newish to climbing, fill me in!

[clp13294]

Hey guys, im a little new to climbing, im new to the forum as well. i have some experience in climbing but im not an expert by any means. reason i joined the forum was actually because i took on my first climbing job today in about 2 years so its been a while since ive been in a tree, but anyways i was searching for saws because i burned up my saw today(echo cs 360t) which i am pissed about because i love that dam thing, cuts amazingly and its light! oh well i got my husky 338XPT which i also love but i need new chains for it they are all stretched, but when i searched "what are some good climbing saws" on google, one of the thread topics popped up and here i am. but back to saws, i feel like the husky is a little heavier and i dont like the lanyard attachment, its tough to fit a carabiner through the plastic loop. i liked the echo where you just clip it on the METAL ring, and zip up the tree. i feel like the husky starts better too. but now im in the market for another saw and some new gear, can you guys recommend me any good saddles/saws? when i got out of climbing originally i sold most of my climbing stuff, only things i kept were a cheesy orange belt(belt, not saddle) that slips up over your waist once your up there things a PITA, and i kept my spikes too and some rope but thats it. hope to hear from you guys, id love to get back in the field.

 

[troythetreeman]

i love my echo cs 341 as a climber, a lot of guys swear by stihl 200t
i also like weaver saddles
for trimming you should learn to climb spikeless, the industry is pushing that way pretty hard

 

[beowulf343]

Husky 346

 

[clp13294]

yeah i have heard a lot of good about the ms200t but its just out of the price range for me. i think i will look into possibly another husky, although i would love another echo i feel like they arent made the same today as they were 4 years or so ago when i got it. what are some other useful tools to look into for climbing? i usually just climb with my saw and some rope but i see people with all these tools and im not familiar with any of them at all. i do agree that the industry is leaning towards spikeless climbing i have noticed, but for me i dont do trimming a whole lot,mostly just removals and if i do take on a trimming job i rent a lift because i dont want to listen to people complain about the spike marks in the tree, which is understandable. i really dont have a career in tree removal i just mainly do it as side work which is why im not a pro and im only 18 im not even through school yet so its tough for me.

 

[troythetreeman]

if anything the cs341 is better then it was when i started 15 years ago, the only "upgrade" they made that was for #### was the intenze or whatever the hell it was callde, in bar chain tensioner, but they got the tensioner screw on the clutch cover now, much better, echo makes a few less expensive top handle saws too, but i cant tell you anything about them other then theyre build like a stihl, if i liked that design, id use the stihl
but theyre as good or better then ever, and if youre not climbing full time, buy it in your personal name and get the 5 year warranty
cable cored lanyards are nice, they dont hang the same and take a bit of getting used to there, but youre probably not going to cut through it with anything smaller then a 460
micro tenders are awesome too, one handed lanyard adjustment is slick

 

[clp13294]

wow that saw looks sweet, i actually want to look into getting one now haha. cheaper than what i expected for sure. how do you like it does it cut nice? what size bar do you run with it?

 

[mikegar]

Id go with a stihl ms192. Its a good occasional use saw. Its also half the price of its bigger brother

 

[troythetreeman]

wow that saw looks sweet, i actually want to look into getting one now haha. cheaper than what i expected for sure. how do you like it does it cut nice? what size bar do you run with it?

cs341? less power then a 200t, no question, but it cuts good
i run a 14" bar, thats what itll likely come with stock
i also like reduced kickback chains for climbing

 

[2treeornot2tree]

I have a stihl 191t that I am trying to sell. Its in pretty good shape. It has a 16" bar, and has really close to the same power as a 200t

 

[TreeAce]

IMO..the 192T is a very good saw IN ITS PRICE RANGE. I have one and I really like it for trimming. No good for takedowns. Although, with a sharp chain its not TO bad but its really not for takedowns. If you can pull it it off cash wise...just get a 200T and be done with it.

 

[tree MDS]

cs341? less power then a 200t, no question, but it cuts good
i run a 14" bar, thats what itll likely come with stock
i also like reduced kickback chains for climbing

A climber running safety chain on an echo and digging it?? better check your man card dude!

 

[TreeAce]

A climber running safety chain on an echo and digging it?? better check your man card dude!

DOH!!

 

[troythetreeman]

A climber running safety chain on an echo and digging it?? better check your man card dude!

*shrug* say what you want, reduced kickback chain on a small saw like that vs just a semi chisel, not really any noticeable difference in performance, its about where you keep your rakers and how sharp you keep your saw
but i often 1hand, and sometimes very close to myself or my ropes at very awkward angles, ill take the reduced kickback, thank you
and as far as your stihl climbers go, you can keep those pieces of crap, the handle sucks, the balance sucks, the switch placement sucks
echo starts better
with an echo you got close to 4 more inches of reach because i have handle still where you have carb
i never inadvertently kill my saw with my thumb
i never have to change my grip to turn my echo off
the only time i _need_ two hands on my saw is when i start it
youre in a tree with a saw, safe is better

 

[Bermie]

*shrug* say what you want, reduced kickback chain on a small saw like that vs just a semi chisel, not really any noticeable difference in performance, its about where you keep your rakers and how sharp you keep your saw
but i often 1hand, and sometimes very close to myself or my ropes at very awkward angles, ill take the reduced kickback, thank you
and as far as your stihl climbers go, you can keep those pieces of crap, the handle sucks, the balance sucks, the switch placement sucks
echo starts better
with an echo you got close to 4 more inches of reach because i have handle still where you have carb
i never inadvertently kill my saw with my thumb
i never have to change my grip to turn my echo off
the only time i _need_ two hands on my saw is when i start it
youre in a tree with a saw, safe is better

Ok, If you use two hands on a 200t most of the time like you are supposed to, then safety chain is not necessary...two hands, firm grip, no problem
I too, thought like you and used to run safety chain but with good positioning, good cut selection and good grip the saw behaves just fine...I now run non safety on my 200t.
The times I'm one handing, the saw is not in a position to cause harm to me or my ropes if something goes wrong...

As for the 200t balance, I'm a girl and can one hand it...nothing wrong with the balance as far as I can tell!
Yes sometimes I've hit the kill switch inadvertently
No I don't have to change grip to turn it off
Never have a starting problem
I use a Silky more than a saw for pruning

But hey, one of my kinder nicknames is the 'safety queen' so if you feel safer doing what you do, then don't let me or anyone else tell you you are wrong because you are not! You go home with all your limbs intact at the end of the day and the blood inside your body...EXCELLENT!
Just letting you know, those small saws can be run safely with regular chain.

 

[troythetreeman]

No I don't have to change grip to turn it off...

i prefer my thumb around the handle excepting larger cuts for the leverage
it really is a matter of preference tho, i learned with an echo, the way i like to use and hold my saw simply isnt possible with a stihl, ive climbed with stihls, i hate em
they do have more power, well the 200t, my echo holds its own against a 192
if im doing a removal or need a bigger saw i go between my husky 350 (likely soon to be replaced by a 346xp) and my echo, or rarely, a 460, a 660 or a 2130xp
if youre shopping for a saw, shop around, find one that is comfortable and feels good in your hand, its going to spend a lot of time there
Husqvarna has a new one too the t435, a close friend of mine finds he prefers it to his 192
only thing i can say about that saw is i love the way it feels but its _loud_, havent done enough cutting to have an opinion beyond that

 

[tree md]

I climbed for years with huskies and echos... Do yourself a favor and buy the 200T. You will get three times the life out of it, save time on removals and in turn make more money in less time. You know how your echo or husky (or even the Stihl 192) will bog in crotch cuts??? Well, no such thing with a 200T. Hands down the best climbing saw on the market, bar none.

 

[clp13294]

if the moneys there i will definitely look into a stihl. but to be honest my echo was plenty for what i needed and i never had any problems with it. if the echo burns up, shame on me ill spend the extra cash and pick up a stihl next time around. but my local dealer carries both stihl and echo so once i hold both of them if the stihl is as good as you guys say it is, then i will probably end up walking out the door with it. i think i may have another job coming up soon too so ill try and get my new saddle, flipline and saw and see if i can make some money. should be an easy job too, 45 foot pine. i love doin pine jobs they are so easy to climb, spikes stick in em like glue. had to climb an oak today at my house and it was like trying to climb a cement wall, bark on those trees is damn thick.

 

[clp13294]

excuse me i ment ash tree, not oak.

 

[DangerTree]

Well my fine beginner tree guys if you want to buy a 200T I suggest you do so soon as I did because they are going out of production. I bought a few of em" because having used almost every top handled saw on the planet there really is no better. When it comes to saws always buy the best because in the end you will pay for cheaping out. I personally find a nice combination of MS 200T going up the tree, then throw a pulley round a stub and have a groundie lower the 200t and raise a 357xp then cut my way down tree. When I get close to the ground or the trunk hits say 2 feet or bigger I then yank out the 288xp ported and polished of course and continue. If the tree becomes even larger then out pops an 0h freekin 90 and that otta do the job. Notice that none of the saws mentioned in the above statement are cheapo's no crappie dollar thirty seven fifty pieces of ****. They pay for themselves in spades trust me it's true. Borrow some muny from mommy if you have to or maybe sis or little brother. Geez go work the streets if you have to just don't be cheap!

 

[clp13294]

i totally understand what you are saying. i will look into the ms200t because i actually noticed it looked almost identical to my old echo and i loved the way that thing felt up in a tree. i guess ill just have to look the other way when i go to pay for the thing lol.