There's nothing wrong with good lo-pro chain at all, but it sounds like you're confusing it with anti-kickback safety chain with the big rakers between the cutters. That stuff IS crap. But a good-quality 3/8" low-pro is pretty much the best you can do for a smaller saw that's designed for it. Here's a video I made a few days ago of my tiny 26cc muffler-modded Homelite XL-2 pulling a 16" semi-chisel lo-pro chain in 14" dry Douglas Fir:
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EDIT: Embedding doesn't seem to be working, at least on this computer right now, so in case it isn't
here's the direct link.
No speed demon to be sure, but I think it cuts acceptably all things considered.
3/8" full-skip (and ONLY full-skip) chisel might
work for you on a 20" bar
if you can find a 6-pin sprocket to run it on, AND you muffler-mod and/or port the engine a little bit. 33cc stock just isn't going to be very usable pulling a 20" if it's totally buried, even in softwood. If you did put a 20" chisel chain on that little Homelite, you'd likely have to file the cutters back to 60-75% so the rakers were set at about .010" - .015" at most to keep it from being grabby and bogging down. And at that point, you'd be making sawdust instead of chips. Kep in mind that a full-chisel 3/8 chain will cut a kerf 1/5 to 1/4 wider than a low-pro chain, which may not
sound like a whole lot, but can make a world of difference with small saws.
If I were you, I'd stick with the 16" and buy a good non-safety chain for it. The saw would likely cut wood larger than 16" faster by making two passes from both sides of the log than it would with a 20" bar. Just my opinion, not based on any real on-hand data or anything. On the other hand, if you want the longer bar for easier limbing and less bending over, and not for cutting bigger wood, then it would be your call - just use caution since the 20" will leave a lot more exposed bar tip than you're used to with the 16.
