First post to this site. Found it during a Google search while researching saws, and just wanted to thank those here who regularly provide lots of good data and feedback about their experiences with various equipment. I regularly visit multiple web forums for various things, and this looks to be one of the good ones.
I'm a somewhat infrequent chainsaw user, but a 4th-generation Oregon native, so I've cut my share of wood in my lifetime. I've primarily been using my father-in-law's Husky (not sure of the model) for the past few years. He (82 years old) heats his house on the Oregon coast with wood, so I get to cut/split all of that wood for him each year, and I live on a pretty big and heavily wooded (bigleaf maple, mostly) lot that has trees coming down fairly regularly. Decided it was finally time to buy my own saw. Was looking in the Stihl 290/310/390 and Husky 455/460/359 range, and went to a few dealers to give them all a heft. Was leaning toward the 390 or 359, and then did some more research online, found this site, and decided I'd best go check out a few other options, such as the 361 and the 357. Was originally trying to stay in the $400-450 range, but I'm one of those guys who will willingly pay a little more for a higher-quality tool, believing that I should hopefully only ever have to buy said tool one time. And while I'm nowhere near a "pro" chainsaw user, I don't see any reason not to buy the higher-quality tool, even if it will only be used infrequently. I take great care of my tools, and feel that running a chainsaw is hard/dangerous work, and I'll therefore happily pay a bit more for a better tool.
The best price I could find around here for the 357 was about $620, and about $590 (that's the 20" current MSRP, I believe) for the 361. Based heavily upon the love shown on this site for the 361, that's what I got. The dealer gave it to me for $569, and he gave me a case and 2nd chain for $29. And the obligatory Stihl hat, of course.
Gave it its first exercise this weekend, cutting up a 20" maple that came down in the last storm. Worked great. Can't compare it to those other saws I was considering, but it ran strong, and with a nice new chain it made short work of that maple. INFINITELY smoother than my father-in-law's Husky. Stihl seems to have that anti-vib thing sorted out pretty well.
Anyway, thanks again for the comments and suggestions to other posters that I found during my research. Steered me toward what I think I will come to regard as a great long-term purchase.
I'm a somewhat infrequent chainsaw user, but a 4th-generation Oregon native, so I've cut my share of wood in my lifetime. I've primarily been using my father-in-law's Husky (not sure of the model) for the past few years. He (82 years old) heats his house on the Oregon coast with wood, so I get to cut/split all of that wood for him each year, and I live on a pretty big and heavily wooded (bigleaf maple, mostly) lot that has trees coming down fairly regularly. Decided it was finally time to buy my own saw. Was looking in the Stihl 290/310/390 and Husky 455/460/359 range, and went to a few dealers to give them all a heft. Was leaning toward the 390 or 359, and then did some more research online, found this site, and decided I'd best go check out a few other options, such as the 361 and the 357. Was originally trying to stay in the $400-450 range, but I'm one of those guys who will willingly pay a little more for a higher-quality tool, believing that I should hopefully only ever have to buy said tool one time. And while I'm nowhere near a "pro" chainsaw user, I don't see any reason not to buy the higher-quality tool, even if it will only be used infrequently. I take great care of my tools, and feel that running a chainsaw is hard/dangerous work, and I'll therefore happily pay a bit more for a better tool.
The best price I could find around here for the 357 was about $620, and about $590 (that's the 20" current MSRP, I believe) for the 361. Based heavily upon the love shown on this site for the 361, that's what I got. The dealer gave it to me for $569, and he gave me a case and 2nd chain for $29. And the obligatory Stihl hat, of course.
Gave it its first exercise this weekend, cutting up a 20" maple that came down in the last storm. Worked great. Can't compare it to those other saws I was considering, but it ran strong, and with a nice new chain it made short work of that maple. INFINITELY smoother than my father-in-law's Husky. Stihl seems to have that anti-vib thing sorted out pretty well.
Anyway, thanks again for the comments and suggestions to other posters that I found during my research. Steered me toward what I think I will come to regard as a great long-term purchase.
