Hey guys,
What model saws are the Stihl owners using? Was looking to buy a small Stihl for camping and around the house duties and the MS170 came to mind being relatively compact, cost effective and what not. After doing a very small amount of research I read that the MS170 has a lighter duty chain and bar etc. than some of the more 'serious models'. That got me thinking that I should put in the extra couple of hundred and get something that will be well and truly up to the task.
Cheers,
Kameron
the consumer end of the stihl range arnt great but they are OK for light/occasional use as are small huskys and makitas (makitas are maid by dolmar in germany) , i guess at the end of the day it comes down to how much is the most you are willing to spend.
if you wan to but a saw that will last you 20years plus you could look at a pro saw but you will need to spend at least $700+ for that (and that would mean buying a husky 346xp or a stihl ms261. landed from the US). if you buy one of those saws locally your looking at $1250!
otherwise you could buy a "farm" saw such as an MS290 or a husky 455 rancher thay will cost you the same as the pro saw imported from the US.
makita are a very well priced saw in australia ATM and are definately leading the local pricing and are comparable with stihl and husky for build quality.
if you are only prepared to spend 300-500 your prolly looking at an ms180 at the cheap end and for 500odd i would look at something like a makita DCS460.
For the record i got an ms261 from the US landed for about 715 dollars, but the catch is you need to know someone over there to buy it and ship it for you as neither hasky or stihl dealers will ship a pro saw to Australia officially.
all the above advice is assuming you dont want a top handle saw.
hope i haven't confused you
