Husky vs stihl vs mitox vs efco chainsaw and combi pole saw/brush cutter.

Have a new oleo mac GSH 400 here. It's 100 miles ahead of the Husqvarna that it replaced, much lighter to use, and a comfort to cut with.
How long have you had it and have you cut much with it? They seem very cheap...



looking at the specs here I'd be liking the look of the ms211, bit more power than the 181 for the same weight.

We have a 180 and it's a great little saw, I choose it for cutting anything small.

However if I could stretch the budget a bit I'd love to get a go off one of these: https://www.stihl.co.uk/STIHL-Produ...s/2102688-1583/MSA-220-Cordless-Chainsaw.aspx
Good man, it's no harm to have a bit of extra power. I had been looking at the 181.

The 211 seems to available with a 16 inch bar, which is no bad thing. I was mainly hoping to keep the weight down.
 
How long have you had it and have you cut much with it? They seem very cheap...



Good man, it's no harm to have a bit of extra power. I had been looking at the 181.

The 211 seems to available with a 16 inch bar, which is no bad thing. I was mainly hoping to keep the weight down.

I have it 6 months now. It has cut a full winter's wood for our house already. Great powerful saw. We have a husqvarna 365 which cost over 700 euro many years ago and the oleo Mac is as good, if not better to cut and it is a much lighter saw.
 
I have it 6 months now. It has cut a full winter's wood for our house already. Great powerful saw. We have a husqvarna 365 which cost over 700 euro many years ago and the oleo Mac is as good, if not better to cut and it is a much lighter saw.
Same spec power wise as the stihl 211, very similar in weight, half the price, what's the catch...
 
How long have you had it and have you cut much with it? They seem very cheap...



Good man, it's no harm to have a bit of extra power. I had been looking at the 181.

The 211 seems to available with a 16 inch bar, which is no bad thing. I was mainly hoping to keep the weight down.
If it's your only saw then I'd go bigger in engine and bar. But if you're looking for a small saw then get a small saw. I cut up a share of fallen trees and branches and the small size makes a huge difference at that work, I think the 180 only has a 12 inch on it, it's like a little mazda mx5, not that powerful, but handles so so well
 
I would go for a smaller professional saw rather than a bigger cheaper saw . Our small saw is 50cc and the bigger one is 75cc .
We use Husqvarna because the local Husqvarna Center is very good.
 
Same spec power wise as the stihl 211, very similar in weight, half the price, what's the catch...
Personally I don't think there is a catch. There's loads of dealers around that sell them. My dealer says that they are a very easy saw to service.

I have used a few saws in my time but never had such a responsive saw. It has great power to weight. Its not a saw for cutting down 3ft diameter ash trees but its a perfect saw for stuff up to 20 inches. Great for logging - it absolutely eats through wood where my old saw would have struggled for power.

I'd recommend having a look at one before you buy the stihl.
 
It looks like the local dealer stocks stihl, husky and oleo mac. I'll take a wander in one of these days and see what's what.

I want a light general purpose saw with a bit of power for firewood and general maintenance work. Reliability and parts backup are important as nothing worse than a saw that won't go when needed.
 
Thabks for all the replys guys they were all very informative. This is what I got in the end. A oleo mac/efco Mt3710 saw and a sthil multi tool, I was going to get the oleo mac multi tool as well but no one had one in stock and no one could say when they would get them in as the factory is shut down just now, looked a good tool judging by their strimmers.
20201015_093546.jpg
20201015_093855.jpg
20201015_093905.jpg
20201015_094019.jpg
 
What's the ball park cost of the multi tool, is it sold as a package or are the 'ends' sold individually?, I bought one in woodies this summer, I've only used the strimmer head yet and its crap, it keeps getting grass wrapped around the strimmer cord holder and the harness is very uncomfortable, I'll try the saw and hedge trimmer heads soon (which is what I really bought it for as I have a hedge that is getting hard to reach with the husky trimmer) I hope they are better or it will be off to the dump with it.
 
What's the ball park cost of the multi tool, is it sold as a package or are the 'ends' sold individually?, I bought one in woodies this summer, I've only used the strimmer head yet and its crap, it keeps getting grass wrapped around the strimmer cord holder and the harness is very uncomfortable, I'll try the saw and hedge trimmer heads soon (which is what I really bought it for as I have a hedge that is getting hard to reach with the husky trimmer) I hope they are better or it will be off to the dump with it.
The brush cutter head is way better with and can be easily converted to Strummer if needed with a £30 trimmerline holder and a plastic bit which exfendes the guard.

I will agree with you the supplied shoulder strap is rubbish for such an expensive tool they could easily have provided a decent harness with it.

Bought individually though I got the vat taken off as they were starting an offer this weekend were they payed the vat. Was going to be somewhere around £1360 for the lot but it all came in at £1100.

Though I have just picked up a 0.5m extension pole purely to see if I can get it sitting at a better hight for strimming because I'm quite tall with long legs I find its quite a awkward holding position for me just now.
 
Last edited:
The brush cutter head is way better with and can be easily converted to Strummer if needed with a £30 trimmerline holder and a plastic bit which exfendes the guard.

I will agree with you the supplied shoulder strap is rubbish for such an expensive tool they could easily have provided a decent harness with it.

Bought individually though I got the vat taken off as they were starting an offer this weekend were they payed the vat. Was going to be somewhere around £1360 for the lot but it all came in at £1100.

Though I have just picked up a 0.5m extension pole purely to see if I can get it sitting at a better hight for strimming because I'm quite tall with long legs I find its quite a awkward holding position for me just now.
Thanks @Robbie260, the one I bought in woodies wasn't a sthil, it was a cheap Chinese version, which I already regret not spending more on and getting a 'known' brand, if the hedge trimmer attachment works I'll keep it for that, I only need it for a few feet at the top of the hedge that I need a ladder for when using the normal husky trimmer but I'll have to try get a better harness for it somewhere.
 
Thanks @Robbie260, the one I bought in woodies wasn't a sthil, it was a cheap Chinese version, which I already regret not spending more on and getting a 'known' brand, if the hedge trimmer attachment works I'll keep it for that, I only need it for a few feet at the top of the hedge that I need a ladder for when using the normal husky trimmer but I'll have to try get a better harness for it somewhere.
Why not just take it back if you bought in the summer? It isn't working as designed.
 
Why not just take it back if you bought in the summer? It isn't working as designed.
I'll see how I get on with the hedge trimmer first as that's really what I bought it for, it came with 3 attachments, the chain saw, hedge trimmer and strimmer head which can be fitted with either a metal blade or plastic cord, I've only tried the plastic cord and it wasn't good, a lot of grass wrapped around the head, I'll try the strimmer head with the metal blade the next time.
 
I'll see how I get on with the hedge trimmer first as that's really what I bought it for, it came with 3 attachments, the chain saw, hedge trimmer and strimmer head which can be fitted with either a metal blade or plastic cord, I've only tried the plastic cord and it wasn't good, a lot of grass wrapped around the head, I'll try the strimmer head with the metal blade the next time.
The whole package should be fit for purpose. If grass is wrapping around the head it's not up to the task or being used incorrectly.
 
I'll see how I get on with the hedge trimmer first as that's really what I bought it for, it came with 3 attachments, the chain saw, hedge trimmer and strimmer head which can be fitted with either a metal blade or plastic cord, I've only tried the plastic cord and it wasn't good, a lot of grass wrapped around the head, I'll try the strimmer head with the metal blade the next time.

I had the same problem with the plastic cord head on mine and found that the spacer beneath it needs to be turned upsidedown to close the gap between the head and the metal body so that grass can't get wrapped around the head.
 
I had the same problem with the plastic cord head on mine and found that the spacer beneath it needs to be turned upsidedown to close the gap between the head and the metal body so that grass can't get wrapped around the head.
Yeah I tried that on this one, it only fits one way, when I turned it the other way there was no gap, ie. The head and body were touching and the head wont turn.
 
The cheaper smaller. Saws in stihl or husky have been poor in my recent experience.they are classed as homeowner saws for occasionally light work and won't last at hard work.
I had an ms390 that gave poor service as well.its replacement is a husky 365 which is a far better and nicer saw.
I bought a professional stihl 265 saw and it's an excellent light powerful saw.it would have almost the power of a 390 but far lighter and faster.might be dear on day one but the performance and durability should be worth it if you are doing any amount of work.
I sell a bit of firewood so would be testing them out.
My big saw Is a stihl 660. With a 25 or 36" bar.now that's a saw
 
Local dealer doesn't stock oleo mac anymore, said they were made in China and giving problems. Now, I don't know the dealer very well so hard to know if that is the full story or not.

@muckymanor do you know what the situation is regarding parts for your saw? I'd like to think I can get parts for a few years.

One thing that has always impressed me about Stihl is that I was able to get parts for a 1980s saw my grandfather had a few years back.
 
Local dealer doesn't stock oleo mac anymore, said they were made in China and giving problems. Now, I don't know the dealer very well so hard to know if that is the full story or not.

@muckymanor do you know what the situation is regarding parts for your saw? I'd like to think I can get parts for a few years.

One thing that has always impressed me about Stihl is that I was able to get parts for a 1980s saw my grandfather had a few years back.
To be fair, most of them including Stihl are made in China.
That said, have always had a couple of Stihls here and would be slow enough buying anything else.
 
Did a bit more research and talked with some other folks I know with experience of various saws. New husky saws have some engine problems, a recent saw has had to be rebuilt twice in a short period of time. The stihl ms211 is lacking a bit of power according to several folks on arborist forums who are disappointed in it.

A lot of good reports on oleo mac from folks that have used them so I rolled the dice today and bought a gsh400 in another local dealer. Used it today and great little saw for the weight, well able to chew through timber. Easy to start and doesn't seem too hard on fuel. Ask me in a few years how reliable it has been :laugh:
 
Last edited:
Thanks @Robbie260, the one I bought in woodies wasn't a sthil, it was a cheap Chinese version, which I already regret not spending more on and getting a 'known' brand, if the hedge trimmer attachment works I'll keep it for that, I only need it for a few feet at the top of the hedge that I need a ladder for when using the normal husky trimmer but I'll have to try get a better harness for it somewhere.
So just a bit of an update for you, switched the brush cutter to the line cutting head the other day, performance was mind blowing in comparison to the cheap homeowner black and decker ones I have used before. I was finding there was stuff wrapping around the head with the line trimmer but I was mainly finding i was trying to take too deep a pass in one go or I didn't have enough line out.
 
So just a bit of an update for you, switched the brush cutter to the line cutting head the other day, performance was mind blowing in comparison to the cheap homeowner black and decker ones I have used before. I was finding there was stuff wrapping around the head with the line trimmer but I was mainly finding i was trying to take too deep a pass in one go or I didn't have enough line out.
I was also out at the weekend, the hedge trimmer worked fine, although the harness is a problem, I must look at getting a better one, I was cutting some lawn grass that got long in one area, only about 6 inches long and the line trimmer handled it fine, I tried a few tuff nettles but it kept breaking the line so I guess I'll need to put the metal blade on for them, but that's for another day!
 
Get yourself one of these, they're like a handheld flail.

 
guys, newbie alert here, please don't get mad
I hope it's appropriate to ask about trimmers here. So I have a situation: I've been using an old trimmer just to cut bushes and stuff and I knew it's not gonna last long but it eventually broke down this September. I don't remember what was the brand, so I started asking around my friends if someone can recommend a trimmer. Unfortunately, they dont trim themselves, they call a pro (lucky bastards). So then I started searching the web... And here is the point where everything became complicated. As long as I read, people recommend Echo. I found this trimmer comparison, but it leaves me with more questions than answers. I'd be glad if you help me out here, thanks
 
Back
Top