I suppose I'm risking heresy, but I don't think that the 295 is a bad saw. I can't say I've read anything on the "side adjust model, but if you do a search on the site for "295," you'll find that some folks say some fairly positive things about it.
I came into a craftsman 2.7 (basically the same model in gray) for 5 bucks at a garage sale. They said sometimes it ran and sometimes it didn't. I chalked it up to operator error, because when I got it home and put a tune on it, it started and ran flawlessly (to the jaw-dropping amazement of my wife, whom I suddenly realized had been of the silent opinion that I knew no more about chainsaws than I did brain surgery). Even though it is clearly an unadorned homeowner model, the saw has run great and produces decent power. Its no replacement for my nicer saws, but I don't have a thing negative to say about it. I have cut a boatload of wood with it and everything on it works as well as the day I got it....and it was well used then! Compression on the saw is still very impressive.
My impression is that there is nothing special about it, really.... it's not built with the quality or engineering of the old 300/3000 series, but it's not as cheap as the more recent cheeseball wild... shark... whatEVER saws, which I feel are pretty much all the same saw in various colors and displacements.. It has enough quality to last and is engineered well enough to do the job at hand. The only real negative thing I've heard about this saw is that folks would like the oiler to put out more.
I don't think the saw even made my runners list, but now I think I'm going add it 'cuz I'm just feeling a bit saucy. Maybe I'll even do a little modding on this saw just to see what it can do!
