That's a chainsaw right? I'll see what's easier on the ragged out shoulders. I do have a nice cordless (manual) pole saw that's very quick, sharp and light and I can see using both depending on what I'm trimming. I didn't opt for the extendable model, it's 17.4 pounds vs 13.2 for the one above. (PPF 2620) This one has a fixed length of 96" where the adjustable one goes to 12'. I've only made a few cuts with it. It's rifle season here and I have some friends in my woods that I don't want to disrupt.
I have the extendable version. It is quite heavy compared to the Husky. Works great. Your shoulders will feel it!
I've been meaning to get a pole saw. I'm typically a stihl man. Buy I did get an echo battery saw and really like it. I'm probably going to get the extendable version of whichever I pick. Are the echos supposed to be good?
I finally got one a couple years ago. Got the extendo Echo. It's a little portly, but what makes me anxious about using it is how much of a mess I can make with it in 30 minutes. I go ahead and figure twice as much time for cleanup when I get it out.
My last 3 chainsaw purchases have been Echo's. The other 7-8 of my older saws are Stihl. I'm very happy with my CS620P, a 60 cc class and the sizable price difference has not showed up in quality or performance.
I like my Echo PPT 2620. It is kinda chunky. The Stihl pole saws I looked at the shaft looked fragile, they also cost more and are 4mix.I count on my shoulder being sore if I run more than a tank through it. You can also buck firewood from a lawn chair.
I have put my hands on the stihls, and was going to get one of the biggest ones...I think 2 of them went to 16 feet. Hadn't decided between those 2. I need to go somewhere and put my hands on the echos. I looked at them online earlier...looks like they only come as 12 ft, and you have to buy the 4 ft extension for longer.
That’s right on the echos, 12 foot and you have to buy 4 ft extensions. I do not have any extensions. I have made a few cuts with the power head near face height so I was cutting about 18 feet high. Definitely do not recommend it. Some other things about the echo. The carb is a walbro barrel carb. If adjustments are going to be made you’ll need a proprietary carb tool. It’s a small d shape. The muffler has a catalyst in it. I opted to remove mine and it improved the performance by a good 20%, it’s choked up stock and makes a lot of heat which is no good.
I have the PPT 2620 & have the 4’ extension. You can reach some stuff but it’s heavy & you can get yourself in trouble also. You have to be a bit more careful when thinking about where stuff is going to fall & trying to get the saw out of the way. It’s pretty awkward. It’s a real treat when you get the bar pinched about 20’ up…
I've used the D handle unit before from a rental. I bought the straight handle knowing that it's sometimes a struggle to make horizontal cuts with the D handle unit due to trigger location.
It does help to better heft the tool. More natural position for straight cutting. I just knew mine would never be used 'by the book' meaning all vertical cutting. They probably frown upon horizontal in the manual somewhere. It comes with a 2 cycle engine that allows use in any direction/orientation...so that's what I'm going to do with it.
I hadn't really thought about it. But I imagine I'll be using it in the 'traditional' pole saw cutting manner... i.e. up. I guess everyone once in a while for something more horizontal, when it's hard to get to with a normal saw...or like in a cedar. I will say, years ago I bought a cub cadet 4 stroke weedeater from tractor supply. That was a bad idea. Had problems with it constantly. Fussed at myself for not buying a stihl. Finally took it to a cub cadet dealer in the neighboring county. Lady was like yeaaahhh...even she didn't have anything good to say about them. They had shindawa, and made me a deal on a new one of those. It's ok, but I still fuss at myself sometimes for not getting a stihl. I'm remembering and contemplating that self discussion right now as I ponder the Echo.......
A fella should buy what they are comfortable with & have good dealer with. I read good things about the Echo products & was skeptical about buying them but haven’t had any regrets. As far as buying the Echo stuff, I have the pole saw & the small 2511t ( 12” bar ) chainsaw , the 2511 probably gets more use than any of the bigger saws.
I just fired up my 30+ year old echo blower. It's probably been several months since last run. 6-7 yanks and it's running. This and a similar age weed Wacker that I bought from a neighbor that had a OPE shop.... 2 houses/moves ago is the light bulb that went off when I was deciding to hop off the stihl train for a try something else. I just didn't realize that this echo experiment had started over 30 years ago! I still have the 044 he sold me "back then" and it's stihl my big saw but I'm getting to not wanting to lug that big old SOB around when a 60 or 50cc (my Echos) will get it done.
Bumping this thread....wondering if anyone has experience with the echo battery pole saw? As stated earlier, I have the echo battery chainsaw and like it, and have two 5AH batteries that could run the pole saw as well. Sounds a bit silly, but since I don't have a pole saw, i dont know how much I would run one if I did have one.... But I have a bunch of limbs along fences and gates that I need to get. Thoughts are if the battery saw would work for what i need, I wouldn't have to worry about gas saw motor issues if I ended up using not-so-frequently. Yes I know there are ways to deal with that...but still...
If you won't have continued use of one, consider renting a unit for a weekend. I did not fire mine once last year, but it will be used this summer again.
