weed whackers..husqvarna or stihl?

Bird · Jul 1, 2003

If you have as good luck with that Stihl as my brother and I did, you'll be happy with it for a long time.

JohnMiller3 · Jul 1, 2003

Re: weed whackers..husqvarna or stihl or Yard-man?

My wife told me prior to Fathers Day… to go pick out my next weed wacker… I had looked at the Stihls, ‘cause I’m so happy with my monster 038 Magnum saw (believe me… it’s a nasty critter!) I really liked the Stihl FS 250r trimmer @ $359. on sale… but I also knew how dependable my ‘ole Ryobi 31cc. brush cutter has been all these years until recently it’s gotten tired… /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Stihl FS250

I’ve had my first Ryobi, since right after Ryobi bought out Ryan… so now Ryobi is owned by MTD (and I know how much the majority of you guys like MTD /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif)…/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

So… off to WalMart where I purchased my new Yard-man (aka Ryobi), it starts up on with 3-5 pulls every time(initial start, then 1 pull hot), and she’s a screamer… /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif, the rpm’s are right up there (my ‘ole Ryobi didn’t go that high), and the power is terrific for a 31 cc engine (new double ringed piston)… it will handle up to .105 line, but .095 is the sweet spot she likes, quick to restring the head (~2 minutes?), and the tall grass & light brush jumps out of her way and she doesn’t think of bogging down… /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Yard-man YM1500

My wife was very surprised, I didn’t get the Stihl… she was even more surprised when I told her to save her money and buy herself something nice, and told her I only paid $89. for our new Yard-man… /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Chief · Jul 1, 2003

Re: weed whackers..husqvarna or stihl or Yard-man?

John, the heavier duty Stihl's are good brush cutters but get kinda heavy lugging them around after a few hours. I have the FS450K which takes down small trees in one swipe with a new or newly sharpened brush saw blade, but that puppy get HEAVY when it is 90 degrees out after an hour or so. I use an EL CHEAPO Homelite finish trimming because it is so light but if continued increases in business justifies I will get the Stihl FS 110RX. I have also had my eye on the Cub Cadet trimmers lately. They seem like they have a really good product lately.

JohnMiller3 · Jul 1, 2003

Re: weed whackers..husqvarna or stihl or Yard-man?

<font color="blue">...my eye on the Cub Cadet ... </font>

Hi Randy,

Did ya see the new Cub Cadet commercial ZTR's called The Tank!... NICE! (another MTD product folks! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif)

I pulled my shoulder strap off my 'ole Ryobi unit and snapped it on the Yard-man... it makes it easier to "swing" and tear up those nasty looking weeds and such... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

A friend recently bought the Stihl FS45 (?) (cheaper unit $149), its very light(~8 lbs) and nice to handle, but the power is a dog in reference to the 31cc Ryobi (~12 lbs?)...

Once you have the taste of power... it's hard to go backwards... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

riverhino · Jun 8, 2009

Stihl vs Husqvarna?

IMHO = Husqvarna any day of the week.
I have Husqvarna saws and trimmer, wouldn't trade any one of them for a Stihl - which I also own a couple saws they make and while they are good runners and cutters - the reliability and performance of the Husqvarnas put them to shame.
Would also highly recommend Shindaiwa products - there is another brand that we have owned and really impressed me with their reliability, even with some very abusive treatment by laborers who wanted nothing more than for the equipment NOT to work so they could lounge around while the boss worked on it.