarna bicycle until today.

Crazy thing is that I am into shooting and hunting and have NEVER heard of or seen anybody using a Husqvarna rifle. As far as being collectors items, that does not mean much to me. Complete junk is sometimes considered a collector's item simply because it is rare. Now, if you want to talk about old gun companies, we can talk about Beretta, which has been making guns since the 1,600's, still makes some of the finest guns around, and has acquired a bunch of other gun companies (e.g., Benelli, Franchi, Stoeger, Tika, Sako, and Burris Optics).

How does the saying go? Jack of all trades, master of none.
 
Gee, and I only paid about $119 for that Husqvarna M38 15 years ago............... :cool: I know the point you are making fabsroman, and as a "shooter" I'm with you on Beretta, but we're all getting side tracked here with this thread, including me, we are talking about chainsaws here, Husqvarna makes them, Beretta doesn't, and I think Stihls are the best to date, at this point in time. Whether Husky, or someone else moves to the front, only time will tell. Now I think I'll go reload some more 6.5 x 55 ammo.............. for that thousand dollar rifle of mine. (Actually, the last one I saw for sale at a show was going for $1,600.)
 
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I like variety so I'll take a Stihl, A Husqy and a Dolmar (even though I don't even really need more than 1 or 2 saws) but I have only a little experience of one brand, so I abstain.

My Mac weedwhacker was unfixable by my fixer-of-things, so I'm out on that gang, but I did kinda like its brute weedwhackability for the 11 years I had it working.
 
I like variety so I'll take a Stihl, A Husqy and a Dolmar (even though I don't even really need more than 1 or 2 saws) but I have only a little experience of one brand, so I abstain.

My Mac weedwhacker was unfixable by my fixer-of-things, so I'm out on that gang, but I did kinda like its brute weedwhackability for the 11 years I had it working.

And I think you made a VERY wise choice with that 250C-BE gem! Great saw for the money!
 
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Gee, and I only paid about $119 for that Husqvarna M38 15 years ago............... :cool: I know the point you are making fabsroman, and as a "shooter" I'm with you on Beretta, but we're all getting side tracked here with this thread, including me, we are talking about chainsaws here, Husqvarna makes them, Beretta doesn't, and I think Stihls are the best to date, at this point in time. Whether Husky, or someone else moves to the front, only time will tell. Now I think I'll go reload some more 6.5 x 55 ammo.............. for that thousand dollar rifle of mine. (Actually, the last one I saw for sale at a show was going for $1,600.)
Nice investment uh? Wish my 401k had that kinda return :) that's why we are collectors, not so much shooters but that's a whole other topic for a whole other board ;)
 
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Was all set to pull the trigger on one and when it materialized, rubber based AV (similar to the 460) and no mTronic killed it for me. Maybe you guys in the PNW will get a better version? To me, the current version is a strato-charged MS460. And not much more. Not that that's a bad thing, but I was looking for a revolution, not an evolution.

Amusing. I guess you saved a thousand bucks though?

I had not noticed that about the 461, and I assumed it was sprung. I have not seen one here on the shelves here yet (have not looked in the past several months). The 461 I saw last year was a prototype, and that one was sprung similar to a 361. Looking at the AV numbers of the 461, it has 4.0/3.8 left/right m/s² which is still high, but far better than the 460 with 4.2/6.0 left/right m/s² . It is also less than the 440 with 4.2/4.5 left/right m/s² . So it seems that they dropped the AV springs and got the 461 AV under the radar (barely) with rubber mounts to make the EU happy. The weird springs makes the 441 bulky, and that was a main complaint about them.

M-tronic is only available on the 441 and the 241 saws, and the 241 is not available in the US. Last I looked.
 
Gee, and I only paid about $119 for that Husqvarna M38 15 years ago............... :cool: I know the point you are making fabsroman, and as a "shooter" I'm with you on Beretta, but we're all getting side tracked here with this thread, including me, we are talking about chainsaws here, Husqvarna makes them, Beretta doesn't, and I think Stihls are the best to date, at this point in time. Whether Husky, or someone else moves to the front, only time will tell. Now I think I'll go reload some more 6.5 x 55 ammo.............. for that thousand dollar rifle of mine. (Actually, the last one I saw for sale at a show was going for $1,600.)

Yeah, when Stihl starts making tractors, rifles, motorcylces, sewing machines, etc., I am buying a different brand of chainsaw.

When Beretta starts making motorcycles, chainsaws, sewing machines, etc., I am buying a different brand of shotgun.

When Rolex starts making guns, motorcycles, chainsaws, sewing machines, kitchen appliances, etc., I am buying a different brand of watch.

Yeah, you get my point. lol
 
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I voted for Husqvarna but I was barely able to push the button given I was also voting for Poulan. Yes, I know Husqvarna owns Poulan, but that's kind of like asking you to vote for Corvette/Chevette or Mustang/Pinto. I'm not dogging the reputation of the old Poulan's, but the ones made in the last decade are nothing to write home about. And in modern day offerings, Husqvarna and Poulan are fundamentally different saws, not the same saw painted different colors as some may think.

I think the Husqvarna XP series with Auto-Tune is the best thing going. But I also have great respect for Stihl, and Dolmar.
 
I am not voting because I am an Echo fan and they are not even in the same class as the Homelite, junk. Husky, Dolmar and Stihl are all good saws as well. I have owned a few modern Poulans and they are good for the homeowner but no pro saw by a long shot. My Stihl is good but I am still just not a big fan and it has not won me over into the Stihl camp completely. The Echo and Dolmar saws just feel right to me ! To be honest everybody will be different so if I where you I would handle all the pro saws go to the dealers near you and find the one that fits you ! I think there will most likely be a Husky, Stihl, Redmax or Echo dealer near you and they are all good pro saws. Jonsered is also owned by Husky and is really there nordic version of Husky. Redmax is owned by Husky ! They have a huge list under there name. See this link- http://husqvarnagroup.com/en/about/brands

RedMax® and other products and feature marks are registered and unregistered trademarks of Husqvarna Group.
Pete
 
It should say

Stihl, Husky, Echo, Dolmar, Redmax, Tanka, Jonsered Yup any of those will do well. ;lol;)

Other crap saws




Pete
 
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And in modern day offerings, Husqvarna and Poulan are fundamentally different saws, not the same saw painted different colors as some may think.

Even if there are no Poulans directly rebadged as Huskys, it's pretty clear that some of the parts are interchangeable, at least on some models. The "integrated choke/stop control" used on some models appears to be identical, at least externally. I don't care for that method of stopping the saw. I want an ignition based kill switch. If one of those fails for some reason, I can still kill it with the choke. If there is a mechanical failure with the combined choke/stop control, the operator may have no way to stop the saw short of relying on the chain brake.
 
Even if there are no Poulans directly rebadged as Huskys, it's pretty clear that some of the parts are interchangeable, at least on some models. The "integrated choke/stop control" used on some models appears to be identical, at least externally. I don't care for that method of stopping the saw. I want an ignition based kill switch. If one of those fails for some reason, I can still kill it with the choke. If there is a mechanical failure with the combined choke/stop control, the operator may have no way to stop the saw short of relying on the chain brake.

Yes, on some of the consumer Husqvarna saws, they share some of the same injection moulds with Poulan, but the internals are different. For example the Husqvarna models have 3 piece Swedish cranks with forged connecting rods.

I think Husqvarna's consumer line is well made for the price, but the XP (professional) line is where it is at.

Husqvarna also owns Jonsered & RedMax.
 
If you get any Makita (blue Dolmars), Hitachi (green Tanakas), Solo, Efco, John Deere (the green Efcos anyway), Cub Cadet (the yellow Efcos anyway) crap you don't want, please dispose of it my way. :)

I thought Emak owned all the efco stuff ?


Pete
 
I put RedMax under other saws, but it should be under Husky. I have a RedMax trimmer that beats the crap out of my Stihl trimmer. Way less vibration, easier to start, was cheaper... but this is a thread about chainsaws.

Shindaiwa is another saw out there that I did not list in the poll.
 
I put RedMax under other saws, but it should be under Husky. I have a RedMax trimmer that beats the crap out of my Stihl trimmer. Way less vibration, easier to start, was cheaper... but this is a thread about chainsaws.

Shindaiwa is another saw out there that I did not list in the poll.

Trimmers were a strong point of the RedMax and Shindy line-up. But you're right, this is a thread about saws....
 
It's strange because every 372 owner that has run my stock 440 has told me that their 372 didn't come close to the power of the 440 and they liked the balance of the 440 better too. Even converted one husky guy to go buy a Stihl.

I have both and I always pick up my 372 before my 440. My 372 has better balance in my opinion of course that is my personal preference. If you cut with both side by side, speed wise they are very similar.
 
Shindaiwa is another saw out there that I did not list in the poll.

Shindaiwa has made some great saws with excellent power to weight ratios. Unfortunately I understand they are no more. When Echo acquired Shindaiwa, the chainsaws were discontinued.
 
;hm A lot of variables
 
I have both and I always pick up my 372 before my 440. My 372 has better balance in my opinion of course that is my personal preference. If you cut with both side by side, speed wise they are very similar.

I never understood this 'balance' concept with chainsaws. People say that saws with short bars balance better. I do not get that. When I fall trees, I do a face cut and back cut, and lever when cutting with the dogs. Sometimes I do a face cut and bore cut the back, leaving straps. But similar to bucking, the bar is in the wood. There is really nothing there to balance. The flywheel keeps them in a plane so they do not tip from side to side very easy and naturally rotate along the bar plane. Long bars make the saws front heavy when lugging them around, but in the wood? It matters not. I tend to cut with the starter side up, but my 044 and one 361 have 3/4 wraps so I can go either way in bigger stuff, and cut from both sides.
 
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Amusing. I guess you saved a thousand bucks though?

I had not noticed that about the 461, and I assumed it was sprung. I have not seen one here on the shelves here yet (have not looked in the past several months). The 461 I saw last year was a prototype, and that one was sprung similar to a 361. Looking at the AV numbers of the 461, it has 4.0/3.8 left/right m/s² which is still high, but far better than the 460 with 4.2/6.0 left/right m/s² . It is also less than the 440 with 4.2/4.5 left/right m/s² . So it seems that they dropped the AV springs and got the 461 AV under the radar (barely) with rubber mounts to make the EU happy. The weird springs makes the 441 bulky, and that was a main complaint about them.

M-tronic is only available on the 441 and the 241 saws, and the 241 is not available in the US. Last I looked.

I was at Madsen's in Centralia last weekend and they didn't have any on the shelf
 
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