Redmax have been strato for at least 15-20 years. They are the ones who patented most of the technology related to strato charging, autotune/mtronic, etc. I've owned them since the beginning and they are stone reliable and trouble free. I would never go back to a traditional two stroke trimmer or blower at this point. The stratos are much cleaner, get much better fuel economy and have more torque.
Every 372 I owned came with the high top besides the XPG models. The low top makes the saw look much smaller. When I logged I mostly used the high tops. But the 2 XPG's I owned worked fine with the flocked filter. I wouldn't run a mesh filter on anything, ever.