Husky 359 or 365?

Hi,

My brother just sold his 10yr old 029 for $225 (can you believe it!) and is saving for a new Saw. He is looking into a 359 or 365, and will be running a 20" bar. It is for home owner use to cut fire wood.

I do have a Husky Catalog, and have compared all the weights, hp, ect.

Are the 359 and 365 considered professional models? I know they do not carry the XP designation.

Regarding the internal construction, are these two saws built on the same platform as the other Husky Pro saws, say compared to a 372xp? He doesn't want to have to buy another saw, and wants to purchase a quality machine.


To any Chainsaw Machanics out there who have taken these saws apart, what are the internal difference between the 359 and 365 other than cylinder displacement?

To any owners of a 359 or 365, whats your opinion?

Thank-you in advance for your replys. This is a great site!

Sincerely,

HappyJack

The 365 is only one size smaller than the 372, which is the most popular model husky out there. in short, a 365 will make a decent firewood saw, with a 20" bar on it and a sharp chain.


The 359, I havent heard a lot about so I'm not going to say its great nor bad because I just dont know. I lean towards the 365 for firewood because of its larger engine size and somewhat more power.

Although I bet you could bet someone to modify the 359 and get about the same hp from a smaller saw with a few pounds less weight to carry.

If you're gonna use a 20" bar, I would opt for the 365. I have both of these and the 359 does not feel well balanced to me with the 20" bar.

Although the 365 does not carry the XP label, it has the same chassis as the 372 XP, only the jug, piston and intake boot being different. I converted mine to 372 in little more than an hour. Have never heard anything bad about the 365. It is pro quality. The extra cost over the 359 is worth it.

Frank

They are both pro saws. The 365 is an enigma to me-why bother with the smaller displacement on the 372 chassis? The 359 was supposedly aimed at the commercial forest thinning market.-The crews that are running through the woods cutting 6-8 inch trees for eight hours straight. That is an application where light weight and high chain speeds in a well balanced package shines. The 359 is over a pound lighter than the 365. I don't own either but I've looked at the 359 and would buy it over a 365.

The 372 is pretty close to a perfect Pro saw for general use-but a homeowner might be better served with a lighter saw-and the 359's numbers look really good to me, and I like the feel of the saw in my hands.:angel:

I run a jonsered 2159 same as a husky 359 it's a solid saw with a 16" bar, if you want to run a bigger bar get a bigger saw. My one complaint is the trigger assembly keeps falling out. The part that looks like a stretched out paper clip

372 and it's red sister, the Jonsered 2171 are high-performance pro saws, closed loop transfer ports, somewhat close to optimized power output for their displacement, but higher power comes at a price...an experienced user will understand how to keep them up un the powerband, while a neophyte will be a little frustrated until he learns to use that narrower powerband.

365 and 359 are open ported and designed in such a way as to make their power a little lower on the RPM range. While this makes them produce a little less overall power, they have a little wider range of useable torque and so are a little more friendly for the casual user.

There is also a 357, based on the same chassis as the 359, with the higher power design. A popular pro saw, but a little more money.

Please don't think of the XP badge as meaning the diff between pro and non-pro...the component parts are the same quality, so as long as the owner does their part all will provide good service life. XP means that the saw has the higher-performance porting scheme for more peak power...these parts are more expensive to produce, plus Husqvarna wants the consumer to believe that they have some special magic inside to justify the higher price.

I cut for years with a Jonsered 670 as my only full-sized saw. This saw is the same inside as the 266/268 XP husky, very similar to the current 365. When I siezed the 670, I found a 625 at an auction sale...again same size saw chassis, but a little less displacement. these saws balance well with a 20" bar, and have plenty of power to pull it in most conditions. Now I have both going again, but am looking to get the 357/359 size as the old bones are getting a little creaky after lugging the bigger saws around for more than a couple of hours.

The 359 does have a bit less overall power, but will handle a 20' bar if you need it. 16" will be more comfortable for the smaller sized power head though.

Thank-you to all who replied.

I appreciate the insight, and will pass it on to my Brother who is looking into these saws.

If you open the muffler on a 359, it should gain 15-20% in power, making it darn close to a 365....and you've saved some $. I'll bet you'd be mighty happy with it.

If you decide weight isn't a big consideration and opt for the 365, the little extra you'ld spend for a 372 would be well worth it. It's weight is close, almost another HP, and a better air filter.

Great post. I finally learned where my 365 fits in the whole scheme of things. When I needed a new chainsaw to split my time between firewood and sawlogs I chose the 365 special. My partner bought the 346xp and the 372xp. So we have a range of saws to use depending on our mood. I never understood the meaning of the 365 "special" designation. Does anyone know what it signifies?

If you can buy the 359 without the converter, I would buy it (18" 3/8ths), otherwise the 365 might be a better bet (20" 3/8ths). You start to run into a delima when you get to the 365 size chassis, because at that point you can have the 372 for the same weight, and it is a real hot rod.

happy jack, as far as those two saws are concerned, here is another option. The 357xp.
357xp/4.4hp/12.1lbs/$475
359/3.9hp/12.1/$399
365/4.6hp/13.0/$480
If it would be between these three mid-range saws, my nodd would be to the 357. Almost identical in power to the 365, a pound less, revs higher, and is cheaper. Mod the muffler and have a good time.

Husky

I have had a 365 SP for some time now and I am very pleased with its performance. Been using Stihls all my life(since tree work), but I really love the anti-vib on the Husky...

Jack,

I bought a 359 recently. It was in this forum, I think under "Husky 359 Piece of......"

I don't know a thing about the other model, but for what its worth, here's my .02c. Yea, I'm a newbie, but I did have experience w/a couple new 359s.

The thing was hard to start. After taking it back to ask someone to correct it, or refund/replace it, I got another one off of the shelf. I started it before taking it home, but it was tough. I think it was set too lean, but never did get it just right. I used it on some walnut and it sang like a bird. Extremely smooth. In spite of the springs for suspension, it worked well w/ that 20" bar. The company advertises it as a pro saw, and I was told that it is part plastic/ part Mg, but don't ask me which parts, I didn't look that closely. It felt great. Very ergonomic for me. Decent weight to power ratio. I liked it and would still have it if it weren't for two things:

1. After the first and only use, the qs grip safety broke. I didn't drop it or anything on it either. That's one reason that I thought at least THAT part was junk. And I make no apologies for saying it. Could it have been broken in transit. Not likely, the box didn't have a dent. Maybe if the place I bought it stocked this part, it'd be different and I'd be a happy jack too.

2. It was hard to start. It gets old awful fast pulling a plug and wiping it off, re-adjusting and cranking over and over again. It should have been right from the factory. They make umpteem of the same model. It shouldn't be that tough for Husky to send them out w/adjusted carbs right. When I took it back, nobody was available to service it, so I got a refund. Mine was pretty cheap cost wise because the store had a match plus 10% off polocy. Either way, I forgot the price and decided to spend a lot more and get a Stihl 361. It's a comparable saw power and feature wise. The dealer made some money off of it.......$572 after taxation w/out representation. It was hard to start too, but I didn't leave the place until the thing worked right. So far its about broken in and I'm happy w/it.

Guess I'd be happy w/the 359 too, IF I had service support and that part wasn't junk. Maybe keeping an extra or two on hand would've solved that problem. Honestly, I liked how that puppy ran when it did. Far more speed and power before the break in period, than the Stihl 361 BEFORE break in.

What ever you choose, hope it serves you well.

Noah

PS:

BTW, For what it matters, the 359s I bought were ones w/cat convert muffs. You can tell pretty quickly which is which by the t ank caps. The Non-cats have a green cap on the gas tank, while the color of the bar oil and gas caps are the same on the non-cats. The grip release part looked like they were the same on either vintage.

Noah,

you stated "The Non-cats have a green cap on the gas tank"

I think you were trying to say...
The Catlyt. Convtr. 359's are the ones that do have green gas caps and also say E-tech on the left/recoil side of the saw.

I am the brother of Happy Hack who bought the 359 and returned it to get the 357xp. But that was a whole other thread!

"stubble off idle" thread

Green gas caps on new Huskys = cnvtr. muffler

It is not uncommon to get saws, or any two cycle, from the box that is adjusted too lean. It is and EPA driven thing. They get worse all the time.

I have been running a 365 for a few years, and I have nothing bad to say about it. It always starts, has great power with a 20 inch bar, and has never given me a lick of trouble.

When the time comes, I am going to put a 372 jug and piston in it, and keep on rockin!

LogRite said:

I never understood the meaning of the 365 "special" designation. Does anyone know what it signifies?

Click to expand...

I own one of each. The non special model is the run of the mill saw, the special model has the side adjust chain tensioner, a semi transparent gas tank (easier to see through) and a slightly more angled top handle. Other than that, they are the same. The run at the same rpm and have the same power from the best I can tell.