I own both Stihl, and Husqvarna. Honestly, I don't have anything really bad to say about either one. Years ago my dad and I messed around with Homelite, and learned to hate them. I can't say I've ever owned a Poulan. I remember an old Pioneer that my grandfather had while I was growing up back in the 70's. It seemed to always preform. Anyway....that's my 2 cents for what it's worth.
Most homesteaders are similar to construction workers when it comes to powersaws. All a saw has to do is start,run and cut. Doesn't much matter what brand or color the saw is mostly. But since they aren't in the habit of knowing much about saws or their care. A lot of them rely on dealers to fix their saws when they make it to (town) Up here , most of the Stihl dealers are good at that. The few Pro stocking Husky dealers are also. Just lots fewer of them. I myself prefer the Husky's that I like to the Stihls that I like. With almost no good local Husky dealers here. I run more Stihl's than Husky's.
This conversation is headed in the right direction. It’s all about the dealer, as long as the product itself is quality. An educated operator will take care of whatever quality tool is in his hands. You mean model X will grenade if I rev the ever loving pizz outta it before I try to cut anything? Well don’t effing do that then right? When I lived up in NY, there were tons of Stihl dealers of varying quality. None were as knowledgeable about their product as guys like Bob (spike60) was about his Huskies and Jreds. Or Steven, (166) is about Dolmars. If either one of those guys’ shops had been within an hour of my door, I might never have bought the Stihl’s that I love so dearly.
All I use is Husky, my old man used Huskys, my grandpop used Huskys. Never had any issues cutting hardwoods never really cut any pines. Im sticking with what I was taught. Stihl makes a decent saw no doubt but I'll keep running my Huskys.
Amen. I run both, and like them both. But I do prefer Husqy. Especially once I entered the pro saw realm of husqy...amazing.
That can probably be said about a lot of things! Farm equipment for sure. The new farming technology is awesome and all...but man them old muscle tractors pulling a chisel plow is just awesome. IMO.
Great answers all of them... I can agree that the dealer can make all the difference in the world. You'll always have the guys buying on price... can't be avoided. I do that on a lot of stuff when it just doesn't matter. When I owned my own trucks I found Peterbilt to be the best for me... one Freightliner and all of their 'customer no service' dealers was enough for me... having to special order an oil filter was the final straw!
In all honesty, the only pro saw dealers within 50 miles is Stihl. Consequently, I own 2 Stihls. As previously mentioned, had Husqvarna, Jonsered, or Dolmar been readily available in my area, my preference could possibly be different. I think our personal preferences are a product of what is available. Now, I have a tree service friend and a logger friend who both swear by Husky.
Another thing i noticed youre still able got get such things as brakebands for older models and the price is like 10$, folks know the brand is reliable so they stick with it.