Which low vibration saw?

[czhey]

I'm looking to buy my first saw

But I have a long term injury (RSI type thing) in my right arm, and using a saw for long periods can aggravate it. Its mainly the vibrations, but heavy things and the cold can also affect it.

 

So i'm looking for:

 

Low vibrations

Reasonable weight for using everyday

Enough power to run 15" bar comfortably

Maybe a heated handle (although that adds weight)

Stihl, as i've had good experience with them

 

I will always keep it well sharpened, and use 'low vibration' chain.

 

The MS260s at college are ok, but the MS280i and MS341 are meant to have much lower vibration levels. Any advice on which saws to look at would be appreciated.

 

Thank you, Charlie.

[Tree Man Tom]

I'm looking to buy my first saw

But I have a long term injury (RSI type thing) in my right arm, and using a saw for long periods can aggravate it. Its mainly the vibrations, but heavy things and the cold can also affect it.

 

So i'm looking for:

 

Low vibrations

Reasonable weight for using everyday

Enough power to run 15" bar comfortably

Maybe a heated handle (although that adds weight)

Stihl, as i've had good experience with them

 

I will always keep it well sharpened, and use 'low vibration' chain.

 

The MS260s at college are ok, but the MS280i and MS341 are meant to have much lower vibration levels. Any advice on which saws to look at would be appreciated.

 

Thank you, Charlie.

 

The ms441 has very low vibrations and i could use it every day, it may suit a 18" bar more than a 15" though, this may be to heavy for what your thinking but just having my bit of input

 

I run a ms341 and find it a great saw with 15" bar but wouldnt really say it has particularly low vibration, but with low vibe chain and a pair of gloves you might notice the difference. Tom

[Joe]

i have go a 341, and it is a great saw but for a first saw is probably a bit big really. my mate has got a 280 and it is a excellent compromise of the 341 and the 260.

[MattyF]

I'm looking to buy my first saw

But I have a long term injury (RSI type thing) in my right arm, and using a saw for long periods can aggravate it. Its mainly the vibrations, but heavy things and the cold can also affect it.

 

So i'm looking for:

 

Low vibrations

Reasonable weight for using everyday

Enough power to run 15" bar comfortably

Maybe a heated handle (although that adds weight)

Stihl, as i've had good experience with them

 

I will always keep it well sharpened, and use 'low vibration' chain.

 

The MS260s at college are ok, but the MS280i and MS341 are meant to have much lower vibration levels. Any advice on which saws to look at would be appreciated.

 

Thank you, Charlie.

 

Forget about the ms260's ...anti vibes on them is pants,you want a husky 346xp if you want a saw in that class,dunno much about the other two but imo stihls anti vibe is pretty crap, done me the world of good switching to the dark side basically all newer model stihls copy huskys anti vibes so any new models should be ok.

[Husqvarna King]

Yeah, go with the Husky mate, 346 or 357, much lower vibes than any of the stihls i have used, also with your problem i would get the heated handle and maybe some timberland anti vibe gloves?

[Mesterh]

You will definitely have less chance of aggravating your RSI injuries with a Husky......it wont be down to the vibration levels though

[Tom D]

Dont buy a 357, mine was only bought 18 months ago and has cost well over £200 in repairs since then. When its working its a lovely saw better balanced than the stihls and a much lower profile body, it has plenty power and a good AV system. But its a dog to run and has been a lot of trouble.

I was chatting to the dealer ( who sells stihl too ) and he reckons the 346 is great, its 50cc now and they dont get many probs with them.

 

I have always liked huskys and would recommend other saws in their range ( my 385 and 254's are great) but dont get a 357. There's a lot of anti husky sentiment out there mainly because their flagship saw the 357 is pants, and not a patch on the 254 it replaced.

[Husqvarna King]

Dont buy a 357, mine was only bought 18 months ago and has cost well over £200 in repairs since then. When its working its a lovely saw better balanced than the stihls and a much lower profile body, it has plenty power and a good AV system. But its a dog to run and has been a lot of trouble.

I was chatting to the dealer ( who sells stihl too ) and he reckons the 346 is great, its 50cc now and they dont get many probs with them.

 

I have always liked huskys and would recommend other saws in their range ( my 385 and 254's are great) but dont get a 357. There's a lot of anti husky sentiment out there mainly because their flagship saw the 357 is pants, and not a patch on the 254 it replaced.

 

I have my 357 from 2001 and it still kicks arse:001_tt1:

[Tom D]

They cant all be bad, all i know is mine has been expensive, and talking to the dealer I'm not the only one. I think there's a lot of guff talked about the stihl vs husky debate, they are both pretty good, but the 357 is a bad saw. I bought mine thinking that they have been around long enough to have ironed out any teething problems, I was wrong. I am a husky man and have always preferer their high revving slimline style, but I would buy a stihl next, even if I don't like shape and feel as much.

[MattyF]

My 357xpg has been the most trouble free 60cc class saw ive ever had...not one problem in 4 years,the only thing ive replaced is sprockets bars and chains when worn and it still runs strong and ive ran it bloody hard at times logging and thinning...i will definietly buy another.

On the other hand there are plenty have people who have had junk ones but the same can be said with people i know who have run or running 361's and 26's my old man seized a hardly used ms26 my mate a 361 after 8 months which he has had rebuiltt twice and now given up on...I think the big differance ive found is running them in gently as stated in the manual.. im convinced that is why my 357 has ran so faultless...

 

Either that or its people getting the bad luck of the draw and the friday afternoon saws syndrome, we all have bad experiences wich put us in mind to stay loyal to one brand,ive had 3 bad in a row with brand new kit to make me want to switch to husky...but then 8 years ago i had 3 in a row that made me switch to stihl!

Im not really bothered as long as they work.

Cant say for the newer stihls apart from the 441(which was very good!)but the huskys anti vibe is better imo.