Chainsaw Recommendations

[Foggy47]

I own an EGO chainsaw and two batteries. Also have a blower for our home (love that tool) and an electric hedge trimmer which we use to cut down our bushes each fall. Nice. I use the trimmer for some trail work too. I like the chain saw for small limbing jobs and shooting lane cleanup. Nice not having to start something and put on muffs etc.

Not a saw for bucking firewood, but nice to clean up smaller fallen trees, etc. The only other saw I use anymore is a MS180....and that handles most of what I got here. I only cut a cord or so each year as fireplace wood.

Most often, I just pick up fallen trees with my loader and grapple.....and break them between other tress and pile em up. Really fast and easy with my tractor. My chain saw days are pretty much over.....not worth the sore back of handling allot of saw work.

 

[Triple C]

Check out the MS-201 TCM it’s an advanced arborist saw professional grade. It’s a top handled saw used for up in the tree limbing but it works amazing and that thing can eat wood. I use that saw 99% of the time. Just a tad over 8 pounds with a 14” bar. I shouldn’t but I can cut one handed if needed

Bought the Stihl arborist pro saw back in 2012 or 2013. I was, and am still amazed at how much power is in such a small saw with little weight. Love that lil thing for anything other than felling larger trees.

 

[Diesel5610]

Check out the MS-201 TCM it’s an advanced arborist saw professional grade. It’s a top handled saw used for up in the tree limbing but it works amazing and that thing can eat wood. I use that saw 99% of the time. Just a tad over 8 pounds with a 14” bar. I shouldn’t but I can cut one handed if needed

Great saw. I have had mine for about a decade. For bigger stuff my other saw is a MS 290 Farm boss with an 18’ bar that I have had for 30 years. Also a great saw and mine has cut tons and tons of wood.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Parents cabin had a lot of trees down from a storm this week so the chainsaws got worked this weekend.

My stepbrother doesn’t really know what he’s doing and managed to run the chain off the bar and kink it on my 355t right away and I didn’t bring any spares. So the ms170 got a work out and I got it running good again. I was really happy with it, worked great for cleaning everything up.

I put a beefier bar and chain (full chisel) on the ms170 per this video.

. I’m not sure what I did to get it running well again but it was great.

Here’s a pic of the cracks in the plastic of the echo that I believe are common with that model.

 

[jwill1776]

Late vote on this one.

MS170 is actually a really nice saw for the money, lightweight, relatively cheap, and quite reliable. Its really good for limbing and taking out small trees ( less than 8”). 8.6 lbs If I only owned one saw it won’t be a MS170.

MS250 you get quite a bit more power ( 76% more over the MS170), decent on weight, reliable track record. 10.1 lbs. Good all around saw

MS271, Farm Boss. 12.3 lbs, 16% more power over the MS250. Generally better construction but still considered a non-professional saw. I ran one of these for years and really put it through it’s paces, 18” bar is the max I would go, with the bar full buried in hardwood its going to be slow.

MS261. 10.8 lbs, 14% more power than the MS271. Powerful, lightweight, pro construction, probably a saw that would last most of us a lifetime, but your are going to pay for it, almost twice the price of a MS250 ( probably 2x the saw though)

Now if I’m getting into some big wood then I’m grabbing my MS462, and if I stumble into a monster tree or am out milling slabs then the MS880 ( 22 lbs powerhead only!) comes out.

 

[Teeder]

Update time. I went with a MS250 and got to use it all day today. Couldn't be happier. Plenty of power and noticeably lighter. Cut very well considering the chain that came with it has training wheels. I'll get better chains if they ever come in. Thanks to everyone for the input.