I was cutting a leaner and it slid a little and the bar dropped into the notch but the chain didn't. Sprocket is smoked...the end of the bar is bent...and the chain is bent. Oh well...Both had some serious miles on them. Now that I need a new one...is is worth the extra coin for a "high end" bar or should I buy a regular 20" E bar? Discuss.
For a 362 with 20" bar, I'd stay standard bar unless you spend significant time carrying the saw around. If it were 24", I'd possibly look at the reduced weight bars.
I bought a 20 inch Pro light bar made by Oregon and put it on one of my 372's. My thought was the shorter bar wouldn't see the weight savings a longer bar would see. I couldn't find a weight on the Oregon bar before buying. Well, it is definitely lighter. I don't know how much but, there was a difference. My thoughts are this after getting the Oregon bar: Neither make a 372 heavy. The 372 does balance about level with the pro light bar versus tad bit nose heavy with the Forester bar. So while the light bar is lighter, it isn't as if they revolutionize a mid 70 cc saw. On a 20 inch bar, price has to be the determining factor for my saws. I've been running that Forester bar for two years. I run saws daily during the week. That one has seen the bulk of the work. It has performed flawlessly. I just started running the Oregon. Time will tell on it. The Forester was $20.00. The Oregon was $27.00 . On longer bars I'd seriously consider it. For 20 inch bars, it simply isn't worth it to me with the cheaper bar performing so well. God bless men
If it happens again its just going to cost you more coin! I consider myself to be hard on bars. I pinch them here and there and tend to yank on them quite a bit to free them. Still kind of a rookie when reading tensions on branches, but getting better! If I was a little more delicate, or cut from a pile, I would go get one tomorrow. I'm young yet (32) and probably wouldn't notice the minimal weight difference.
I've been a fan of Oregon Pro-lite bars - have a 20 and 24 for the 61's and 372 and an 18 for the smaller saws. Probably 15 cord on the 18" and 10 between the 20 and 24 - drop, limb and buck. Lots of plunge cuts. Noses have held up perfectly. No curls on the rails, rails still true and haven't had to take a file to them at all. Good prices can be found on the bay and elsewhere. I don't see a need to go more expensive for what I do. Cheers!
Honestly there are so many NOS and replacement bars for sale on the net for significantly less $ than new I would do some good searching and just pick up whatever looks best. Check out trading post here and elsewhere as well as the 'bay and Amazon
RJames made me an offer I couldn't refuse. All set. After I thought about it some more, I'd feel worse the next time I bend a bar when it costs more...so I'll stick with the cheaper stuff.
Atta boy. My good saws all have moderate priced bars. Would really like to slap high end bars on them but then I could buy another pro grade limbing saw instead for the same coin.
Actually, the wide-nose ES bars are relatively rare. Especially in shorter versions. There were two versions of the ES bar, the wide nose and one that was much more popular and more closely resembles the shape of an E bar.
I have 4 "ES" bars. A 16'', 20'', 25'', and 28.'' The 25'' has a green dot on it, the rest all have a yellow dot. I guess the ones with the yellow dot are not low kick back bars? Here is the 16'' The 20'' on the left
The wide nose is noticeably wider. Most ES bars are narrow nose, but maybe not as narrow as the E bars? The wider nose bars are more prone to kick back... which is probably why Stihl discontinued them. Also in my picture above is a 36" ES wide nose bar.
Here is bar that is a bar that is not a reduced kick bar, is it a wide nose? Stihl 16" Rollomatic E Super (Es) Chainsaw Bar (60 Drive Links) 3003 000 8813 | Rollomatic E Super Guide Bars | Stihl RSN Guide Bars | www.www.baileysonline.com.com
