New chainsaw

[essex man]

Have had my stihl ms441 stolen, looking for a replacement saw -
don't need as big a saw any more so am looking at a ms 261 - any thoughts on or experience of this saw please?
will be used for general felling, logging work
will a 261 feel much smaller, slower than the 441?
used to stihl so probably won't consider other makes

 

[Lincs Lass]

Why not others ,,love my Huskies

 

[Lincs Lass]

261 ,is that the M tronic model

 

[essex man]

yes

 

[Lincs Lass]

Husqvarna 550 xp autotune is same power ,not that im a fan of the computer control fuel system ,but they are light and very powerfull .
Is it an insurance job or your own pocket

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Have a 241-CM and 441-CM for almost 3 years now. Both excellent saws. As you've already had an M-Tronic you'll know not to believe all the garbage you read on forums about them.

A 241 at least is quite a different animal to the bigger saw, but you would expect that and I've deliberately fiitted it with quite a short bar to keep it nimble and light as possible. It does I would say 70% of the work and the big saw gets an outing when the very big stuff needs a 25" bar.

 

[essex man]

Husqvarna 550 xp autotune is same power ,not that im a fan of the computer control fuel system ,but they are light and very powerfull .
Is it an insurance job or your own pocket

thinking not gonna bother with insurance, saw was 8 or 9 years old, had cut thousands hardwood railway sleepers and hundreds cubes firewood so value not massive I guess. theft is more of a mental than financial trauma.
no more sleeper cutting so less power required and less weight welcome.
have smaller stihl for light work

 

[Lincs Lass]

They should still replace on a new for old policy ,pay enough in premiums ,get some of it back

 

[Recoil]

Love my husky 550xp. Very light and plenty of power.

 

[zyklon]

My old man has ditched the Husky's as the last 3 have been junk. He went and purchased a Stihl and will never go back to a Husky. Not sure what models they were but never again he says.

 

[S J H]

Still ms170s do most jobs, and they're as cheap as chips, I very rarely need to use a bigger saw.

 

[essex man]

Still ms170s do most jobs, and they're as cheap as chips, I very rarely need to use a bigger saw.

guess I have got used to the power of the bigger saw and miss it when I use my smaller saw - a 181

 

[Timo@hattonfarms]

The 261 is an excellent saw, you will find most tree surgeons have one there light and Rev like feck. Mate of mine runs the tree surgery course at the local college they have 30+ 261's never any bother and with students using them that is saying something

 

[Grassman]

I have two saws and 90% of times I use the small stihl ms170

 

[holywell farmer]

Have had my stihl ms441 stolen, looking for a replacement saw -
don't need as big a saw any more so am looking at a ms 261 - any thoughts on or experience of this saw please?
will be used for general felling, logging work
will a 261 feel much smaller, slower than the 441?
used to stihl so probably won't consider other makes

get matkita value for money

 

[essex man]

Have always found stihl to be so

 

[Sebastian]

Have always found stihl to be so

So great? Yes, I agree.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Have always found the black-top handled (professional) range from Stihl to be best. Still made in Germany, pun intended.

If you're intending to keep the saw a few years (I have my 026 from 1989 here) then why penny pinch? That's just me I prefer good quality tools over rubbish, that you only have to buy again.

 

[405mi16]

The 261 is a 50cc saw, and the 441 is 70cc. We have had a 028 (50cc) from West Germany for a very long time, and its still perfect. I would say it's well matched with a 16" bar, fine and handy.

It all depends on how big your trees are! We just replaced a 60cc Dolmar with a 60cc Stihl and are quite happy, but its not as handy as the smaller saw (an extra 2" on the bar make a lot of difference, they weigh the same!). We considered a Husky but, after a bit of reading online and speaking to a man with Huskys along with our own faultless experience of Stihl, we decided to stick with what we know.

On a side note, the Dolmar (now Makita) was a very good powerful saw, but a fraction heavy with a badly designed chain brake and impossible to get parts for.

Out of interest, what size bar did you have on the 441?

JF.

EDIT: Just to add, the smaller saw can do (virtually) everything the bigger saw can. And as long as the chain is sharp there isn't a huge difference in cutting time.

 

[Mursal]

We like Jonsered or Husky because the smaller ones are light and love to work.
30-40cc plenty big for 90% of what we do .........
The only down side is the plastic bits get the worst for wear after a few years .....
Stihl seem good, but are they not heavy at the end of the day?
On the other side I see Argos has new saws at £120 with full warranty ......