Whats the best $400 chainsaw.

   / Whats the best $400 chainsaw. #21  
I live by the principle of...

Sometimes it's too expensive to be cheap and buy once, cry once.

It's served me well...
 
   / Whats the best $400 chainsaw. #22  
A family member is needing a new saw to replace his Stihl wood boss. He said he wants to spend $400 or less, but that's really kinda flexible. He's a Stihl fan and I'm a Husqvarna fan. We've both read good things about Dolmar, but have neither one used one. He doesn't heat with wood, so it's use is pretty limited. He has a current project where he needs to cut about a dozen trees, but after that it won't get used very often. Around 50 cc will be adequate, but the biggest he can get without exceeded the weight of the current wood boss is more important.


If your friend had good luck with the Wood Boss why not get another one? Cutting a dozen trees is break-in time.
 
   / Whats the best $400 chainsaw. #23  
I like my Husky 455 Rancher 20" for all the big jobs I have to do like cutting up the trucks of one of my 3' or 4' pecan trees when they fall. But for anything under 12" I get out my new little Echo 12" top handle chainsaw that I installed an aggressive cutting chain on.

The heavy 20" saw wears me out quick but this light little saw makes cutting almost fun and it starts so easy and has been very dependable through cutting up a few big pecan trees so far.
ECHO 12 in. 26.9cc Gas Top Handle Chain Saw-CS-271T-12 - The Home Depot
 
   / Whats the best $400 chainsaw. #25  
By the way, the Stihl ms250 isn't 50cc, it's a touch over 45.

I paid just over $300 for my Dolmar 421. It's a better saw in every way (except for the color scheme, I'm still a stihl guy) than the homeowner stihl saws. It's got 3ccs less displacement, but I'll run it against anyone's stock 250.
 
   / Whats the best $400 chainsaw.
  • Thread Starter
#26  
If your friend had good luck with the Wood Boss why not get another one? Cutting a dozen trees is break-in time.
It had a poor power to weight ratio. There's way better saws for the given budget.
 
   / Whats the best $400 chainsaw. #29  
Not the ms250. Sorry guys, but it's a homeowner saw. For $400 there's WAY better saws. I think you can buy a Dolmar 5105 for that. Echo cs590 would be a good choice too. Husky 555 is a good saw as well.

$400 is right at the cusp of good machines. Yes an ms250 is a fine saw, and yes it'll cut a lot of wood, but it's got a plastic crankcase, and is a "clamshell" design. Spend a little more, buy something pro-grade. All of the ones i mentioned above are pro grade. Magnesium case, split case construction.

I'm a stihl guy myself, but unless you're buying used, $400 won't get you one worth buying.

Speaking of used, I know where you can buy an ms361 (60cc pro stihl) for $425 delivered to your door. Used, with no warranty, but dealership service is pretty shoddy anyways.

For his use homeowner is all he needs if taken care of properly, never put away for more than a week or two with fuel in for starters.

I have an MS310 which is homeowner grade, bought it a year or two after they first came out. It has eaten several hundred (yes I am not exaggerating) of cords over the past years and is still one of my go-to saws for the smaller logs. Down a bit on compression now causing some starting problems but that is all. One does notneed to buy a cadillac to get to town. All pro-grade gets you is somewhat longer life. For his use he will never put enough hous in one to wear out a homeowner.
 

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