So I’m probably going to pick up a Stihl 400 next week. Sounds like a 20” the light bar will cost about $80 more than a standard 20” bar. I plan to use the saw as my go to saw for everything under 20”. Drop, trim, limb and buck. Is the weight saving worth the extra $$$.
I’m sold on the stihl light bars. I use a 24 and 36. Yes it’s worth the extra $. If I was getting a 400, I’d put a light bar on it. Light saw light bar win win
What's the weight difference between a 20" stihl regular bar vs their light bar? If it's under 6 ounces difference, I would have a hard time justifying the $80 hike. A ms500 is pretty light, and a ms400 is even lighter.
I’d get it with a regular weight E bar. I bet there’s only a couple oz difference between an E and an ES Light
So here’s what I found Stihl 20” standard bar 2 lbs 13.7 oz Stihl light bar 2lbs 1 oz I know none of that makes a difference until there is real application for a couple hours, but over 13 oz seems fairly significant??
This is my thinking, a 20" bar is not that heavy already and a "light" version of it can't shave that much off. You still have the same chain on it either way so bar weight is all that's lost and $80 would buy you at least 2 more Stihl chains and double that in Oregon chains.
How heavy is the saw bar and chain combo? If it's 12 pounds with the light bar and 13 with normal or 10 pounds and 11 pounds I'd say you won't notice it much.
I run lightweight bars on several of my saws. The last time I bought a saw, Stihl 461, I bought it cheaper without a bar or chain at all and temporarily used a standard bar that I already had, and ordered a new Tsumura 32" Lightweight bar. All of my lightweight bars are of that brand and so far, no issues and they are cheaper then the Stihl Lightweight bars. I might have bought a Stihl lightweight bar, or two, but in my region, you can't find a lightweight Stihl bar anywhere. No one stocks them and they say they never sell them, hardly. I do run a 20 inch Tsumura Lightweight bar, on a Stihl 261 and I like the lightweights even on a 20" bar. I can tell a difference.
