MS181 C-BE - worth it for father in law's firewooding

[Kev Stephenson]

Father in law has rung saying his B&Q special is terminally dead and he has decided to replace it with a better quality saw. It will be used for a bit of felling and firewooding, his last saw cost £80 so spending £400 on a saw is a no go. It needs to be presentably light for a retired bloke to carry around his wood all day.

 

Is the new MS181C-BE worth it's money over say a 170 or the base model 181?

 

Would you recommend anything instead?

[tractorboy1]

Not had any experience of the 181 but have a couple of ms170 and cant fault them for what they are. Compared to a B & Q special the 181 will be a lot better saw.

[bob]

230 would be my call for him but 181 is not as crap as some think

[Jonesie]

We sell loads of 170, 171, and 181 and never get any complaints. If it's not going to get hammered any of the above will do.

[samarb]

181 is a good little saw.

[Kev Stephenson]

230 would be my call for him but 181 is not as crap as some think

 

230 would have been my suggestion too but at £340ish it will be one step too far.

 

Looks like a 181 from Mr Jones in the morning then

[wookie202]

i know i'm a newbie without the experience of most the people on this forum but i just took cs 30 and 31 with a little second-hand ms180 and it never missed a beat even on the felling days. They are usually on e-bay if you want a used one.

[stoker-steam]

I would be very very wary buying a saw from Flea Bay, they go for silly money, I noticed a MS180 go for more than Jonesie was selling them new for????

 

And you have no idea what has gone wrong with them in the past, they may have nipped up and scored the bore, but still run fine on a demo, or may have a vague electrical Gremlin that will only occur when its just bloomin perfect.get a new one all the way.

[Kev Stephenson]

New one ordered from Jonesie, just waiting for it to come from Stihl.

 

I am sure I must get a prize for finding one of the only things Jonesie doesn't have on the shelf for immediate dispatch.

 

Quick review to follow