shindaiwa chain saws

Yo, my local power equipment shop tells me Husky is no longer a great brand.... he's pushing shindaiwa products...

On his advice, I bought one of their blade/string trimmers, and while it seems to be a nice powerful unit, the blade guard makes it a nightmare to use in thick bamboo. It might last longer than the other brands, but I'm not sure it's been all that better than others I've owned. It starts with one pull, but so does my 15 year old weed eater brand.

Now I'm looking for a chain saw that will last... is the dealer right about the Shindawia being top dog, or are the Stihls, Huskies and maybe Echo's fine saws too?

If so are there any "dogs" in their line-ups ( I hear some Husky saws are made by Poulan, and the only good Stihls are the ones with even model numbers and only the very top 2 Echo's are any good).

Which brands would require the fewest steps and tools to change air filters and spark plugs, etc.???

I don't need anything larger than 18 inches.

Reply to
Dane Brickman
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Reply to
Tony Hwang

I've had a Shindaiwa for the last ten years and it has worked just great. No complaints.

Reply to
Joe Baumgarten

I wouldn't classify a Shindaiwa as "top dog", but they seem to be good saws. There is a local sawmill whose owner uses nothing but Shindaiwa saws; I have no idea where he gets them, though.

The top two brands are Husqvarna and Stihl. Echo, Jonsereds, Makita and Shindaiwa make good smaller saws, and I think the new John Deeres aren't too bad. Just stay away from the department store junk - Poulan, McCullough and Craftsman.

I am partial to Stihl because of reliability, availability of parts and a good dealer network, and because they felt better in my hands than the Jonsereds or Husky saws. I have a Stihl 025, 066 and I just bought a used MS390. No problems here, and I don't use the saws professionally - the 066 is used with a sawmill, and I cut about 12-15 cord of firewood annually. All the Stihls are good, but they do differentiate between "homeowner" and "pro" saws pretty clearly. Having said that, my 025, which is what I use for 98% of my cutting, gets beat to hell and back and runs as strong as the day I bought it. The 066 is just too much of a monster for frequent use, so I bought the MS390 to give me a good falling and heavy use saw.

Jon E

Reply to
Jon Endres, PE

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