Stihl MS260, Husky 353, or Husky 359

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

DJJ

New Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2005
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Location
Oxford Mills, Ontario, Canada
I'm looking to buy a saw that will last me forever and will probably not be cutting more than 10 cord yearly. Of course I want a professional saw. The Stihl dealer has the MS260 for $599 with a case, extra chain, and hat. the Husky dealer has the 353 for $530 and the 359 for $599 both with case, extra chain, hat and 6 pack of oil (which ups the warrenty to 2 years). My question is...what am I going to buy? :dizzy:

Thanks,
David
 
If 1.5 lb of extra weight is not an issue, go for the 359. It has more power and a lot more torque than the 026.

Check eBay, I've seen new or near new ones going for $300 US, give or take some $...
 
All good saws! I think it comes down to the quality and reputation of a well established dealer. In this area the oldest and best dealer is a Stihl dealer, they've been at it many many years. They keep changing Husky dealers here every other year, so these guys never have much of a chance to get to know the line, stock the correct parts and to service customers properly.

In my case locally here it would be an MS260 for the above reasons.
 
stihl 260 sure is a handy saw.

but if you are going to go with one saw. I'd go with larger 359.

ditto what rbtree said about finding a new or almost new on ebay
 
I'm not sure how much the case, hat and oil are worth, but I just bought a MS361 for the full $570 list price, but the dealer threw in an RS chain for free in addition to that RM2 safety chain, so I got it for closer to $550. I did not bust his chops much on price with the understanding that he has to make a living and that I would be getting good service if I needed it (good reputation in the area)...

With that said, you could buy the next size up pro saw like I did, skip the hat and case and with the oil still come out less than the $599 he quoted you. If you are cutting firewood a 361 is probably as much saw as you will ever need. The Husky 357XP is a very comparable pro grade saw, possibly better, for a little less money. I just liked the way the Stihl was weighted better. They were listed at around $500 at the local dealer, but I'm not sure if that included a bar/chain and if so what size. Both 357XP and MS361 are just over 12 lbs without bar and chain IIRC.

According to posts here, the Husky 359 is not as strong a saw as the 357XP but it responds to mods strongly and once modded will run about even with a modded 357XP, but again, this is just what I remember hearing. The 361 badly needs the muffler opened up.
 
you are in the states he is in Canada so the prices are different cause the 357 is $749 here.
 
No, the Husky 346XP, and Stihl MS260 are comparable saws, the displacment is similar, and pretty good power/weight ratios.
The 353, is a more or less semi pro saw to me.
 
ehp said:
you are in the states he is in Canada so the prices are different cause the 357 is $749 here.

OK, that's a great big "duhhh" on my part.

No wonder, I thought the dealer was really taking him for a ride!

Nevermind me... :dizzy:
 
DJJ said:
Would you say that the husky 353 and the stihl MS260 are comparible saws? Both are professional are they not?

Nope ! The 353 has less hp and more weight than the MS260, it is more along the farm saw line than a full pro line saw.
 
I had the choise between a 353 and a 260 (non-pro) some time ago. I accepted the slightly higher weight of the Husky to get the much more modern construction, much better anti-wibe and much better filtration of the Husky. It also felt better in my hands, but that's just me. I have never had any trouble with it. The MS260 is a construction from the mid to late '80ies, but I must admit that it is a very good saw anyway.

Even though I have never used one, I feel confident to recommend the 359 of the tree in question, as the extra power will be nice to have sooner or later, and I have read a lot of good reviews about it. The penalty is about 2lbs in weight.

When I found out that I wanted a lighter saw than the old Jred for my second saw, the choise was real easy - as the MS361 cost noticably less than the 359 and a lot less than the 357xp over here, and the difference in anti-wibe and filtration is a lot smaller in this case......
 
Last edited:
oldsaw-addict said:
No, the Husky 346XP, and Stihl MS260 are comparable saws, the displacment is similar, and pretty good power/weight ratios.
The 353, is a more or less semi pro saw to me.
Sorry, but I can not agree with you in this case.
All are built to pro quality standards, and has about the same max power output, even though the engine caracter is a bit different.

I have seen the 353, 359 and 365 adverticed as pro, semipro, allround and midrange at different markets and/or times.
It doesn't really matter, because build quality is definitely pro - same as 346xp, 357xp and 372xp.
 
Last edited:
What's the word with the 55 Rancher. My dealer is selling it for $440 Canadian (Which is $250 less than MSRP) and other than the weight (0.4 lbs heavier) specs look similar to the 353 ($530) though the 55 has comes with an 18" bar.
 
The 55, is replaced by the 455, which is heavier, and less than desirable in my personal opinion.
 
For ten cords or less per year, the 353 is plenty of saw. It has good power and is noticeably lighter than a 359. It is much smoother in the hands and has a way better filtration system than the stihl 260. My friend has an 026 pro that I have used a couple of times and I honestly dont see it outperforming my 353. In fact, it doesnt even keep up.....
 
First off, before discussing which model would would be the best choice, how big and what kind of wood are you cutting? Any of the saws you mention are more than suited for 10 cords a year of wood, but the best choice will depend upon the size and species of wood you are cutting as well.

As Saw Troll mentioned, the 353 (along with the 359 and 365) are pro saws, but they are slightly torquier, slightly lower revving saws than other pro saws in the Husky lineup. Despite what some believe, this lower revving nature does not mean they are not pro saws. Neither does the XP stand for professional model saws as some believe. It just happens that all the XP's are professional models, but the three non-XP professional models are also pro saws.

As to the 55, it is an older design, which was supposed to be phased out. It is still very popular and more than capable of cutting 10 cords of firewood a year. As was mentioned, it is being phased out by the 455, starting in the US and then coming to Canada. We don't operate under the same draconian EPA clean air laws, so we tend to get the choked up EPA approved models a year or two later in most cases.

As to my personal opinion on what you should buy out of the saws mentioned, the 359 would be the first choice provided you need the extra power and are prepared to deal with the small amount of additional weight.
 
brent denny said:
......My friend has an 026 pro that I have used a couple of times and I honestly dont see it outperforming my 353. In fact, it doesnt even keep up.....
I have experienced the same thing, but it could be a result of different cutting attachments - the 353 running 95VP and the 026 25RM in this case.........
 
He could even have 3/8" chain on the 026, which would make an even bigger difference.
 
TimberPig said:
He could even have 3/8" chain on the 026, which would make an even bigger difference.
He didn't, but otherwise I agree with you - at least on a stock saw.

A former member (Glens) performed some tests with a 360 some time ago. The result showed that even the 360 was slightly faster with .325x8 than with 3/8"x7. The chains were new Stihl RS.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top