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I now have a Poulan been using it for years. Thinking about buying a new one looking at Husqvarna & Stihl with a 18" bar. anyone have the 2 I mentioned like to hear the good and bad of both having a hard time deciding which one I want.

I have an 18" Stihl MS261 it's a decent saw.I spent most of today using my old 16" 028 that I like better.

Come on man is that all you have to offer lol why bother replying. Just wanting feedback on Husqvarna & Sthil chainsaws.

Get a M250 Stihl and put an 18" bar on it. I think it's a very good option for a home owner with some property. It's not a pro grade saw, but it will cut a pretty good size tree. I've had mine for about 25 years with no problems. We always had to take one with us to the deer camp in case we had to cut our way in or out after a storm. It never failed me and got me through some scrapes.

Is there an echo in here?

10 pages minimum, and at least 5 posters INSISTING you need a $700 commercial chainsaw to do the work that a $100 Poulan has been doing for years…

I have both Husqvarna & Stihl. My Husqvarna is a model 345 with 18 & a 16" bar. Bought it new in 2000 or 2001. Still running great. All I have replaced on it is a fuel line, air filter, drive sprocket , bars & chains. Engine & carb have never been touched. Cut several cord with it this spring. Mt Stihl 251 is a much newer . Just bought it a couple of weeks ago. Will see if it last as long as my Husqyarna.

Stihl, Husqvarna or Echo are all good saws. Do some research to find the very best dealer in your area for service and one that will be in business long term and buy a 50cc saw, whichever brand of those mentioned that they sell. Purchase a Professional grade saw if you can afford it, if not the home/farm saw will give good service to the casual user.

How big of a saw do you need? I worked for a tree business a while back, the Stihl 170 got used more than anything else but we were trimming limbs for the most part. We ran 'em hard, if one would start having a problem for $180 we'd go buy a new one, that happened once in 3 years.

We have a half-dozen Stihls from top handle tree saws to a 661. All of our saws are the carbureted non mtronic models. The only Husky I have had never really ran well for me.

Oh Lord

Forgot about echo will look at those too.

18-20" have a Poulan 14 & 16 they getting wore out cutting bigger trees falling on the property. Thinking a upgrade is needed for bígger tress use the other 2 for cutting limbs.

I ran nothing but Husky my whole timber cutting career and your gonna get alot of opinions but whatever you buy run nothing but premium non- ethanol gas and good 2 cycle mix oil is the best advice. The ethanol crap will eat your fuel line up.

I have a Husqvarna 450 with a 18" bar. Never had an issue with it.
I ran 2 1/2 gallons of fuel and a gallon of bar oil through it this past winter. It always starts and always runs Great saw.

I'd brand with the closest service center.

I can’t think of a saw I’ve ever had that was bad. Currently using an echo 590 after years of Stihl.

I won't even get into what brand but this ☝🏻 is FACT. Running non-ethanol in small engines has been the best thing I have ever done. I even convinced the powers that be at work to switch over..... As a company, we run probably in excess of 500 small 2 stroke engines.... mostly Stihl cutt-off saws. We are a large grading,paving, and underground utility construction company with over 2000 field employees....... up until about 3 years ago the guys were supplied the 2 stroke oil and had to mix themselves with plain old gas from the gas station..... I highly doubt the fuel was mixed correctly, contaminated gas cans, old gas, you name it..... saws were always in for repairs and the ones that did run, ran like chit.

We switched over to the Stihl brand of pre-mix fuel and while expensive we figure it saves us approximately 35-40k a year just on the higher fuel cost vs repairs..... that isn't even counting the loss of production when a saw craps out on the job or someone using the wrong tool because the saw is broke and getting hurt etc.

Buy either the Stihl or Husky, but only the pro-model saws with a dealer that services them nearby.

I'm a huge fan of the Husky XP line of saws and currently have an XP550 (50cc) for all my firewood cutting. Although I have no real servicing dealers nearby. But then again, in 5 years, it's never needed service.