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So you want (or need) a chainsaw. The two companies that lead the market are Husqvarna and Stihl. Both companies have tremendous brand loyalty among their customers, so it seems unfortunate that most people upon buying a saw from one of them feel compelled to continue buying saws from only that company. Debating which of these two companies makes a better saw is as timeless a discussion as Coke vs Pepsi, Marvel or DC, Fender vs Gibson, or whether Ford is better than Chevy. In many regards, you are buying into a product family with non-compatible hardware (the bars and chains are often not interchangeable) much like when you buy a camera you might find yourself choosing between Nikon and Canon (the lenses are not interchangeable), or for the younger generation, contemplating between Apple and Android (the apps are not compatible). The truth is that both of these chainsaw companies make (many) great products, and within their product lines both companies have saws that have good features. There is no “one saw is best” or “one company is best”. Compare two similar sized saws from both companies and you might find one saw excels in one area with a tradeoff in another; such as one cuts quicker, but weighs more and is less fuel efficient. In reality you really can’t go wrong if buying from either of these two companies in terms of durability, quality, and repairability, but if you want to get into the nitty-gritty of choosing the right saw for you, read on.
Husqvarna is a Swedish company while Stihl is a German company. [NB: Both companies have begun integrating more Chinese parts (like carburetors and bars) into their saws, which is unfortunate] but normal in today's world of trying to offer competitive pricing. Both companies make quality products and have been making chainsaws for a long time and both companies make saws in various sizes geared to different users. The first thing to understand in a comparison between these companies are that they both cater two two different markets: homeowners and professionals.
Homeowner saws are generally cheaper, have smaller displacement engines, shorter bars, and plastic crank cases which result in lighter weight, vs the pro saws which are for loggers, forestry and lawn care workers, and other professionals. The homeowner saws are generally under 55cc and run up to a 18” or 20” bar. The Professional saws generally pick up at 50cc and run up to over 100cc for more power to run longer bars for cutting bigger trees, have aluminum or magnesium crank cases for greater durability, as well as other features (such as rim sprockets instead of spur sprockets) that make them more useful for full-time use. There are also some middle class, “pro-sumer” saws, sometimes called “farm owner”, which are generally for more than just the “weekend warrior” cutters, and feature slightly larger displacement engines than the homeowner saws in the 50-60cc range, slightly more power, and slightly longer bars.
As most things in life, you get what you pay for, and the cheaper homeowner saws often lack power and wear out faster and for this reason you may have heard someone bashing one brand or another because of their experience that they are always having to “rebuild” a particular saw from one company. But the more expensive saws from both companies are more powerful and last much longer, and generally you won’t find one brand wearing out any faster than the other brand in the pro-saw category.
The second thing to realize is that different saws are designed to meet different needs. There are little top-handled 35cc pro saws that run 12-16 inch bars that are great for climbing arborists; they weigh next to nothing and are good for taking off limbs on trees. This is what they were designed to do, and they are not by any means worse than another saw unless the task is different than their intended design. There are larger saws that are designed to run bars over 36” and are specifically made for felling large trees. Bar length is matched to saw displacement and generally larger bars should only be run by larger sized saws. Saying that your XX brand saw can or can’t run a longer bar than it came with is not a measure of how “good” a saw is. As a rule of thumb, in the pro-level saws, the bar length should be no greater than one third the engine displacement. Consider the following matching suggestion when using full comp (non-skip) chain:
40cc - 14” for hardwood, 16” for softwood A good saw for pruning or limbing trees
50cc - 18” for hardwood, 20” for softwood Good for small trees
60cc - 20” for hardwood, 24” for softwood Good for small to medium trees
70cc - 24” for hardwood, 28” for softwood Good for medium to large trees
80cc - 28” for hardwood, 32” for softwood Good for large trees
90cc - 32” for hardwood, 36” for softwood Good for very large trees
100cc - 36"+ and for use with chainsaw milling Good for the biggest trees
These numbers are somewhat loose, but they give you an idea of what kind of bar length you can match to for a saw of given engine displacement. These numbers are based off the maximum comfortable bar length you can run if the saw is buried in wood. There are two considerations when matching bar length to saw. The first and most obvious is the power of the saw to pull the chain around a longer bar, since a longer bar with more teeth will create more resistance and require more power. The second consideration is that smaller saws cannot oil longer bars as well, and so even if you put a longer bar on a smaller saw and aren’t leaning on it in the cut, while it may be able to pull the chain, it may not be oiling it very effectively.
Another point to consider when choosing a bar length is that often the saw is not buried in wood (on smaller trees or when limbing), which would imply you could choose a slightly longer bar than suggested, but also that a bar can cut twice the diameter wood as it is long (for example, if cutting a tree from both sides), which would suggest you could get by with a shorter bar if it were all you had. When choosing a saw and a bar length it is important to gauge the typical type of wood you will be using it on. Sometimes there is no typical variety, and the saw will be used for a variety of tasks: hardwood and softwood, bigger trees and smaller branches. Some people might be tempted to over-buy a bigger saw for their needs, which may be fine until they realize that larger saws weigh a lot more, and those extra pounds can add up to early fatigue at the end of a day of use. Of course you can always run a larger saw with a shorter bar to carry less weight and use higher tooth sprockets to provide more power to the cut. We’ll talk more about sprocket tooth count later.
You can also get by with a smaller saw and run a slightly larger bar than recommended if you switch to skip-tooth chain - it may not cut as quickly, but for the occasional "large job" it can suffice. We’ll talk more about chain types (round, square, chisel vs semi chisel and skip-tooth) later. Some people buy only one saw for all their cutting needs, but they may buy multiple bars to accomplish different tasks: a “longer” bar for felling and bucking, and a shorter bar for pruning and limbing. For those with deeper pockets or greater needs they may want to consider building a “fleet” of saws for different jobs, so it would be beneficial to purchase saws that have non-overlapping task abilities. You may sometimes hear reference to this as a “three saw plan.” Depending on the type of cutting you do, that may be a 40cc / 50cc / 70cc group of saws, or a 50cc / 75cc / 90cc group of saws.
Husqvarna is a Swedish company while Stihl is a German company. [NB: Both companies have begun integrating more Chinese parts (like carburetors and bars) into their saws, which is unfortunate] but normal in today's world of trying to offer competitive pricing. Both companies make quality products and have been making chainsaws for a long time and both companies make saws in various sizes geared to different users. The first thing to understand in a comparison between these companies are that they both cater two two different markets: homeowners and professionals.
Homeowner saws are generally cheaper, have smaller displacement engines, shorter bars, and plastic crank cases which result in lighter weight, vs the pro saws which are for loggers, forestry and lawn care workers, and other professionals. The homeowner saws are generally under 55cc and run up to a 18” or 20” bar. The Professional saws generally pick up at 50cc and run up to over 100cc for more power to run longer bars for cutting bigger trees, have aluminum or magnesium crank cases for greater durability, as well as other features (such as rim sprockets instead of spur sprockets) that make them more useful for full-time use. There are also some middle class, “pro-sumer” saws, sometimes called “farm owner”, which are generally for more than just the “weekend warrior” cutters, and feature slightly larger displacement engines than the homeowner saws in the 50-60cc range, slightly more power, and slightly longer bars.
As most things in life, you get what you pay for, and the cheaper homeowner saws often lack power and wear out faster and for this reason you may have heard someone bashing one brand or another because of their experience that they are always having to “rebuild” a particular saw from one company. But the more expensive saws from both companies are more powerful and last much longer, and generally you won’t find one brand wearing out any faster than the other brand in the pro-saw category.
The second thing to realize is that different saws are designed to meet different needs. There are little top-handled 35cc pro saws that run 12-16 inch bars that are great for climbing arborists; they weigh next to nothing and are good for taking off limbs on trees. This is what they were designed to do, and they are not by any means worse than another saw unless the task is different than their intended design. There are larger saws that are designed to run bars over 36” and are specifically made for felling large trees. Bar length is matched to saw displacement and generally larger bars should only be run by larger sized saws. Saying that your XX brand saw can or can’t run a longer bar than it came with is not a measure of how “good” a saw is. As a rule of thumb, in the pro-level saws, the bar length should be no greater than one third the engine displacement. Consider the following matching suggestion when using full comp (non-skip) chain:
40cc - 14” for hardwood, 16” for softwood A good saw for pruning or limbing trees
50cc - 18” for hardwood, 20” for softwood Good for small trees
60cc - 20” for hardwood, 24” for softwood Good for small to medium trees
70cc - 24” for hardwood, 28” for softwood Good for medium to large trees
80cc - 28” for hardwood, 32” for softwood Good for large trees
90cc - 32” for hardwood, 36” for softwood Good for very large trees
100cc - 36"+ and for use with chainsaw milling Good for the biggest trees
These numbers are somewhat loose, but they give you an idea of what kind of bar length you can match to for a saw of given engine displacement. These numbers are based off the maximum comfortable bar length you can run if the saw is buried in wood. There are two considerations when matching bar length to saw. The first and most obvious is the power of the saw to pull the chain around a longer bar, since a longer bar with more teeth will create more resistance and require more power. The second consideration is that smaller saws cannot oil longer bars as well, and so even if you put a longer bar on a smaller saw and aren’t leaning on it in the cut, while it may be able to pull the chain, it may not be oiling it very effectively.
Another point to consider when choosing a bar length is that often the saw is not buried in wood (on smaller trees or when limbing), which would imply you could choose a slightly longer bar than suggested, but also that a bar can cut twice the diameter wood as it is long (for example, if cutting a tree from both sides), which would suggest you could get by with a shorter bar if it were all you had. When choosing a saw and a bar length it is important to gauge the typical type of wood you will be using it on. Sometimes there is no typical variety, and the saw will be used for a variety of tasks: hardwood and softwood, bigger trees and smaller branches. Some people might be tempted to over-buy a bigger saw for their needs, which may be fine until they realize that larger saws weigh a lot more, and those extra pounds can add up to early fatigue at the end of a day of use. Of course you can always run a larger saw with a shorter bar to carry less weight and use higher tooth sprockets to provide more power to the cut. We’ll talk more about sprocket tooth count later.
You can also get by with a smaller saw and run a slightly larger bar than recommended if you switch to skip-tooth chain - it may not cut as quickly, but for the occasional "large job" it can suffice. We’ll talk more about chain types (round, square, chisel vs semi chisel and skip-tooth) later. Some people buy only one saw for all their cutting needs, but they may buy multiple bars to accomplish different tasks: a “longer” bar for felling and bucking, and a shorter bar for pruning and limbing. For those with deeper pockets or greater needs they may want to consider building a “fleet” of saws for different jobs, so it would be beneficial to purchase saws that have non-overlapping task abilities. You may sometimes hear reference to this as a “three saw plan.” Depending on the type of cutting you do, that may be a 40cc / 50cc / 70cc group of saws, or a 50cc / 75cc / 90cc group of saws.