X2. My 261 was my second pro saw after my 460. Ive been hooked since. Hoard on and cut safe my friend!
Yes, the 18". I just got an 18" for the 025 a few months ago. Should have grabbed the 20" . Both run 325 chain.
The OPE dealer had the 261 listed at $619. Ct sales tax is 6.35%. Not sure of bar size...guessing 18". 20" came with mine. I like running it with a 16" bar though.
congrats on the new cutting toy, I believe I was trying to convince myself to grab a new 261 CM a while back. If I'm wrong I'll correct myself but there was a saw that had the grip brake that slows the chain down when held. The price on it though was nearly 700. By the time I went back to the shop, it was gone. Since the winter wind storm left havoc of trees still evident in these neighboring towns, shop sold out. Edit:: I looked it up again, it was a saw with a Quickstop Plus feature that is a Q in the model number of the saw. A very nice feature in safety if cutting multiple trees in an area where a tripping hazard is likely. So when it's released it stops the chain.
Just a quick update and thoughts from today. I topped the tank off and worked on the pile. I'm very happy with this saw. Aside from the trees being in a pile, I went through a tank just over 30 minutes and got it all cut up. This would have take 2x -3x as long with the 025. I was surprised how effortless it was. Seems like less bending over too. Just a little down pressure and she drops right into the cut without slowing down. Having the right sized saw for the work makes sense. My arms were not sore at all. I'm really impressed and this is seriously a game changer. I've suddenly got CAD fever. Not telling the Mrs...
Looks like you had lots of fun with it Jon! Uh oh! Be careful, its addictive! 3+ years ago when i got my first pro saw (MS460) 77cc and used it for the first time i was blown away. Of course it was a huge step up from my 290 which i used as well. Kind of miss that saw.
Yes Stihl offered that on a couple models and i think the 290/291 was one. I saw one in person a couple years ago and the guy wanted to sell it to me. Ideal for a newbie saw user IMO.
I'll admit Brad, using an undersized saw on bigger trees can be done, it is not ideal. I've done it, and it makes for harder work and is not fun. I was cutting the bases of these trees with the 291 and thought how much better a 261 or 362 would be! I'm happy, for now... I really dont cut large diameter trees though.
I tried to avoid larger trees when i had just my 290. Bigger wood kept coming my way. A sign from the wood gods. One of my wood customers offered me the 460 powerhead. Needed a little work to get going. Quite a feeling going from 16" to 28" bar! My back hates big wood but its fun to cut!
