Well, the 029 hardly is a worthy "milestone" to compare to, as that signals you are discussing really crappy saws....:taped:
I think you are missing the point by a mile here...proly something like 95% of the wood cut in the USA is cut by joe homeowners and farmers wielding cheap poulans, stihl 290s, husky 235s or 435s, box store small echoes, etc. there's a huge market in the under 300 dollar (or so) saws. Because really, that is all they need. There are millions, literally millions, of people who won't go through two gallons of mix a year, counting both the saw and the weed whacker. Something like the pp5020 fits the bill just fine for a lot of people, same with the 290. Little bit heavier or doesn't cut as fast as a 346 or 261, pfft, they won't know or care and are not going to spend double or triple to get that three seconds faster in a bucking cut time or two lbs lighter saw. They just ain't gonna drop *another* 300 bucks more on a saw looks almost the same to them while sitting on the shelf. I saw this just a couple weeks ago at the local husky shop, joe homeowner came in, they got a 346xp there..they showed him a..I forget, a 445?/something, home owner grade for much cheaper, the around 300 buck saw.. why? They want to make a sale, not have the dude walk out and go someplace else. And that saw will work for that guy for what he needs. He doesn't need or want the 500 buck saw, plus tax and BS, comes out to 550 bucks. No sale at that level to 95% of the saw buying public.
And they know when one of the dwindling in numbers fast local pro cutters come in, they have that grade (346 and 372, etc) for those guys (most timber here is now mechanized harvester cut). They can pay for that extra quality because in part, not only a nicer day to day production saw, but it is a tax writeoff as well. They make more money easier plus get a writeoff on the saw.
Different saw strokes for different folks.
200 bucks for a new 50 cc saw ain't too shabby, even if it is a light duty saw.
Heck, that was exactly me six years ago, I cut all my personal firewood and all my necessary farm work trimming, fencelines and pasture edges, with a 200 buck husky 137 for four years. Bought it new, my first new saw, in 2006. I only got into larger saws and this site from getting nailed with the tornado two years ago and just slap needed "more" saw, then just got into it more. I am still learning daily, how to work better on saws, how to work WITH saws better, etc.
That little husky is still pulling strong today and I could still do all my firewood and work with it if that is all I had. the bigger saws are nice now because i can tackle larger trees easier and so on, but it isn't an absolute necessity either. Pro saw..nope..big..nope..but it was only 200 clams and worked just fine for me. If the tornado hadn't hit here I doubt I would have gotten another saw. I recognize now being able to tackle larger trees is a good thing plus it is fun, I am enjoying it and in this weather I am cutting daily, but short of emergency work..the 2-300 dollar homeowner grade saws -any brand- work well for the vast majority of people who cut out there today.
