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I quit buying Stihl saws about 4 years ago. For me, they are to expensive and everyone I owned has been difficult to start when cold. If you are going to buy a small/med size gas saw take a look at the Echo 490. I did not start my Echo 490 for over a year. Yesterday pulled the choke out and on second pull she coughed. Pushed the choke back in. Next pull it fired up and ran a tank thru it while we cleaned up some log piles.

Echo dealers have one day a year they offer 20% off. Find a dealer close to you and go for it.

I've cut hundred of cords of wood, never saw the need for the chainsaw man's head gear. If I'm not felling trees, I don't need a neil armstrong helmet and a beekeepers face shield for sawing up dead fall.

Pair of Costas is my head gear

Can't everybody be superbad-Azz!

I haven(2) Stihl Saws 1st one I bought was an MS311with an 18" Bar then a Neighbor needed help with a large tree and I Sprung for the 25" bar that I should have just purchased with it when i Bought it.
after swinging that one around for a bit. I needed one to Trim up some trees and the MS311 was just to big for the job.
So I purchased the MS193T Top handle designed for tree climbers what a GREAT saw for what it is designed for.

If you decide to Purchase a Stihl Saw go on their Web Site and look at the Duty Cycle of there Saws they over lap and you can get a large saw with very little Duty Cycle. Do a little homework and think about how you are going to use the saw when you use it.
My Saws sit around a good share of the time but when I use them. I use them hard so the MS311 is at Close to the top end of the Rancher Grade way above the Home Owner Grade and Just Below the Pro Grade. my MS193T is a Pro Grade saw all the way.

Doing some Homework before you Purchase can save you a lot of headache in the future.
Good luck in what you decide on getting.

I never pass up the opportunity to wear chaps.

I had a buddy at work that was doing some cleanup in his yard and managed to get his jeans caught in the chainsaw. Over a hundred stitches later, he made it back to work and said the whole thing happened so fast he couldn't really say how it happened. Luckily, it was all fairly superficial, but it kept him laid up for quite some time.

I own 2 Stihls and 1 Echo 620P, The Echo seems to be the superior saw and I do some pretty serious sawing at times. Not a commercial log cutter, but a lot of big downed oak trees every year converted to firewood or just cut up and moved. Stihl is a good saw but Echo may be better.

I have been cutting with Stihl saws for 31 years. I build log cabins with them, and also cut a lot of firewood. I love the Stihl.
However I have an Echo weedeater that I bought at Home Depot 21 years ago and the damn thing is indestructible.
I am still running, if you can believe it, on the original spark plug. The tool has never had any maintenance, except for cleaning the air filter.

That Echo runs like a top it is an unbelievably reliable machine. So I bet they make good chain saws.

"That Echo runs like a top it is an unbelievably reliable machine. So I bet they make good chain saws."

Had Stihl saws for heating wood for 30 years.
Urge hit to get a slightly bigger saw a couple of years back, Echo CS590 saved me about $200 over the comparable Stihl.
Have been more than pleased with the saw. Don't plan to be cutting firewood at the same pace 30 years from now anyhow.

Both the MS251 or MS271 are great saws so take your pick. Whatever you do, don't buy a saw with the easy start system or with a tool-less adjustment. Both those things give me the [bleep].

I like my MS260 Pro and MS391.

I have a 45cc husky with 16". I cut 10 cord of maple with it this year. Log diameters were 8" - 32". I borrowed my brothers 62cc saw and the weight of that sucked compared to the 45. They both cut about the same... The key is having a well sharpened chain. Unless I had logs bigger than 32", or I was milling with the saw, I wouldn't go bigger.

Y'all buy and use what you want, but if you ever want a sure fire test on a chain saw find yourself a cured log of magnolia about 18" diameter. Be ready for sparks.

Ever cut any standing dead/dried black locust?
It's mostly what we burn for firewood.
Harder than a granite rock.

No, we don't allow that stuff down here in the swamps.

It's a hellova saw. I have the older 025 version. It's cut WAAAAAY more than it probably should.

I have cut a lot of dry standing locust. It makes it seem like your chain is real dull. A real bitch to cut, but the best firewood.

I bought my 025 I think about 94 maybe 96, fantastic cutting saw for It’s size , Smallest saw I own,. I would love to pick up an old 026 pro.

Locust is used on the coldest nights, that and Osage Orange are my two favorite Burning-wood, Can’t forget Shagbark Hickory.

I've got a 025. Its very handy and starts easy, every single time.