Thats funny how this turned into the "290 bashfest 2007" thread. :fart:
I think that AS in general is a giant forum dedicated to bashing the Stihl MS290. If anyone posts anything about a 290, the Husky dog teams come running along towing their sleds and start picking them apart. Then they get bashed again by the supersized StihlHead beer drinkers, and then by the WitldThang lovers.
Amusing though, as I really do not get THAT much better performance out of my 361 than the 290 (certainly not when compared to the price difference), and the weight difference is not really noticable. And I run it with a 20 inch bar all the time (over 4 years now), which seemingly is a sin in the Eastern USA and Europe for some reason. I have west coast long bar disease I guess? Dunno, it runs FINE and I get that German zing running it, even though it is a boat anchor only worthy of being a door stop. :bang:
Amusing also that this is Stihl's best selling saw, even with all that bashing. Seems the bashing has little effect, or like the anual Playboy centerfold searches on many a college campus, all the anti-???? demonstrations do is get more publicity and then more women turn out for photo shoots. I have yet to stop using my 290 becasue I was told that it is too heavy, too underpowered, too bulky, has too much plastic, makes me look stupid using it, it is a HOMEOWNER SAW (point point, how dare you use THAT in a professional capacity), or that it makes me gay. I mean, you would think that the thing was a 170 or something.
Personally I think that if you want to trash a Stihl saw line, go after the 210/230/250 line. The 250 is about the same price as a 290 and they tend to self-destruct. The clutch housing basically does a melt-down and the oil pump housing warps and the tank melts open. I have seen a Hell of a lot of these melted and fried units come up on Ebay, and it has happened to me on a 250 that I had (sold as parts on Ebay a few weeks ago; I got a whopping 99 cents for the melted-through body). Run them too long and they are toast. Run a 290 all day and it keeps on going.
Oh well. The 361 is the Beloved Jewell of AS, while the 290 is the Evil AS Saw to be scorned. Some things will never change I guess.