# MS 280 vs MS 290



## Jensent (Jan 20, 2013)

Stopped at the Stihl dealer for parts. They were busy so I looked over the new saws while I waited. They had a new MS 280 on the rack, no price. Can't find any info about the 280 on the Stihl web site. Is it a current model? The saw seemed a bit lighter than the MS 290 which was marked $360 w/16in bar.The young man who waited on me said he thought the 280 was more expensive than the MS 261! Does anyone have experience with the 280? What are its specs. If it is non-current maybe its on sale?
Tom


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## Jacob J. (Jan 20, 2013)

The MS-280 I believe has been discontinued. Yes, it should be lighter than the 290. I can't remember the last list price but I doubt it was ever more than the 261. That young man may have been referring to the MS-291?


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## gcdible1 (Jan 20, 2013)

The ms270 and 280 are both models that have a few more bells and whistles than the plain jane 290. They are rated for less power, but are equipped with better antivibration, and older editions were called the "woodboss". Just the little info I think is correct.


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## gcdible1 (Jan 20, 2013)

gcdible1 said:


> The ms270 and 280 are both models that have a few more bells and whistles than the plain jane 290. They are rated for less power, but are equipped with better antivibration, and older editions were called the "woodboss". Just the little info I think is correct.



Im also pretty sure they retailed for $400 plus. It was one of the reasons I grabbed the 290.


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## lmbrman (Jan 20, 2013)

A friend of mine has the 280, uses it regular and is pleased for firewood duty, he also has a 290 which is clean as new- just sits on the shelf.

just sayin-


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## Jensent (Jan 21, 2013)

Stopped at the local farm store that sells Stihl. They looked up the current 280 price for me. They dont think the saw has been built since about 2008. Current MSRP is $499.95. Could not explain what features could warrent that price. Someone out there must know!
Tom


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## gcdible1 (Jan 21, 2013)

I am not sure exactly what the features are, but it is a different design setup I believe. I think it is not a clamshell design like the 210/30/50/90/310/390. Because of the design of those they are generally cheaper to produce and you can swap engines in the series. The 280 I believe has a mag case and cylinder bolts down on top more like a pro saw construction. So the long and short of it is unless you can buy it Cheap, dont waste your time. Buy a pro saw. If I was going to drop over $400 for a saw its gonna be lighter and more powerful than the consumer models.


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## BluntForgedEdge (Jan 21, 2013)

Jensent said:


> *Stopped at the Stihl dealer for parts*. They were busy so I looked over the new saws while I waited. *They had a new MS 280 on the rack, no price. Can't find any info about the 280 on the Stihl web site*. Is it a current model? The saw seemed a bit lighter than the MS 290 which was marked $360 w/16in bar.The young man who waited on me said he thought the 280 was more expensive than the MS 261! Does anyone have experience with the 280? *What are its specs*. If it is non-current maybe its on sale?
> Tom





Jensent said:


> Stopped at the local farm store that sells Stihl. They looked up the current 280 price for me. They dont think the saw has been built since about 2008. Current MSRP is $499.95. *Could not explain what features could warrent that price. Someone out there must know!*
> Tom


Did a little Google[ing] and here's what I found.

DISPLACEMENT
54 cc (3.29 cu. in.)
ENGINE POWER
2.8 kW (3.75 bhp)

WEIGHT
(Powerhead only)
without QS: 5.3 kg (11.6 lbs.)

FUEL CAPACITY
520 cc (17.6 oz.)

CHAIN OIL CAPACITY
280 cc (9.5 oz.)

OILOMATIC® CHAIN
.325" RM2

GUIDE BARS
AVAILABLE
40.6 to 50.8 cm
(16" to 20")​
Info on particular chainsaw from *StihlUSA*.

Also this bit of "*review*" of the Stihl MS 280 which is dated.


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## birddogtg (Jan 21, 2013)

*280*

The Stihl 280 is lighter, has less vibration and will easily out cut a 290 no matter what the HP ratings are but they were quite a bit more money.Well worth the extra cost imo.


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## z71mike (Jan 21, 2013)

Just an observation here, but...... Did an image search on the 280 and saw that it's a white-handle saw. Knowing that the 290 has an orange handle, it looked immediately like the 280 was part of the 'pro' line......which surprised me b/c I don't remember anything other than 260/360/440/460/660/880 in the last couple years (aside from the 1's and 2's on the end now). 

I know that the white handle, at least in the last decade, has been a pretty good indicator of a Stihl 'pro' saw..........ya know, when you're looking at crappy pictures online and the model number isn't listed any where in the listing. But this got me puzzled, so I just went to Stihl-USA's website. Went to the mid-range area, 'Farm/Ranch'. Confirmed that the 290 still has the orange handle. But now all the 'new' saws in that range are white-handled....... 271/291/311/391. I haven't seen any of these revamped models in person yet, but assume they are still clamshell designs. I guess Stihl got away from delineating the clamshell design by putting an orange or black handle on it, versus the white on the pro saws.

I guess they're trying to make them all look like pro saws now, hoping they'll sell more


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## Abflyboy (Jan 21, 2013)

MS 280 is a professional saw, 290 is not. There would be a multitude of differences between the two that more than justify the price difference.


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## Javelin (Jan 21, 2013)

The 280 is not a pro saw it is a clam engine design. It is a farm grade type saw. It does have or at least the ones I have had come in have the IEM carb on them. The av is super soft out of the cut but in the cut there is vibration not bad but it does have it. Overall a decent performer and a better saw than the 290. It is 55cc engine if I remember correctly.


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## Abflyboy (Jan 21, 2013)

Javelin said:


> The 280 is not a pro saw it is a clam engine design. It is a farm grade type saw. It does have or at least the ones I have had come in have the IEM carb on them. The av is super soft out of the cut but in the cut there is vibration not bad but it does have it. Overall a decent performer and a better saw than the 290. It is 55cc engine if I remember correctly.



You are absolutely right. I stand corrected. Please forgive my erroneous post. I made an assumption that was incorrect.


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## SawTroll (Jan 21, 2013)

lmbrman said:


> A friend of mine has the 280, uses it regular and is pleased for firewood duty, he also has a 290 which is clean as new- just sits on the shelf.
> 
> just sayin-



No wonder he prefers the 280 to the 290, it simply is a better saw.

The 291 sort of replaces both the 290 and the 280 it seems - and it is between them in weight.


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## SawTroll (Jan 21, 2013)

Javelin said:


> The 280 is not a pro saw it is a clam engine design. It is a farm grade type saw. It does have or at least the ones I have had come in have the IEM carb on them. The av is super soft out of the cut but in the cut there is vibration not bad but it does have it. Overall a decent performer and a better saw than the 290. It is 55cc engine if I remember correctly.



You are right it is a clamshell, and not a pro saw - but the "shell" in this case is much more than that, it is part of a magnesium piece that makes about halv the "body" of the saw.


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## SawTroll (Jan 21, 2013)

z71mike said:


> Just an observation here, but...... Did an image search on the 280 and saw that it's a white-handle saw. Knowing that the 290 has an orange handle, it looked immediately like the 280 was part of the 'pro' line......which surprised me b/c I don't remember anything other than 260/360/440/460/660/880 in the last couple years (aside from the 1's and 2's on the end now).
> 
> I know that the white handle, at least in the last decade, has been a pretty good indicator of a Stihl 'pro' saw..........ya know, when you're looking at crappy pictures online and the model number isn't listed any where in the listing. But this got me puzzled, so I just went to Stihl-USA's website. Went to the mid-range area, 'Farm/Ranch'. Confirmed that the 290 still has the orange handle. But now all the 'new' saws in that range are white-handled....... 271/291/311/391. I haven't seen any of these revamped models in person yet, but assume they are still clamshell designs. I guess Stihl got away from delineating the clamshell design by putting an orange or black handle on it, versus the white on the pro saws.
> 
> I guess they're trying to make them all look like pro saws now, hoping they'll sell more



The 271/291/311/391 are all clamshell style designs, but they lack the metal "shell" under the crank, that gave this style of engine its "name".

The change in rear handle color doesn't mean a thing, and it never really did. For a while (basically the 1990s) someone at Stihl no doubt _wanted_ it to mean something - but the ol' 045 and 056 no doubt were pro saws, and they had orange rear handles. In the early 2000s the 270 and 280 appeared, and again distorted what for a while looked like a system.....
There are about a similar story with the "model number system" - it never really added up, if you looked closer into it.


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## mattaggie (Jan 21, 2013)

SawTroll said:


> No wonder he prefers the 280 to the 290, it simply is a better saw.
> 
> The 291 sort of replaces both the 290 and the 280 it seems - and it is between them in weight.



My Stihl rep told me the 290 and 291 are going away. 271 will ultimately be the new "Farm Boss" once inventory is gone.


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## sefh3 (Jan 21, 2013)

The 290 is Stihl's #1 selling saw. There are a ton of parts out there for these saws OEM and aftermarket. There are not many aftermarket parts for the 280. Most parts are dealer only.


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## SawTroll (Jan 21, 2013)

mattaggie said:


> My Stihl rep told me the 290 and 291 are going away. 271 will ultimately be the new "Farm Boss" once inventory is gone.



If so it is his choise to sell the 271 and not the 291, and it is bad choise, motivated by price alone. The 271 is the 291 with a smaller top end. The 291 is definately *not* going away, actually it just reached the market in the US....

The 290 is disappearing anyway.


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## Gswillis54 (Aug 23, 2014)

I need to replace my cylinder and piston on my MS280 . Cant find an aftermarket kit for the 280 which is 46mm.I found a kit for a MS290 that is 46mm.Can someone tell me if it will work? I can buy it from Stihl,but I might as well buy a brand new saw for what that would cost.Thanks


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## Walnut (Aug 23, 2014)

Gswillis54 said:


> I need to replace my cylinder and piston on my MS280 . Cant find an aftermarket kit for the 280 which is 46mm.I found a kit for a MS290 that is 46mm.Can someone tell me if it will work? I can buy it from Stihl,but I might as well buy a brand new saw for what that would cost.Thanks


There were a lot of problems with the 280s roasting top ends, if I remember right. I think it was cause by weak av? (Correct me if I'm wrong) causing the intake boot to crack. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## AKDoug (Aug 23, 2014)

Gswillis54 said:


> I need to replace my cylinder and piston on my MS280 . Cant find an aftermarket kit for the 280 which is 46mm.I found a kit for a MS290 that is 46mm.Can someone tell me if it will work? I can buy it from Stihl,but I might as well buy a brand new saw for what that would cost.Thanks


 It won't work.


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## SawTroll (Aug 23, 2014)

Walnut said:


> There were a lot of problems with the 280s roasting top ends, if I remember right. I think it was cause by weak av? (Correct me if I'm wrong) causing the intake boot to crack.



I understand that weak AV combined with pulling on the rear handle when the saw (bar) got pinched would lead to ruptured seals, or maybe it was the intake - memory is a bit weak.

Doing that is of course NO-NO with any saw, but worse when the AV is weak.


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## SawTroll (Aug 23, 2014)

sefh3 said:


> The 290 is Stihl's #1 selling saw. There are a ton of parts out there for these saws OEM and aftermarket. There are not many aftermarket parts for the 280. Most parts are dealer only.



Only in the US - it wasn't offered at all here (nor was the 310, only the 390 from that "family"), and I don't think they sold many outside the US at all.


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## Gswillis54 (Aug 23, 2014)

Thanks AKDoug


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