Modern equal to mythical Stihl 026 chainsaw?

[jyoutz]

I own a Stihl 038 pro of mid-1990s era. Those saws during that period were awesome.

 

[Buggs67]

I bought an 025 16" bar back around 1996 and besides a new carb, spark plugs and getting the auto-oiler fixed it's been great. Still rides on my tractor and is my go-to saw. I bought a Farm Boss to get a 20" bar and I don't think it's as good a saw. Seems down on power. My brother has an older Farm Boss and it seems to be much better.

 

[fishhead]

I think that Husky, Stihl and echo all make good saws, as did Sachs and Jonny red. For me the key is to buy at least the mid tier and preferably the pro level. You generally get better build, lighter weight more power and lower vibes. I think in the 50cc bracket the OP asked about the 261 and the 550 are close. In the gen 1 of each I preferred the Husky, the second gen i would buy the Stihl. For almost 30 years my go to was my 371xp, which, like me is getting older. So I just treated myself to a Stihl 400-CM- ported. Now I have a saw that is about halfway in between the 2 huskies weight wise but has significantly more power than the 371 and I think lower vibe than the 550 due to a magnesium piston. I'm loving the new gen of saws.

 

[JESSE1]

I'm still using my 038 AV Super that I bought new in '85. First chainsaw Dad bought was a Mac 10-10 in the early '70's. Then had a few great Echo saws in the late '70's until I bought this Stihl. Runs like a new one.

 

[stevem5215]

EFCO 52 is a good saw. (as referenced by our resident saw guy) I have a CubCadet CS5720 myself. Made by EFCO. Excellent piece of equipment and made of metal. Not plastic.

 

[sd455dan]

My aluminum case stripped at the left side pivot bolt hole that holds the kick-back brake lever. I have tried an aluminum thread repair epoxy that the Stihl dealer suggested, but it only held the tiny threads for a few hours and then I was back to a flopping around, non functional safety brake. This saw doesn't have thousands of hours on it, as we do firewood duty maybe 20 hours running time a year. Other than that I use the saw as storm blow down trees that end up crossing into yard. It gets a good bit of time sitting in the garage not seeing sunlight for months... But I know that the safety is compromised, and even with light homeowner use over 27 years it will likely fail at some point. I'm sure that if I were a tree guy as a profession that even a Stihl saw would wear out in just a few years of daily use....

Is Husky Husqvara, is that something else? The only "Husky" equipment I've known was very cheesy looking light duty yard tractors sold at retail stores.

"Is Husky Husqvara, is that something else? The only "Husky" equipment I've known was very cheesy looking light duty yard tractors sold at retail stores."

speaking of mythical

Malcolm Smith, Steve McQueen, and Bruce Brown
called their bikes Huskys...
Husqvarna learned a LOT about tough engine design from racing their motorcycles and they have been building them since 1903.
Husky has only been building chainsaws for a bit over 60 years now.
But I guess that gives the win to Stihl since they have been building chainsaws since 1926.

 

[mrmikey]

I'm not a sawyer by any stretch of the imagination but mine is an Echo CS370. it's 12± years old and hasn't skipped a beat. Actually all my gas powered stuff is Echo, saw, weed eater, hedge trimmer and wheeled trimmer, never had a problem with any of it .....Mike

 

[Turbo5upra]

The first saw I bought was a ms291- I was going back and forth between the 291 and 261 and decided to save the $100 on the 291- I regret that and not because the 291 is a bad saw- it’s a fantastic saw but the 261 is even better.

Stihl was having a sale and I bought a ms170- it’s not a bad saw but you can tell where they pinched the pennies building it. It works great for the limbing I bought it for and my only complaint about the saw it that the choke/ throttle stick when you first start it and you have to blip it several times to get the rpm’s to fall.

This spring tree trimmers for the power company dropped some big trees on my property and I wanted a bit larger saw- my 291 with a 20’s bar would have tackled them but it was going to be a bit much for it- saws were hit by supply issues and I went to a pawn shop to look at a ms441 but by the time I got there is was sold.

I called a few dealers as I was an hour from home and one said they had what I needed- I bought the Echo based on a 60 year old saw of my grandfathers and the shop owner swearing up and down the saw was a monster. I got it home and the first cut I was shocked- I made another pass and grabbed my 291 with a used chain on it- the 291 would put cut the much larger echo.

The owner of the shop ran the saw in the back of the shop before I left with it and didn’t notice anything off about it- the sound and the feel without being in wood seemed off- come to find out it has an air leak somewhere in either the carb or the engine itself- I need to take it in to have it serviced but I’m frustrated that I have a $700 saw that’s defective out of the box and the only solution is to tear it down and have it rebuilt (I feel I bought a new saw and shouldn’t end up with something that’s been ripped apart since it wasn’t right out of the box)

After kicking myself for a few times for trying to save some cash on a saw I tracked down a ms462 and once again I was reminded that the extra money was worth it. I drove 3 hours and would do it again for the pro saw.

I will say I did have an issue with the 462 and the 291 when they sat on a stump in direct sun for a while- I think the fuel in the tank expanded and pressurized the carb causing them to flood- they started after a bit and have been fantastic ever since.

All that said the 261 is a fantastic saw and I feel it’s worth the extra money.

I did have a logger I know drop a tree for my new barn as it was close to the house- he runs husky 361’s which are bullet proof work horses and he ran the 291, echo and 462… he said the 291 and 462 felt like great saws and was really turned off by the echo-

Husky and stihl make great saws… it’s like Ford and Chevy but I myself would steer clear of the Lowe’s husky’s.

 

[LD1]

I have a hard time trusting anyones opinion that raves about a 291. The 029/290/291 have always been overpriced, overweight, underpowered turds. Just like the 455 rancher "box"-store husqvarna's.

Good homeowner/rancher saw because they are reliable and durable. But about the bottom of the barrel in terms of weight/performance in its displacement class.

Never heard of a husky 361 either? Typo?

 

[mikester]

I picked up a battery operated MSA 220 with a 16" bar last year and I haven't touched my 026 since. With two batteries I can cut for 45-60 minutes while the other charges.

I originally bought it to make limbing easier, now I use it for everything around the farm. It's light, good power, relatively quiet, low vibration, no stinky 2-stroke or premixing required, and NO MORE PULL START!