I have a ton of buckeye saplings and honeysuckle bushes to remove on about 40 acres and the 362 is more saw than I'm willing to carry around for this job. Would prefer a Stihl. I don't think I want a top handle. Looking for best saw for the job. Must be gas. Willing to buy once and cry once.
Stihl MS241, Husky 543XP, Echo 4310SX. The Husky is available here, the 241 and 4310 are available in Europe, but can be had here.
Is Stihl 261 not an option? Pro saw 50 cc bar and chains interchangeable Backwoods Savage has one I believe if 50cc is to big Stihl has 241
Iād get one of those top handle Echos. Had the pleasure to run one and dang, they are light and nimble. T.Jeff Veal could confirm model number, it was his. 2511 I believe.
Most are 2"-3". Some up to 8" but not many. They are taking over in a few areas. Several hundred to cut. Buckeye may as well be made from styrofoam so they cut really easy.
2-3 inches I use weed wacker with 10 inch cross cut blade Stihl 131 will take out 3ā sugar maple than cut bigger ones.. on poplar brush hod on tractor
This is the weight of my Stihl MS241 with oregon speedcut 18" bar and stihl 23RS .325 chain. Full of gas and oil. The MS201 rear handle is lighter and probably more suitable for your needs out of the two. I had one of those as well. They are pretty snappy.
If you go that route, get the PN version. They have the smoother, faster cutting .325 nano bar and chain. The 3/8lp is chattery on these lil guys.
I am a big fan of my MS-250 it is light, dependable, great on small trees and can even cut good size wood if its all you have on you. An additional bonus is lots of homeowners buy them and put them on facebook marketplace. My current one (gave my prior 250 to my brother who just cleans up storm damage) was only $125 but I got a great deal as a guy was moving house.
I would suggest looking into the Stihl 194 CE. The price is a lot less than the 201. I bought a 192C new when they came out and have used it a lot. This year I cleared a 3/4 mile long fencerow that was out as much as 50 feet. Ended up cutting close to 50 cord. I, like you, prefer the rear handle for brush clearing/general use. I use the 192 to cut stuff about 8 inches and down, then an 028 for the stuff up to about 2 1/2 ft. Biggest gets the 660. When clearing I have found about 75% of the time it's all small limb wood and at the end of the day, using a light saw makes a big difference with fatigue. Being able to reach one armed is a factor for me and gets the job done.