[Mariask]

Hi all - looking for advice and opinions please!

We're in need of a new chainsaw. Having established that the only ones worth looking at are Stihl and Huskies, we need to choose one.

We use our chainsaw mostly for cutting logs for firewood. These are almost all seasoned oak, and at a max of 8" diameter. Some of the wood is very twisted, which makes cutting it a bit of a bugger.

We'd prefer a Husky, as we've bought a Husky brushcutter (following advice from the nice peeps here!) and found it great. So we're looking at either the 135 (14") or the 435 (15").

Any thoughts? Is bigger necessarily better? Is there any point spending extra money on the bigger one if we don't really need it?

Thanks v much!

[Le Recoignot]

Sachs Dolmar, Oleo Mac, Makita, Echo are all decent too.

[bloomer]

similar scenario i ended up with a stihl ms211 as we have a dealer near here but not for husky... well pleased with it so much better than my b&q cheapy i had before :-) makes logging up stuff so easy!!!

[Womble]

Either will do the job, it's just a question of balancing weight vs power vs cash.

When I bought my Husky, I went into the shop expecting to have to buy quite a big heavy beast, and came out with a wee light thing (346XP) that runs like fury. My mate laughed at the size of it initially, compared with his big beast of a saw. He stopped laughing pretty quickly when he got a shot of it though. Just one word: Wow! 

[philcaegrug]

My mate is a small tool repairer and he always says to buy stihl.

[Old Empty Barn]

Hi, I bought a Husky 435 over a year ago just for cutting firewood logs & I'm delighted with it.
Dave

[verdifish]

Ive had huskies and stihl and a load of cheap rubbish ! After 20 years of buying chainsaws i only buy stihl and only ever stihl 2stroke oil !!!

[Buttermilk]

They are both good saws.  Personally I would go with whoever has the best deal/offer.

[Mariask]

Thanks to everyone for their feedback - much appreciated! 

[FiB]

Either will do the job, it's just a question of balancing weight vs power vs cash.

When I bought my Husky, I went into the shop expecting to have to buy quite a big heavy beast, and came out with a wee light thing (346XP) that runs like fury. My mate laughed at the size of it initially, compared with his big beast of a saw. He stopped laughing pretty quickly when he got a shot of it though. Just one word: Wow! 

Another vote for this one.  Have tried the cheapest stihl and husky.... Crap.  Buy the best power you apcan afford and feel comfortable handling.  It is worth having a bit extra :-)

[Marlin.45]

I would also say the Husky 346xp if you like Husky anyway. I have 3 Husky and 1 large Stihl. All are semi pro grade and have done me well for firewood and personal tree dropping over the years. The saw I use more than all is the now discontinued Husky 350/355 Rancher with an 18" bar, which is pretty much was that 346 supercedes. If you are planning on ringing or cutting up 8" dia. wood you will find that that length bar will probably balance better without adding much weight and give you a few inches spare.

[Still playing with tractors]

We run both Stihl and Husky kit, personally Stihl are better at stone saws and i prefer Husky chainsaws.  My normal one at hand is a 455 Rancher 18" bar, and it does most jobs, i have much bigger cc ones for doing rings and hardwood along with top handled saws for arbour work, my advice is try both and buy what you are comfortable with both in use and cost, Don't worry about the brand snobery.

[Stereo]

Yeah, ignore Husky vs Stihl arguments. They are both good makes. I've had both and pleased with them all. The one thing I would say is that the smaller saws will have a smaller tank and this can be annoying as more filling up. Currently I have a Husky 345 with a 13" bar and narrow chain which just sings and is superb for 90% of what I do. The smaller bar gives you more control, is quicker and I think is a lot safer if are in the thick of it. I have a 20" bar I can put on it but it struggles with that to be honest. But it's OK if I need to ring up a big tree, just need patience. The Husky XP range are what a lot of pro's use and are apparently a step apart but I've never used on.

I had a little Stihl (162? can't recall) with a 12" bar and that was a lovely saw for coppicing/ hedging / logging billets but it ran out of fuel far too often.