New saw time

[Steve_g]

Looking for a new saw in the £500 range as doing my cs30/31 in a couple of weeks max bar 16" and around the £500 mark! Got a old husky 61 but need to take 2 saws so think buy new then the 61 as a backup! 

Cheers 

[Rough Hewn]

Stihl 261 [emoji106]

[The avantgardener]

Stihl 261 or Husqvarna 550xp, best 50cc saws on the market, I prefer the Husky for Forestry work, whichever you end up with get a semi chisel chain on it, you will find it easier to do the bore cuts if you are felling hardwoods.

[lux]

I was going to buy a 550xpg a couple of weeks back but they had an echo 501sx on 16 tsumura bar for 400 quid. Bought it and quite like it. Starts first pull hot or cold. No electronics. Super lightweight and the more you use it the more it loosens up and gains in power. The light weight makes it a joy to use all day.
Quite honestly buying a 50cc pro saw it’s just going to be down to personal preference. They are all good. The echo certainly gets a thumbs up from me though.

[gdh]

The 550 and 560 are both great saws. Occasionally awkward to start like any saw but they're quick revving and go well with 15inch bars. No reliability issues with ours either over the past few years.

[Mark Bolam]

550 running a 15” is my go to saw for most things.

I keep thinking ‘I’ll switch to a bigger saw in a minute’, but rarely do.

XPG gold in the winter.

 

I can’t comment on the 261, although I’m sure it’s a big improvement on the 260’s, which I found totally gutless.

[Mick Dempsey]

550s are superb.

 

 

[Moose McAlpine]

we have a Stihl 241C with a 15" bar on it and it's a great saw. Very light and comfortable to use. Ours is well used and gives us no problems at all. Not used a 261, but i'm very fond of the 241.

[spuddog0507]

As quoted in the post above the 241 is a great little saw, i bought 1 a few years back and worked it to death when we was felling infected larch, but they are no longer available, i replaced the 241 with a 261 a couple of years ago and find it a very good saw to use, its light, fast and very nice to use all day, its good on fuel and very quick on the throttle response, i would have no hesitation in buying another one,

[peatff]

20 hours ago, lux said:

they had an echo 501sx on 16 tsumura bar for 400 quid.

 

I bet they can't even buy them in at that price, someone cocked up on that sale.