Going to stir the pot. Stihl vs Husky.

[MaddBomber]

Where the heck is Husky? Dealers have all but completely dried up, zero exploratory dealerships, no military contracts...
What the heck? They make great saws...but they're almost a carbon copy of mccullough now.
Examples; 576 great saw. Heavy, but par power. Loggers rejected it.... internationally.
550xp. Another great saw. Strong 50cc with gobs of power. But.... Stihl's 261 spanks it. Real talk. It's definitely close, similar weight, similar handling, but the 346 days are over. Not even the mk 2.1, or mk 3.0 or whatever "stihl killer" they market (barely) can truly compete. Real world, it's almost hands down.
572xp. What a step in the wrong direction!! Seriously Husky??! That's what we've been waiting for?!? An unavailable saw that's pounds heavier than the competition, with fractions of a second per cut advantage? Really?
Am I the only one that remembers the 044 vs 371xp fights? Ounces were EVERYTHING!! Now full pounds don't matter?? Seriously? !!
Not to mention the 500i. What competes with that? The 390xp? What?!? At 10 more cc's, almost 3 POUNDS heavier and noticeably slower cut times?
Now this magnesium piston MS400c that's completely ripping through the 65cc market.
I'm confused. I'm saddened.
I've just come off of almost a week with a borrowed, 2020 572xp.... All I could think of was how much I missed my light MS462. The weight difference is just indescribable....
I bought my father, a retired timberman, then firewood salesman and a true Husqvarna fan,... a 550xp for Christmas. Went to cut a few cords with him.... he only wanted to run my MS261.... And the reasons aren't mysterious.
Where and what is husqvarna doing?
Box stores? Electric? All while stihl completely dominates huge areas and essentially now owns almost all timber plots.... that were once strictly Husky?!?
Dang!

 

[Woodslasher]

I dunno, parts prices give Husky an edge. Plus, my 562 is the most loved saw in several fleets. All that being said, the only grail saw I don’t have or haven’t had is a 500i.

 

[TNsawman]

I'm not complaining about weight when the 572 is resting on a log chugging away with a 36" bar, and lubing every inch of it.

 

[MaddBomber]

No $#!+
The 562 is an awesome saw! Absolutely no complaints from me. But they tend to burn out thier bearings and seals almost masochistically.
Every saw has its weak spot. The 390xp was, and still is, my favorite chainsaw ever built.. but every five years the seals let go, or it spins a bearing.
By no means am I taking anything away from it's power and feel. But maintenance is all that matters these days.
Not weight and power.

 

[MaddBomber]

I'm not complaining about weight when the 572 is resting on a log chugging away with a 36" bar, and lubing every inch of it.

I completely understand that. But my fitbit told me that I did 7 miles yesterday....on 6 acres!!! Trust me, it wasn't flat and level. Try humping that thing for 5 hours up and down mountains searching for marked trees.
Honestly, it's not bad. Great saw!! Good power. Smooth as can be.
Then do it with a 462.
It's absolutely ridiculous to compare. It's like carrying a 2 year old kid vs a 5 year old.... But they both talk, read, and say the exact same thing.
If it was between the 572 and the 461... That's a tough decision. Really really tough.
Now keep that power, but take a pound off. Ounces truly matter! Husqvarna taught me that. (Actually Jonsered did, but same difference).
Suddenly it's irrelevant because of numbers? Or cookies?? What?!

 

[Woodslasher]

I completely understand that. But my fitbit told me that I did 7 miles yesterday....on 6 acres!!! Trust me, it wasn't flat and level. Try humping that thing for 5 hours up and down mountains searching for marked trees.
Honestly, it's not bad. Great saw!! Good power. Smooth as can be.
Then do it with a 462.
It's absolutely ridiculous to compare. It's like carrying a 2 year old kid vs a 5 year old.... But they both talk, read, and say the exact same thing.
If it was between the 572 and the 461... That's a tough decision. Really really tough.
Now keep that power, but take a pound off. Ounces truly matter! Husqvarna taught me that. (Actually Jonsered did, but same difference).
Suddenly it's irrelevant because of numbers? Or cookies?? What?!

Yeah, hiking a couple miles up and down hills with a 372 wearing a 32 is a hell of a lot more tiring than carrying a 562 with a 24 the same distance.

 

[MaddBomber]

I'm not complaining about weight when the 572 is resting on a log chugging away with a 36" bar, and lubing every inch of it.

If I were you, I'd mothball that 572 and get a 462 to actually use until it's junk.
With the way the Husky dealers are drying up and how Stihl is outselling husky pro saws by exponential numbers; it'll be worth something someday.

 

[Woodslasher]

If I were you, I'd mothball that 572 and get a 462 to actually use until it's junk.
With the way the Husky dealers are drying up and how Stihl is outselling husky pro saws by exponential numbers; it'll be worth something someday.

There’s a combined Husky and Stihl dealer nearby, but my local Husky shop closed when the owner moved to CO while the True Value Stihl shop is still going. It’s kinda sad to see Husky start to disappear, I hope it doesn’t vanish entirely as new Stihls are too plastic-y for my tastes. Plus, True Value Stihls suck when it comes to anything other than just buying a saw, and “saw-shops” are getting to be few and far between. I love my 1, 2, and 3-series Huskys and the 562 is pretty slick, but it does seem like Stihl is crowding Husky out, unless the 59* turns out to be the greatest saw in the history of mankind.

 

[MaddBomber]

Yeah, hiking a couple miles up and down hills with a 372 wearing a 32 is a hell of a lot more tiring than carrying a 562 with a 24 the same distance.

I absolutely love the 372/2072. Revolutionary!! Game changer. Truly.. EPIC!!
And THAT is my beef. My heartache. The 572 feels like a follower. A 461 hunter. Nothing innovative at all. Bad weight to power, considering the competition. It's undeniable that the 462 is in a different class. Weight alone. Seriously, the power of a 372 with the weight of a 353.
Seriously, run them both. Drop ten trees with each in one day limbed and logged..... Hundreds of feet away from each other, on a 30-45° angle.
That's the difference.....Not fractions of a second per cut. That's completely irrelevant.
Just try it....you'll understand.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

I feel like most newer saws from both brands feel inferior to their predecessor models, 261 for example...good power but not stand out power from the 260. 260 feels more solid.

572xp doesn't feel as well built as the 372xp.

All the small husky homeowner saws feel cheesy...at least the old 141/142 saws felt like they were put together. Its rare for a husky to come in without at least one cover latch busted off.

I feel like the big 2 are regressing quality, like husky with the ongoing bearing failures and before that the porous cylinders and peeling coatings.

Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk

 

[Woodslasher]

I feel like most newer saws from both brands feel inferior to their predecessor models, 261 for example...good power but not stand out power from the 260. 260 feels more solid.

572xp doesn't feel as well built as the 372xp.

All the small husky homeowner saws feel cheesy...at least the old 141/142 saws felt like they were put together. Its rare for a husky to come in without at least one cover latch busted off.

I feel like the big 2 are regressing quality, like husky with the ongoing bearing failures and before that the porous cylinders and peeling coatings.

Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk

Amen! I worked on a 261, a 362, and a 460 Stihl and while the plastic clutch-side cover plates felt cheesy on all 3, the 460 felt the the most solid and durable of the three. That being said, take a 10-series Mac and tear it down, then take a non-pro Stihl or Husky, heck, even a pro A/T or Moronic saw down and tell me which was easier to tear down and which felt more durable. Out of the all of the big two's models, 2-series Husky seem like the most solid, durable, easy to work on saws I've ever touched.

 

[MaddBomber]

I feel like most newer saws from both brands feel inferior to their predecessor models, 261 for example...good power but not stand out power from the 260. 260 feels more solid.

I absolutely agree!!! I own both. Love both. For limbing hardwoods, I'll always pick the MS260.
Those two saws are almost incomparable because of weight and feelable size.
Now imagine less difference in power to within fractions of a second per cut....
That's the 572 vs 462 debate.
Yes!! The husky is more torquey......but it just FEELS bigger, but without the significant power advantage.
Different classes.

 

[MaddBomber]

I'm sorry to rant. I'm just heartbroken. Stihl has it. JRed is gone. Husky has bloated stuff with some kind of paint on performance version of silver. I feel like it's just game over. Mac revisited.
Now it's down to having stihl prices compete with stihl prices over stihl prices. Husky isn't even in the professional equation anymore. Even Echo (great saws!!) is edging them out of this market.
I mean jeez!! I've run two 500i's before I could find anyone with a 572... Not because of demand, but because of order times. None of the professional timber companies here have anything husky besides me. They're strictly stihl. 4 years ago, (aside from the MS200) you couldn't find a single stihl in anyone's truck.
This is completely by husky's own doing.
Maybe the Left coast is different, but on the atlantic, husky is far and few between, and unfortunately, they're carrying inferior products...

 

[MaddBomber]

We wait what....six years for the 500 series premier saw... And what the eff? A heavier version of the 372?? With a beefy 044 torque band?? When the entire allure of the 372 was it's nimble power....
Umm.. I absolutely HATE to say it... But right now, Stihl dominates nimble power.
Yes, I enjoy a torquey, heavy saw.... 30 years ago. Just lay it in some wood and hold the throttle wide open.
It comes down to this; at what cost?
Sure the 572 has more grunt!! For it's weight, it definitely should. But at tens of US dollars cheaper with a POUND of weight?? For fractions of a second?!?
When it comes down to putting the chain in bark, slinging chips, and being paid by the board feet or... facing bonuses for completion dates... Give me substantially lighter weight in exchange for.... whatever husky is (not) selling.
I appreciate good saws!! I truly do. But cookies are different...... Very different.

 

[MaddBomber]

The MS462 is surprising....with it's power and weight ... compared to the 044, 046, MS440 and even the MS441.
The 572 is not. It instantly feels like a bloated, slower, heavier 372xtorq that's... almost unobtainable.
My bottom line:
I hold a 572 and I miss my 372.
I hold a 462 and I say, "DANG!! This thing is light, and it just rips."

C'mon husky!! You owned the 65cc to 95cc market!! Owned it!
Now??? WtHeck?????!!!!
Step the eff up!!

 

[gsonwg]

Maybe the Left coast is different, but on the atlantic, husky is far and few between, and unfortunately, they're carrying inferior products...

I have lived in South Carolina my whole life and honestly never even thought about Husky until fairly recently. Stihl seems to have dominated to the game around here for a while. Although I’m probably not the best person to ask about new stuff because my two main saws are a 288xp and an 038mag. Actually selling my 362 because I just like the old stuff better. I have zero issue with the newish 362, other than the dang limiter caps, but the old stuff just excites me more I guess.

 

[hseII]

I have lived in South Carolina my whole life and honestly never even thought about Husky until fairly recently. Stihl seems to have dominated to the game around here for a while. Although I’m probably not the best person to ask about new stuff because my two main saws are a 288xp and an 038mag. Actually selling my 362 because I just like the old stuff better. I have zero issue with the newish 362, other than the dang limiter caps, but the old stuff just excites me more I guess.

Near some of the mills in South Carolina there was a Husky dealer that had it going on during the 1980s-2000s.

They supplied all the cutting crews with 266s to 268s to 272s to 371s to 372s.

Had a guy that would go around the county on Friday at dinner & pick up all the saws to be worked on.( which was all of them if I had to guess)

He & his guys would spend all day Saturday & Sunday getting these saws back into cutting shape & deliver them to the shops before Monday morning.


Of course they had to do this to keep them things running, but dealer support.

Shealy Chain Saws in Prosperity, SC.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[BangBang77]

We get it. You like Stihls. So do I as most of my fleet is Stihl with the exception of a few Dolmars.

But there is not a design issue with current Husqvarna saws. It's a Ford versus Chevy argument. Different strokes for different folks.

Drunk post much?????

 

[Timber MacFallen]

Based on the 550xp mk2 and the 572xp Husqvarna had a very concentrated and singular focus on durability/reliability followed by everything else. It's not rocket science to build a lightweight chainsaw and it's not really a big cost issue (the Echo CS-501P is lighter than the Stihl MS261 and the 550xp mk2 and it's less expensive than either). However, if you're going to go extremely light you have to push things to the limit (thinner metals, lighter bearings, more plastics) and you don't leave lots of margin for error.

I suspect management and strategy teams pushed the engineers to overbuild the saws and ensure they squash the reliability concerns. Time will tell if they succeeded but so far the teardown overviews of the build quality and the low rate of comeback I've heard from Husky shops suggest they got it right.

The weight concerns may not be as big as we make it out to be on an Internet forum, but time will tell if Husky responds. If dealers don't complain and sales stay positive then there's little reason to reinvent these saws. Ask Echo if playing the weight game makes any difference to buyers. They gave you the lightest 50cc saw in the United States and no one cares too much.

Concerns over power are unfounded to some extent depending on the models. My family has both the MS261 and the 550xp mk2 and the MS261 has never been faster through any piece of wood I've tried. It also feels a touch more peaky in the rev range.

Lastly, I prefer the ergonomics of the Husky saws. The kill switch setup (intuitive downward press), front and rear balance with long bars and large handle grips suit me better. Pricing has also been better and you can get a five year warranty if you want.

Stihl wins the power to weight game right now and has done a great job with the MS462 and MS400, but it's not the whole story.

 

[mudfly]

still is, my favorite chainsaw ever built.. but every five years the seals let go, or it spins a bearing.
By no means am I taking anything away from it's power and feel. But maintenance is all that matters these days.
Not weight and power

Follow your own quote here. Maintenance is all that matters. Not power and weight. Maybe the 462 will last forever, but from what I've heard the 572 has the better design for longevity.
To me I'd rather have a saw that lasts longer than cuts a fraction of a second quicker. If the weight bothers me I'd grab a smaller saw.

maybe I'm just a husky fan, but I don't care for Stihls current offerings.