Despite being a big Stihl fan, I'd have to choose the Echo. They make good saws from the top to bottom of the line. I'd also weigh dealer support. If your support is Home Depot only, get the Stihl.

No question...Stihl

ok, you made me go out to the garage on look. ECHO CS-341. it started right away. i havent used it in six months. i do rotate my fuel. i dump the stuff into my contractors equipment, when it gets questionable. i can cut anysized wood that i can find on my property. some surprisingly huge stuff with some strategic bladework. i left the antikickback guard in place.

i dont think you should buy your saw from HD. i paid a tiny bit more at a yard and garden supply place, but the service was great. they made me watch a safety video! i think i paid $270. i started with a mccolough (?) eager beaver, and what a POS. i wouldnt let that junk power my skateboard. get a good saw. loose chains, and weak motors make a dangerous saw. you dont want to push when you cut. a tiny bit more than gravity and my saw buzzes thru.

I would not recommend craftsman. I got a chainsaw from sears a few years ago and have not been happy with it.

I have a 30 yr old Stihl Woodboss that cranks on the first few pulls (3 to 5) and cuts like just like it was new............Go with the Stihl!

Stihl...(German, btw)! My dad has an old Homelite (don't even know if they're made anymore) that's cut more trees over the past 35 years than I could begin to count and still going strong. The Stihl is a "cutting machine" however, and he's beginning to come around :). Caveat: If you don't know what you're doing with a chain saw...please don't!!!

I probably have forty in pawn all year.If you buy a used one make sure you can return the thing if it doesn't run right. You'll know in ten minutes of cutting if it does.
Have you got a serious amout of wood to cut, like clearing an acreage, cutting firewood perhaps? That would justify the big $ saws (or if you just enjoy a quality tool).
And never loan a good saw to a friend. If he needs some cutting you run the saw.
Jim

Bingo...to protect the saw and your friend!

That's the reason to buy only the pro lines when buying used. Few amateurs buy a $500 saw only to be resold later.

Agree on loaning chainsaws. Never.

Stihl, Husky or Shindewa. My local repairman says the Shindewa are best. He sells all three.

For small crap you can't beat electric. There I said it. Blast away.

Doesn't that 1 mile long extension cord get cumbersome? I'd speculate that 90% of my chainsaw use over the years hasn't been anywhere close to an outlet. Seriously, I didn't even know they made 'em...and would immediately question "why" :)?

Whimps!
Do you all drive Miatas also?

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/cuts-like-butta-the-v8-chainsaw-187373.php

You think a person would learn.........I loaned my saw out to my neighbor (a really good guy) and he cut railroad ties with it. The second time I loaned my saw out, my brother used it to cut only God knows what and it too was goofed up upon it's return. That was ten years ago; now I either tell them "Nope" or I offer my McCullough (I use around the house for the small crap)!

McCullough! That's what I have.

I have had a Stihl for many years, love it. I did work for a forest products company for 30+ years and got to tell you the guys in the woods (little Frenchmen that could drop trees all day) used Poulan and nothing else. They had to buy their own chain saw.

Everything in Eastern Canada is now cut by big automated equipment, think the days of the lumberjack are dead.

+3.

Or is it +4 now?
A chainsaw is the most dangerous tool ever made by man.
Every time My friend has asked to borrow my Stihl, I do the cutting myself.

My brother has a stihl Farmboss, best cutting chainsaw I have ever used.
My brother can dull a chain faster than anybody. I watched him use the saw once and found out why, he kept touching the ground with the tip. His logic was that it was just the tip and would not hurt the rest of the chain.

:) Well, at least we know who has more "horse sense" as my grandfather would have said...

At least he didn't say "Hey, hold my beer............Watch this!"

I have an echo with a 16" bar...works great for the light work. When I want to take out a big tree? I call Lonnie...he packs big saws up and down mountain slopes, uses them to make a living.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1195587183.jpg