# Stihl 066 or Husky 372xp?



## Sonnofa Redgum (Dec 9, 2012)

G'day fellas,

I am in the market for a new chainsaw to replace the Husky Rancher I sold to my neighbour due to it being a little undersized for my purposes. I've had advise from two professional saw users, one suggested the Stihl 066 and the other the Husky 372 XP. I was pretty happy with the Husky for lighter work after I got rid of the off the shelf chain it came with and upped the bar from the 18" it came with. How ever the work I'm tackling requires more balls, red gum "branches" up to 1.5 meter thick and rock hard. I noticed there is a slight "if you use a Husky you must wear frilly underwear" undertone here, but hey, some one has to buy them to keep them in business right? Objective opinions and wise cracks appreciated! Cheers in advance.


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## RK_MacKendrick (Dec 9, 2012)

Go with the largest you can afford old son. Don't hock a valuable appendage of any sort to raise funds.
Although you could do a chook raffle


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## lukem (Dec 9, 2012)

Can't go wrong with either.


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## RK_MacKendrick (Dec 9, 2012)

If we are spending sonnafa's Aussie bucks, we should go with a 3120XP and dodge the med weight saws all together.
Stihls are ok, the Huskys rev better and run smoother. It really boils down to which dealer provides the best service.
As far as wearin' the frillies, I have found that Stihl owners do that, Husky owners go with the Gramma panties.
I'm a McCulloch man, we go commando, we won't discuss the Homelite guys.


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## HittinSteel (Dec 9, 2012)

One is a 70cc and the other 90cc. Weight is also quite different. I would consider apples to apples......

How long of a bar do you need to run?

If 70cc is what you want then the 372 is one of the best saws ever made, as are the stihl 440/460's

If you need 90cc, then look at huskys comparible model to the stihl 660, the 390XP.


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## HittinSteel (Dec 9, 2012)

Not much that can't be done with a ported 372


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## Sonnofa Redgum (Dec 9, 2012)

Believe it or not its cheaper for me to buy in the US and ship it to Aust than buy either of them here off the shelf, so I'm in the market at about $800 give or take.

This is just an annual firewood round up on a small acreage so it will probably come out of the shed maybe a dozen times a year or depending on how much time I "need" to spend out of the house, so weight probably isn't an over lying factor. The Rancher was a good weight, and I'm not built like Rambo nor like Peter Griffins, so something around 4-5 Kg would be fine. Once this big stuff is gone (bigger than in the vid above) I'm back to general purpose so the 372 XP is looking like the more versatile solution until I catch the same fungal growth that makes me want to collect saws. Bar size I'll probably get a 24" and a 28"(reading the other thread it seems the 28" was highly recommended).

Worse case scenario, I need something bigger, I just convince my neighbour the Rancher is too small for his needs and needs a 372 XP...




RK_MacKendrick said:


> As far as wearin' the frillies, I have found that Stihl owners do that, Husky owners go with the Gramma panties.
> I'm a McCulloch man, we go commando, we won't discuss the Homelite guys.


 
I'm happy to be stuck with the gramma panties, that way if I have a close miss with an important limb, the dribbling down my leg won't distract me!


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## amateur cutter (Dec 9, 2012)

I'm a stihl guy, but for what you're doing, I'd go 372 XP. Great all around saw, that should handle that job & other smaller ones well. A C

BTW: Nice to see you over here Randy. Where's the 6 cube tag line in your sig?


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## HittinSteel (Dec 9, 2012)

amateur cutter said:


> I'm a stihl guy, but for what you're doing, I'd go 372 XP. Great all around saw, that should handle that job & other smaller ones well. A C
> 
> BTW: Nice to see you over here Randy. Where's the 6 cube tag line in your sig?


 
Yes, a lot of knowledge has been added to the forum. Welcome Randy.


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## MarkinNC (Dec 9, 2012)

The 066 is probably a bad choice for a sole saw.  A 372 or 441 would be a durable productive choice.


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## RK_MacKendrick (Dec 9, 2012)

Hi guys. Thanks. I'm here because we have new Quad Santa Fe, "The Gear" is a happy bonus.

Sonnafa, I noticed that Aussies dribble at a drop of a hat, we'll talk in the paddock...


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## StihlHead (Dec 9, 2012)

Sonnofa Redgum said:


> Believe it or not its cheaper for me to buy in the US and ship it to Aust than buy either of them here off the shelf, so I'm in the market at about $800 give or take.


 
I have shipped a lot of saws overseas, and you are not going to get either a 372xp or an MS660 for $800 USD, even before they are shipped from here. Defaintely apples and orange comparison too, the 660 and 372 are not in the same class. The more comparable saw to the Stihl MS660 is the Husky 395xpw, and the more comparable saw to the Husky 372xpw is the MS460 (the 372xp compares to the MS440, but the 440 is being phased out here again).

The last MS660 power head that I shipped to Oz was $1340 USD with shipping, insurance, exchange and overhead costs.
The last 372xpw power head that I shipped to Oz was $1090 USD with shipping, insurance, exchange and overhead costs. 
The last 395xpw power head that I shipped to Oz was $1340 USD with shipping, insurance, exchange and overhead costs (same as the 660).
The last MS460  power head that I shipped to NZ (same rate to Oz) was $1230 USD with shipping, insurance, exchange and overhead costs.

Compare these prices to the list prices in Oz for these saws. Down under the The MS660 is: $2000 AUD ($2100 USD), the MS460 is $1800 AUD ($1890 USD). The 395xp is $2000 AUD, and the 372xp is not listed for sale there any more. Today the exchange rate is $1.00 AUD is $1.05 USD.


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## TreePointer (Dec 9, 2012)

Some of the modders over at AS will mod & ship to Australia.

I don't know if he has a presence here, too, but MCW and some other Aussies over at AS cut lots of gum. I think he has Dolmar 7900's, too. Check out some of his posts on cutting gum and saw performance.


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## amateur cutter (Dec 9, 2012)

TreePointer said:


> Some of the modders over at AS will mod & ship to Australia.
> 
> I don't know if he has a presence here, too, but MCW over at AS cuts lots of gum. I think he has Dolmar 7900's, too. Check out some of his posts on cutting gum and saw performance.


 
Good thinking, I completely forgot that option. A C


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## ScotO (Dec 9, 2012)

I'm a Stihl guy, but I bought a used 372XP this past summer and I love that thing like all get-out.  Fun saw to run, great power-to-weight ratio......I'm thinking Mastermind or BSnelling over at AS may be doing a Woods-port and squish band on that saw someday in the future.  I'll do the muffler mod myself.

Nice to see you over here, RandyMac........how do you like that Santa Fe so far?


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## TreePointer (Dec 9, 2012)

HittinSteel said:


> Yes, a lot of knowledge has been added to the forum. Welcome Randy.


 
Agreed.


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## MasterMech (Dec 9, 2012)

Scotty Overkill said:


> ......I'm thinking Mastermind or BSnelling over at AS may be doing a Woods-port and squish band on that saw someday in the future. I'll do the muffler mod myself.


 
I think if were already payin' one of the boyz over there to unleash the saw, I'd let 'em have his way with the muffler too.


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## ScotO (Dec 9, 2012)

MasterMech said:


> I think if were already payin' one of the boyz over there to unleash the saw, I'd let 'em have his way with the muffler too.


 I gotta have SOMETHING on that saw that I customized myself.  I may make a set of dual drag pipes up before I send it out.  Who knows, maybe I'll get a contract to build custom mufflers for ol' Mastermind.....


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## Sonnofa Redgum (Dec 9, 2012)

Thank you everyone for your input and advise. It makes it easier to make a purchase like this when many of the comments support my original choice of saw. Stihlhead, you are about right with the cost, I've been able to source a supplier who will send one to me for just under $1000 US, stihl a significant saving on what I would have to pay over here. Yes, pun intended.


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## ditchrider (Dec 10, 2012)

372 or 066 for the same price? 066 hands down. For an only saw though, I'd have to go with the 372 or the comparable 460. Push them with a longer bar when you have the big stuff, and for an all day, only saw for occasional use, I would rather not have the weight and stress of the bigger saws.

I have the 390xp. It's a rip. I like what it does. But even when I only have the 24" bar on it can take a toll on me. I tend to use my 346xp in general. I'm comparing apples to cherries, I know.

But I'm just sayin' if you have only one saw, do you really need the 90cc's or would the 372 do everything you need it to, most of the time? I had a 36" bar I would run on my 268xp (similar to the 372xp) and it got me out of a bind when I needed it. It was my only saw in the beginning. It'll save you a few hundred dollars and a little fatigue if you can settle for the 372xp or the 460 Stihl.

But I've never cut redgum. You say it's rock hard. You say up to 1.5 meters diameter. That's a lot of tree to work on. If it's mainly 1.0 meters and larger, I'd strongly consider the 066 if you don't deal with very much smaller trees.


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## StihlHead (Dec 10, 2012)

Sonnofa Redgum said:


> Thank you everyone for your input and advise. It makes it easier to make a purchase like this when many of the comments support my original choice of saw. Stihlhead, you are about right with the cost, I've been able to source a supplier who will send one to me for just under $1000 US, stihl a significant saving on what I would have to pay over here. Yes, pun intended.


 
Just a note that the cost on the 372 I listed above was for the 372xpw, which is the pre-smogged larger engine (74cc) 372 with a 3/4 wrap. The original 372xp has a smaller 71cc engine (same as was on the 371), and that is also the size of the engine on the new smogged 372xp/xt (x-torque). The 372xpw is not available any more in the US, the quote above was just for a price comparison.


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## StihlHead (Dec 10, 2012)

RK_MacKendrick said:


> If we are spending sonnafa's Aussie bucks, we should go with a 3120XP and dodge the med weight saws all together.
> Stihls are ok, the Huskys rev better and run smoother. It really boils down to which dealer provides the best service.
> As far as wearin' the frillies, I have found that Stihl owners do that, Husky owners go with the Gramma panties.
> I'm a McCulloch man, we go commando, we won't discuss the Homelite guys.


 
I bought a Husky 395xpw a few months after I 'saw' you last, and you would have been impressed. I later got a 372xpw and a 346xp, and then decided I was CAD crazy and sold them all after I bought my new place. Also the Husky/Kubota dealer is on the very far side of town from me now, and they have moved even farther west since then.


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## J.R. Weiss (Dec 12, 2012)

Sonnofa Redgum said:


> G'day fellas,
> 
> I am in the market for a new chainsaw to replace the Husky Rancher I sold to my neighbour due to it being a little undersized for my purposes. I've had advise from two professional saw users, one suggested the Stihl 066 and the other the Husky 372 XP. I was pretty happy with the Husky for lighter work after I got rid of the off the shelf chain it came with and upped the bar from the 18" it came with. How ever the work I'm tackling requires more balls, red gum "branches" up to 1.5 meter thick and rock hard. I noticed there is a slight "if you use a Husky you must wear frilly underwear" undertone here, but hey, some one has to buy them to keep them in business right? Objective opinions and wise cracks appreciated! Cheers in advance.


 

I suggest you look at the NEW 562XP or 576XP - with Autotune, Husqvarna saws. These are incredible saws. Really have very consistent power. Check out Husqvarna.com or gamka.com for more information. The Autotune technology is changing the chainsaw world. Stihl does not have a real answer for it. Forget the written word. Put the saw in your hands and feel the power.

Stihl actually sued Husqvarna to get the technology and Husqvarna lost in the courts and is now providing them the information so they can make their own. The courts ruled that Husqvarna would have an "unfair advantage" in their technology and possibly wipe out the competition with this new technology.  WOW.


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## smokinj (Dec 12, 2012)

Red gum is as rough as your ever going to cut. I would go as big as you can afford and Chain,chain chain of fools! (You better be one of the best sharpeners modded saw just going to use more fuel) 90cc +


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## MasterMech (Dec 12, 2012)

J.R. Weiss said:


> Stihl actually sued Husqvarna to get the technology and Husqvarna lost in the courts and is now providing them the information so they can make their own. The courts ruled that Husqvarna would have an "unfair advantage" in their technology and possibly wipe out the competition with this new technology. WOW.


 
Got any links to that suit?


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## StihlHead (Dec 12, 2012)

J.R. Weiss said:


> I suggest you look at the NEW 562XP or 576XP - with Autotune, Husqvarna saws. These are incredible saws. Really have very consistent power. Check out Husqvarna.com or gamka.com for more information. The Autotune technology is changing the chainsaw world. Stihl does not have a real answer for it. Forget the written word. Put the saw in your hands and feel the power.
> 
> Stihl actually sued Husqvarna to get the technology and Husqvarna lost in the courts and is now providing them the information so they can make their own. The courts ruled that Husqvarna would have an "unfair advantage" in their technology and possibly wipe out the competition with this new technology. WOW.


 
First post here and you are already picking fights, eh? 

If you wanna debate law suits and power tool design elements we can go round and round about that, especially with John Deere and the lobby for EPA laws on saws in the US, clean burning 2-stroke technology, AV, air filtration, ignitions, porting, yadda yadda yadda... in the end as a consumer, does it really matter? Or are you just trolling here for a fight?

Various forms of variable and auto-tune have been used for a long time in lots of types of engines. Stihl has the auto-tune M-tronic out there now, its already on the market. Has been for a long while. The 562 is a good saw, but it has an inboard clutch. What are you gonna do when you pinch that bar in a cut? Or if you just want to swap out rims on the fly? As I have said many times here and elsewhere, inborad clutches generally suck. Why Husky sticks with them on saws like the 346 and 562 is beyond me. The 576 also has a coil limiter in it, so it does not have the power that it could. A tad more power than the 71cc 372xp (same power as the74cc), smoother AV, heavier saw than the 372 though by over a pound.

WOW!


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## firefighterjake (Dec 12, 2012)

StihlHead said:


> First post here and you are already picking fights, eh?
> 
> If you wanna debate law suits and power tool design elements we can go round and round about that, especially with John Deere and the lobby for EPA laws on saws in the US, clean burning 2-stroke technology, AV, air filtration, ignitions, porting, yadda yadda yadda... in the end as a consumer, does it really matter? Or are you just trolling here for a fight?
> 
> ...


 
Honestly I didn't think the post was so much written to pick a fight . . . rather to me it sounded like either a dealer, Husqvarna employee or Overly Avid Husqvarna Fan . . . it did come across as a little over the top . . . but sometimes words alone do not convey a person's true intent.


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## HittinSteel (Dec 12, 2012)

I'm interested in the lawsuit, hopefully he posts a link to the decision.


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## bclumberjack (Jun 20, 2013)

J.R. Weiss said:


> I suggest you look at the NEW 562XP or 576XP - with Autotune, Husqvarna saws. These are incredible saws. Really have very consistent power. Check out Husqvarna.com or gamka.com for more information. The Autotune technology is changing the chainsaw world. Stihl does not have a real answer for it. Forget the written word. Put the saw in your hands and feel the power.
> 
> Stihl actually sued Husqvarna to get the technology and Husqvarna lost in the courts and is now providing them the information so they can make their own. The courts ruled that Husqvarna would have an "unfair advantage" in their technology and possibly wipe out the competition with this new technology. WOW.


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## bclumberjack (Jun 20, 2013)

MarkinNC said:


> The 066 is probably a bad choice for a sole saw. A 372 or 441 would be a durable productive choice.


  I have had several huskie 372 power saws and each one blew up with in two months. The bottom bearing went on the crankshaft I'm  a logger for a living and I  need a good dependable saw and huskies arnt dependable


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## bclumberjack (Jun 20, 2013)

J.R. Weiss said:


> I suggest you look at the NEW 562XP or 576XP - with Autotune, Husqvarna saws. These are incredible saws. Really have very consistent power. Check out Husqvarna.com or gamka.com for more information. The Autotune technology is changing the chainsaw world. Stihl does not have a real answer for it. Forget the written word. Put the saw in your hands and feel the power.
> 
> Stihl actually sued Husqvarna to get the technology and Husqvarna lost in the courts and is now providing them the information so they can make their own. The courts ruled that Husqvarna would have an "unfair advantage" in their technology and possibly wipe out the competition with this new technology. WOW.


 I'm a  logger for a living and I need good dependable saws and the Husqavarna 576 auto tunes were not a great saw. I had three of them and two out of three blew up after 5 months of use. They wouldnt rev up either. They dont have a lot of power for the size of the saw and the weight that you have to carry  every day.The Husquavarna dealer ship didnt give me good service either


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## Bigg_Redd (Jun 20, 2013)

Sonnofa Redgum said:


> G'day fellas,
> 
> I am in the market for a new chainsaw to replace the Husky Rancher I sold to my neighbour due to it being a little undersized for my purposes. I've had advise from two professional saw users, one suggested the Stihl 066 and the other the Husky 372 XP. I was pretty happy with the Husky for lighter work after I got rid of the off the shelf chain it came with and upped the bar from the 18" it came with. How ever the work I'm tackling requires more balls, red gum "branches" up to 1.5 meter thick and rock hard. I noticed there is a slight "if you use a Husky you must wear frilly underwear" undertone here, but hey, some one has to buy them to keep them in business right? Objective opinions and wise cracks appreciated! Cheers in advance.


 
That's an odd _either/or_, but, of those two (and I hate to say this) you gotta go with the 372. The 066 is a real beast and, IMO, too much saw for even the most enthusiastic firewood cutter if it's your main or only saw.


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## blujacket (Jun 20, 2013)

bclumberjack said:


> I have had several huskie 372 power saws and each one blew up with in two months. The bottom bearing went on the crankshaft I'm a logger for a living and I need a good dependable saw and huskies arnt dependable


 



bclumberjack said:


> I'm a logger for a living and I need good dependable saws and the Husqavarna 576 auto tunes were not a great saw. I had three of them and two out of three blew up after 5 months of use. They wouldnt rev up either. They dont have a lot of power for the size of the saw and the weight that you have to carry every day.The Husquavarna dealer ship didnt give me good service either


 

I would think after so many problems you wouldn't buy another Husky, but you bought several after failures. Sounds fishy.


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## MasterMech (Jun 20, 2013)

HittinSteel said:


> I'm interested in the lawsuit, hopefully he posts a link to the decision.


 
Links or it never happened?


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## Ashful (Jun 20, 2013)

bclumberjack said:


> The bottom bearing went on the crankshaft I'm a logger for a living and I need a good dependable saw and huskies arnt dependable


 

A local arborist who I've used for a few jobs had the same opinion, when I asked. He has two or three small crews working for him, and used to buy 100% Husqvarna. A few years ago he switched to 100% Stihl, and says he's not going back. In his words, "for performance -- power to weight ratio and such -- they're pretty equal, but for durability you can't beat Stihl." He said the Husqvarna's broke to easily and often, and he doesn't have nearly the same maintenance costs and failures with the Stihls.

For the average pro-sumer, using and caring for his own saws, I can't see this as being much an issue. Likely much more an issue for someone supplying quantities of saws to a crew of a dozen or more, where the saws are not likely to be cared for in the same way you care for your own saw. One of his anecdotal stories was about how frequently they run over saws with trucks and/or tractors, and how the Stihl's always fare much better when being inadvertently run over by a small dump truck or dropped out of a tree by a climber.

Just one pro's opinion, don't shoot the messenger.


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## bclumberjack (Jun 20, 2013)

blujacket said:


> I would think after so many problems you wouldn't buy another Husky, but you bought several after failures. Sounds fishy.


  I bought three at once and your right after all the problems I've had I  won't be buying any more Husquavarnas


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## MasterMech (Jun 20, 2013)

Joful said:


> Just one pro's opinion, don't shoot the messenger.


 
Another pro's opinion:

We used to re-jug 346XP's and 372XP's (more so the former) quite often for the die-hard Husky tree jockeys. Put a lot of handle/fuel tank assemblies on those saws too! Many would say they bought Husky because of the performance and the superior AV, better filtration and so on and so forth. But every one of them had an old 044/046 kicking around on a truck that just refused to die.

Kinda like a fast car, everyone loves to brag about how fast it is or how good it looks.  But they are pretty tight lipped about the repair bills.


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