Just Bought A MS160-t

[Haironyourchest]

Bought yesterday, with the 12" bar a single 200 (4AH) battery and quickest charger. Wow, what a beautiful saw! Lighter than I expected, just so nice to use. Picked it up and went straight to work, removing a sycamore from a roadside wall. Didn't bother with ear defenders, didn't need them. The saw feels extremely controllable, no gyroscopic effect except for a very slight vertical nose lift. Did the sycamore down to about fifteen feet, and topped a small cypress, still had three lights on the battery. It does demand mindfulness as the saw could potentially un-break itself on branches, so was hyper-aware of break and throttle position when picking it up. The torque, relatively slow chain speed, quietness, complete lack of vibration etc. made the working experience more "studied" - more deliberate, I would say. Easy and instant communication with groundie was a blessing. I find I'm developing a kind of pseudo-fetish for the 160t, I keep going to the shed just to pick up the saw and hold it, marvelling at the design and technology. Would recommend.

Edited June 6, 2018 by Haironyourchest
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[Rough Hewn]

Electrickery, ''tis the future!
Yeah mate epic saws.
[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

[carlos]

we have one at work and its a lovely user friendly saw for light prunning but anything bigger and it feels like a slow boat to china!

also think they should of put a little on/off rocker switch on the handle.

carl

[Rough Hewn]

Definitely needs an off button. I take the battery out .

[Steve Bullman]

Not quite sure why they didn't put an off button on.  That always worried me slightly, however never had any instances where the chainbreak was knocked the the off position.

[AHPP]

I was thinking about this yesterday. I hardly ever use chain brakes. I just turn the saw off unless I’m cutting. I’d be constantly worried about shredding the side of my leg without an off button on an electric saw. I’ve never had one apart. Can you get into the wiring enough to install a switch?

 

 

[Haironyourchest]

52 minutes ago, AHPP said:

I was thinking about this yesterday. I hardly ever use chain brakes. I just turn the saw off unless I’m cutting. I’d be constantly worried about shredding the side of my leg without an off button on an electric saw. I’ve never had one apart. Can you get into the wiring enough to install a switch?

 

 

No doubt, but not till the warranty is out! Although I don't anticipate anything going wrong with it - noticed it said "Made In Austria"... I was a bit worried about it shredding my leg too, so much so that I actually put the scabbard back on between cutting stints in the tree. Was a bit of a drag, but in a way I think the danger of accidental activation makes me respect the saw more and be more mindful generally. As I get more familiar with the 160 I'll probably stop doing this. I imagine they considered adding an off switch at design stage, but figured that people would then forget to use the break, creating a bad working habit and potentially complicating things? Dunno. It is slow, but on small diameter cuts there's no real difference. At my level of experience, 99% of the time in tree is positioning and thinking anyway, not trigger time. I have my 201 backhandle if I need to make bigger cuts, which I wouldn't want to make with a topper anyway. I was cutting up to 8" chogging down and had no issues.

[AHPP]

No doubt, but not till the warranty is out! Although I don't anticipate anything going wrong with it - noticed it said "Made In Austria"... I was a bit worried about it shredding my leg too, so much so that I actually put the scabbard back on between cutting stints in the tree. Was a bit of a drag, but in a way I think the danger of accidental activation makes me respect the saw more and be more mindful generally. As I get more familiar with the 160 I'll probably stop doing this. I imagine they considered adding an off switch at design stage, but figured that people would then forget to use the break, creating a bad working habit and potentially complicating things? Dunno. It is slow, but on small diameter cuts there's no real difference. At my level of experience, 99% of the time in tree is positioning and thinking anyway, not trigger time. I have my 201 backhandle if I need to make bigger cuts, which I wouldn't want to make with a topper anyway. I was cutting up to 8" chogging down and had no issues.

How easy do you find it to one hand compared to a 150 or 2511? I’ve not yet found a shop with one in at the same time as one of the others to compare.

[Haironyourchest]

10 hours ago, AHPP said:

How easy do you find it to one hand compared to a 150 or 2511? I’ve not yet found a shop with one in at the same time as one of the others to compare.

I've not run a 150 or 2511 so can't compare in real world usage terms. There was a 150 in the shop, so I did compare weight and balance to that, I'd say there's no difference really. The 150 is a bit more compact. That would have been by second choice, but was put off by the vibration numbers, and didnt know anyone who had one to try. Another nice thing about the 160 is there's no anti-vibe suspension - no need for it - so the saw is rigid in hand, no "squish". Makes it feel very positive regarding pressure. In terms of one handing I haven't done much of it, still fairly new to the climbing game. I tried a few cuts with a 193t one handed and didn't like it - too much gyroscopic effect. Tried the 160 yesterday one handed on practice sticks and did like it.

[wicklamulla]

10 hours ago, AHPP said:

How easy do you find it to one hand compared to a 150 or 2511? I’ve not yet found a shop with one in at the same time as one of the others to compare.

not as easy in my humble onion.  The 160T is a great pruning saw but show it an average dismantle and they really do struggle,  whereas the MS150Tor the CS2511T just keep on cutting when the stems get fatter.