MS462 Review

Looks good.

 

I like 20'' bars on my 70cc and bigger saws. They make short work of bucking firewood. I would really like a 22'' bar since I loose 2'' with the big dogs but I don't think they are available in the US.

 

Bull. Totally disagree! 372 Husky is one Great saw !!

 

At the moment I have a 16" bar on my 460. Its a fun little toy to play with. But after a bit my back reminds me why I run long bars.
For pre commercial tree thinning I mostly ran 20" bars. Mostly with 2.5-3 ci powerheads.
For west coast timber. A30, 32 or 36" is vastly preferred. Some guys love the 34"
Any more I use 30s for small timber and 36 for normal size.
A guy I cut with used a 48" Cannon on his 660 on Dall Is when I was cutting in Cocoa Harbor. It got the job done. But wasn't anything to write home about. That's a place where having a Falling saw for just falling is a very good thing to have . 3120 or 084 or 880. With a 4 or 5 foot bar. And preferably 404 chain.

 

When I was logging with my old Terex L20 rubber tired loader. I kept my 372 with a 20" bar in the cab with me. It was the longest bar that would fit in the cab ;-) . That length bar didn't excel at anything. Other than fitting in the cab with me where I was fairly sure it wouldn't get smashed. It worked great for that. I've used 20s a lot up in the tree also. They are good for topping .
I have a 20" on my 455 Husky too. I've probably totally consumed 35 maybe 40, 20" bars over my career so far. They are common and I've bucked lots of firewood with them. I like 24s they are a good happy medium. With a 20 I almost Always end up wanting a bit longer bar.

 

Im new to this thread. My big question is why only one 70ish cc saw? They should have a 70cc and 79 or 80cc also. I thought it was cool when stihl had the 064-ms650 and husky had the 385.

 

Holy Crap...you are more of a man than I am. I have logged my share of wood, but when my saws come with a 20 inch bar I have them swap them out for an 18 inch bar instead. I have never needed anything longer.

I like the extra power of a shorter bar, less teeth to sharpen, less cost, and better balanced.

Granted this is Maine and the trees are smaller, but even cutting saw logs, it is not a big deal to reposition the saw and make a bigger notch, or rock the saw to get the far side of the log. But picking that 20 inch bar up all the time when limbing just does me in. I added it up one time, in the course of the day, picking up a 20 inch bar versus that of a 18 inch bar, was the same as lifting the saw 70 vertical feet. That is a lot of extra lifting. My back thanks me for a shorter bar.

 

The 500i will fill that gap.

 

I must be a strange bird: I never saw the need for multiple chainsaws. Find a good all-around chainsaw and go cut wood. If it breaks, go and have it fixed, then get back to logging. If it gets dull, stop and sharpen it. I have no interest in tying up money in chainsaws that do little but depreciate.

I know guys that won't go out into the woods without at least 2 saws, some with 3.

 

The guy that logged my place had a top handle climbing saw & a 395. Bought a new 395 every year or if he crushed one. Then rotated the old one to a spare & then parts saws. Worked for him.

 

It's a bit redundant to have that many saws so close in size, it has a tendency to confuse customers more than anything. The inbetween models never sell well either.

 

390 Husky 36" bar.

A 372 Husky with a 20" bar is kind of a little saw.
But
I'm a coastal faller. Very seldom do we walk on the ground. We fall a tree, write our initial and the tree # on the butt, step up or climb up on it. Stick in our tape and take off down to tree , limbing and marking logs as we go. Then usually buck the logs on the way back to the butt. We do almost all the limbing and some of us do most of our bucking standing on the tree.
If we think things are going to get moving fast finishing a buck , we get off the tree to get the cut off.
For falling a long bar makes for greater accuracy hitting your lay.

 

I don't know why these European saw companies drop the 75-76 cc size in favor of the 71-72 cc. Husky did it with the 372. Originally it was 71cc or there abouts. Then they came out with the Western model with 75 or 76cc. Then they dropped it. Now Stihl did it with the 462.
I honestly don't remember Ever hearing a complaint about the 460 Stihl as far as it being a great working saw. It had just the right balance of power to weight for what I need. Same with the 372 Western .
The 441 was a bit of a letdown because it weighed the same as a 460 but didn't have as much snort.
Who dreams up this dumb stuff anyway???

I do understand that limbing from the ground , like we do around here in the Interior, a 20" ish bar is handier than a long bar. But I've found a 24" bar is about ideal for on the ground limbing . And is easier on the back.

 

Engineering is a little harder than just saying lets make a saw this or that size, especially when you take into consideration all the outside factors, like marketing and regulations.

I believe the 372W was a way of around emissions regulations so they could keep selling the 372 for a while longer, but I'm not 100% sure on that. Also the platform was already there in the 375K

 

I do get frustrated with the newer stuff. There wasn't a thing wrong with the 044 Stihl. But they had to go monkeying with it. Same with the 064. Great saw and the 066 same thing except the 66 burned more fuel.
The 242 Husky was a Great little saw. If a saw could be called , high velocity. That one was.
Just a lot of great saw that they quit making.

Once they get the bugs worked out of a saw. They ought to just keep making them.

 

What brand is the 500 i ??

 

A stihl, first chainsaw to use fuel injection.

 

It's not the first.

 

All this talk about the 462...has anyone seen or heard when they'll actually be in dealers?

 

My dealer told me they're already at the distributors, and are waiting until all the 461's and 441's are sold, before they release the 462. So far my dealer has been spot on with this type of stuff, but I have my doubts on this one.