New forestry saw 70cc class

[Sirius]

Hi all,

 

Looking at a few saws at the moment.

Any input would be good from other foresters.

I dont really like all the modern tech on saws but i am willing to give it a go ie: husky 57

 

In the running are:

Echo cs-7310 

Dolmar 7910

Husqvarna 572xp

I already run a Dolmar Ps5105 and its pretty good no nonsense saw. The new saws for bigger felling.

 

[Stihl123]

500i 😁

[Sirius]

Too techy for me...lol but wouldn't mind a go lol

[spuddog0507]

Hi dont be put off by the tech there is on the newer saws from Stihl and Husky, it does work and it works very well, First thing i will say is to most people a saw is a saw but when its your go to bread and butter maker every day there is several things to look at,  first of all what doe your nearest dealer sell ? whats your relationship like with them ? for me i have 4 Stihl dealers, 2 Husky dealers and 2 Echo dealers with in 15 mile of me, my nearest one is a mile down the road and he is both Stihl and Echo dealer, never struggled to get spares of him for my kit and bought a few saws of him now all being Stihl equipment, 

The 70cc range of pro saws Stihl seem to be years ahead of the competion at the moment with the 462 and the 500i, they are both light and very responsive and i find both of them a dream to use, i have run 460s and 461s in commercial forestry and now i have used both the 500i and 462 the weight difference is very noticable, both the 462 and 500i have more power than the older 461s, so for me it would be one of these 2 saws for the reason that stihl have a very good parts and back up system here in the UK, In a recent post on Arbtalk someone said that Echo had a very poor parts supply to the uk and parts could take up to 6 wks to come to the uk, Husky i dont know a lot about after being put of them many years ago with a lad who worked with us and he seemed to spend about 20% of the day trying to start it after refueling, 

[MattyF]

I’d take a 462 over the other saws ... truth is I’d probably use the 500i more as it’s the power of a 90cc saw with the weight of a 70cc... I’d be really tempted to try the 7310 though by it’s rave reviews..I’ve only used a few 7910’s briefly and they didn’t blow me away and want to rush out and by one.

[gdh]

Our 572 has been reliable and runs well on a 24inch bar. Nice and quick to rev up as well.

[ESS]

I am an old fashioned bugger and was dead against autotune etc, After owning a few i don't experience any more problems with them than standard . It wouldn't put me off buying a particular saw if the power/weight matched what i was looking for.

 

[Sirius]

I havent really looked at Stihl as there is a price hike.

I have echo, stihl , husky and dolmar dealers close by.

Dolmar have a 2 week delay cirrently on parts, which puts me off.

What is a bonus though is both Dolmar and Echo have either a 2 or 4yr warranty on there saws..🤔🤔

[lux]

Hi all,
 
Looking at a few saws at the moment.
Any input would be good from other foresters.
I dont really like all the modern tech on saws but i am willing to give it a go ie: husky 57
 
In the running are:
Echo cs-7310 
Dolmar 7910
Husqvarna 572xp
I already run a Dolmar Ps5105 and its pretty good no nonsense saw. The new saws for bigger felling.
 

Can’t go wrong with any of the above.

The echos get better with more use. They seem to need a fair few tanks of fuel to bed the engine in and reach their power potential. Comes with a Sugi bar rebranded as echo which is a nice feature.

The dolmar is more 80cc class and maybe a touch heavier. Very good price compared to the other saws.

The 572 seems to be reliable with not many publicised complaints on the forum.


The stihl 462 is a nice saw. Very comfortable. For me I feel that stihl build quality / durability has been reduced in pursuit of less weight. I refer my older stihl saws. Built to last.
The 500i feels flimsy to me , there are a lot of faults with it on the Facebook page. Latest grumbles are fuel tanks cracking when you apply pressure with quick fill cans.
No denying it’s cutting performance though !

As mentioned dealer support is important. Go for a brand you have a good back up network from locally.

Once you have narrowed it to that it’s names out of a hat. They are all good.

[Stubby]

I tried a 500i just briefly  . I think it is an 80cc saw but it was very light .  Because of this I was  not convinced of its ability to last in a forestry environment .  If will hold up then fantastic , who wants to lug around more than they have to ?  Have heard one or two horror stories though .

Edited February 3, 2021 by Stubby