Thinking about a small saw

With a big mess of limbs to tackle, it might be my time to jump on the 2 saw plan. Lugging my 290 around this mess is a chore.
I have stihl pro shops nearby, and Lowe's & HD for husqvarna and echo. What's a good light weight saw for occasional firewooding? I cut 4+ cords a year and it's always been with my 290.

 

A friend picked up a 150 for $120 last week and he said it will melt through small wood. If you’re looking to spend big on a pro Stihl the 201tc’s are little rippers. The 194t is a little cheaper. The Echo 2511t’s are toy saw light and cut nicely. Stihl also has the 150tc which is there smallest pro top handle.

 

I've cut lots of wood with my non-pro Husky 435 and 445. Both 16in. I still use them both, 3-4cord a yr.

 

Buy that ported 346 that The Wood Wolverine has for sale

 

Thanks for the shout. 346 is a ripper and punches way above its weight class. It would be his new favorite saw.


If you’re looking for super light weight, the 136 is that. @ only 36cc it isn’t a light saber.

 

If you're going new I would take hard look at the Echo saws for sure. Less $$ than Stihl or Husky & good saws. For what you're doing & I assume not climbing I'd stay away form a top handle, they're easy to sling around, but also tend to kick back more easily. All that being said, I'd buy Jason's ported saw & put the 290 on a shelf till you need it. A well ported 346 is a light & wicked fast saw. In a 16 to 20" log I'd bet on the 346 over the 290 every time in the softer woods you have out there.

 

I'll Echo that, my little CS 400 is a breeze to use for limbing.

 

Depending on budget, don't overlook the Husqvarna 540i XP. I bought one earlier this year, and haven't fired up either of my gas saw since I got it.

 

"Lightweight/occasional firewooding". Stihl 170,180. Husky 136. Something along these lines would fit nicely in softwood country for sure. For heavens sake you could wipe out the pictured limb wood with a battery powered saw! Take all advice with a grain of salt. Mine included naturally.
My go to small work saw is a little old Stihl 009. Rips nicely. Gets used far more than originally anticipated. Unfortunately it has a few components NLA if needed. Enjoy shopping.

 

I used to use an 029 super as my only saw. Cut a ton of wood with it. Great saw, but not light. That 029super and the 290 are pretty comparable. You'd really appreciate a lighter saw for limbing and smaller stuff.

I moved up to a dolkita6421 for the bigger stuff, as it's not much difference in weight from the 029s, but a lot more power.

Then I won a ms170 at Dennis's GTG this past May. I really like the light weight and it rips pretty good too.

My dad purchased an ms211cbe and that is a great light weight saw as well, with a little more power than the ms170. Both have the 16" pico chain and bar.

I think you'll find that if you were to get one of the smaller Stihl saws, that you'd use that a lot more than the 290. Then you'll find that since the 290 sits, and you'll occasionally want a bigger saw that actually performs like one and you'll either sell that 290 or just add a bigger pro style saw for the bigger stuff.

 

That's a pretty good testimonial.
I got the last one they had in stock and ran almost 2 tanks through it today cutting up branches.

 

good choice I'd say! Your dealer's inventory looks about as sad as mine. The dog really dresses up the pic though.

 

I bet you’ll appreciate that saws light weight. Two thumbs up for a new saw score!!

 

You'll really like it! While I've never used a 180, it appears to be almost the same as a 170 except 2cc's more.

I heard there's ways to mod these things to get even more performance from them, but so far I'm pretty happy with my ms170. Maybe when the warranty is over I'll mod it.

 

Plenty of work for the 290 after this morning.

 

I'm thinking about getting the ebay refurbished (by Husqvarna) Husqvarna 120 ll for $135. What yall think?

 

Looks like Cedar! Is that you that did the climbing?