Echo cs 590 vs Stihl ms 291 or Stihl ms 311

[Ashful]

"My hands sure do get cold when I run a chainsaw" said no one ever.

lol!

I don't get the heated handles thing, either. I do most of my cutting in winter, but have never had want for this option. Maybe if it were -20F outside here, but in our typical above-zero winter weather, I have never seen this as an issue of concern.

Might be a good option for our Alaskan brethren, tho.

 

[Firewood Bandit]

lol!

I don't get the heated handles thing, either. I do most of my cutting in winter, but have never had want for this option. Maybe if it were -20F outside here, but in our typical above-zero winter weather, I have never seen this as an issue of concern.

Might be a good option for our Alaskan brethren, tho.

Before you make a judgment, have you ran a heated handle saw for a day in moderate weather, say 10-20 degrees?

If you haven't, then this is not much different than making comments on saw models you know nothing about either.

It wasn't too long ago air conditioning was considered frivolous in a car. Would you buy a car without A/C?

 

[Minnesota Marty]

I was in a hardware store selling echo chain saws yesterday and they have a Echo CS590 for $369 that comes with the Echo 20" bar and chain.
That doesn't sound like too bad a price. Am I right?

 

[Firewood Bandit]

I was in a hardware store selling echo chain saws yesterday and they have a Echo CS590 for $369 that comes with the Echo 20" bar and chain.
That doesn't sound like too bad a price. Am I right?

That is a smoking price. The sale price is $399.

 

[Isaiah53]

I paid $529 for a 550XPG.

]
The MSRP of a 550XPG is almost $670 according their website. I am curious if you can expect this large of a discount with Husqvarna dealers elsewhere. Their pricing seems to be pretty secretive. The only reference have are the dealers on e-Bay that only list slightly below MSRP (maybe $650). I do not have any Husky dealers near me.

 

[Firewood Bandit]

I paid $529 for a 550XPG.

]
The MSRP of a 550XPG is almost $670 according their website. I am curious if you can expect this large of a discount with Husqvarna dealers elsewhere. Their pricing seems to be pretty secretive. The only reference have are the dealers on e-Bay that only list slightly below MSRP (maybe $650). I do not have any Husky dealers near me.

Husky dealers will discount. You probably aren't going to get a discount as much as I did, but then you probably haven't done the amount of business with this shop as I have either.

 

[D8Chumley]

You can keep your heated handles. "My hands sure do get cold when I run a chainsaw" said no one ever..

That's funny right there! And $369 for a 590 with 20" bar, I just paid $399 with 18". Still a good deal in my eyes

 

[SXIPro]

Sure it does. That's why they sell them for all different cost points.

Oh, I understand why they do it on the selling side. But as buyers no one should be saying "This saw suits my needs better but is $50-$100 more than this other one, I think I'll save the $$ and buy this less capable saw." That makes zero sense whatsoever. None. Costs more than that to gas up the truck.

 

[greythorn3]

i dont know why we cant get the Echo 590 in alaska. hd wont ship and they arent in the store.

 

[Firewood Bandit]

Oh, I understand why they do it on the selling side. But as buyers no one should be saying "This saw suits my needs better but is $50-$100 more than this other one, I think I'll save the $$ and buy this less capable saw." That makes zero sense whatsoever. None. Costs more than that to gas up the truck.

Most people buy cheap saws for exactly that reason, they are cheap.

Seems like I heard a statistic that only about 10% of the saws sold are the high end pro saws of large displacement. Most are the crap sold at box stores.

 

[firefighterjake]

Most people buy cheap saws for exactly that reason, they are cheap.

Seems like I heard a statistic that only about 10% of the saws sold are the high end pro saws of large displacement. Most are the crap sold at box stores.

Makes sense when you figure there are also a lot of folks that buy a chainsaw solely for yard work or for very occasional use.

 

[Firewood Bandit]

Makes sense when you figure there are also a lot of folks that buy a chainsaw solely for yard work or for very occasional use.

From what I understand, the large # of refurbished saw for sale are because people have a specific use such as a tree falls down after a storm so they buy a saw at the big box store and use it. Then they return it and get their money back.

 

[firefighterjake]

From what I understand, the large # of refurbished saw for sale are because people have a specific use such as a tree falls down after a storm so they buy a saw at the big box store and use it. Then they return it and get their money back.

I can definitely believe that as well . . . saw this a number of years ago with an ice storm where folks bought generators and then returned the "defective" ones . . . most likely right after their power was restored. Very short sighted of them . . . but it worked out well for me. My "defective" generator that I bought was the last one at Home Depot -- gas tank was completely dry and the sticker on the muffler hadn't even burned off yet. I figure the folks that bought it, returned home to find the power back on . . . one would assume they were not so stupid to not put any gas in the tank.

 

[johndams]

Farm boss is traditionally the 291, not the 271. I own the ms290 and it's great. I am really appreciating a long bar these days not so much fof the large logs but because you dont have to bend over to cut the round and get a sore back.

Any new saw i get will be capable of running a 24" bar.

all the ney sayers about echo don't know what there missing,if you don't own them you don't know;the 590 is the best buy on earth,i have 2 also husky's455-555 auto tune-365-372-and 4 older huskys [61-262-390-268]I have new stihls 271-391-441-[the 271 and 391 are ok, nothing special and the 600 dollor 391 cuts about as fast as the 400 dollor 590 echo.ihave jonsred 2261-new 2260[awsoom] an echo 680 that eats the stihl 391 up with a 24inch bar, the 391 has a 20inch, the stihl is good quality,but wont cut with the competition,now the stihl fathfull will get mad but they are not the saw the 039 super-029-older farm boss,the 441 15 years old is faster and better built than a 939 dollor new one,plus echo has a 5 YEAR WARRENTY AND THEY STAND BEHIND THEM,dont be brand brainwashed,i have a cs 400 echo that's 5 years old and have run hundreds of hours -starts up 2nd pull and cuts all day,the 680 has an oiler pump with your thumb when you need xtra oil,its awsoom simple good deal, good luck to all john, full time pro'

 

[Grateful11]

I was in a hardware store selling echo chain saws yesterday and they have a Echo CS590 for $369 that comes with the Echo 20" bar and chain.
That doesn't sound like too bad a price. Am I right?

Our local dealer was running a killer deal of 20% off all Echo handheld equipment last week for some reason, it was suppose to be Saturday only but we went by on Friday and they were already discounting them.

We got a CS-590 with a 24" bar for $329.95, it was $10 extra for the 24" bar and chain. Couldn't pass that up. Also picked up a CS-310 14" for $159.95. Wife even sweet talked him into throwing in an Echo boxset with an Echo hat, safety glasses and gloves. They gassed them both up and test ran them and said if they feel like they're running a bit lean once they're broke in bring them in and they would tune them. They've been in the outdoor power business for over 30 years.

OT: They carry TimberWolf wood splitters, wow what a nice looking splitter, especially the one with the 6-way wedge and a V-twin Honda $8600, I think.

 

[Trktrd]

I bought my 590 from a dealer that sells only Stihl and Echo.I knew what I was after when I walked in the store. Yet he suggested I check out the Stihl saws. I grabbed the 590 and checked out. After all was said and done he admitted that he would have rather sold me a Stihl because they are always coming back for service and that's his bread and butter. He said it's a rare occasion that anyone brings back an Echo with a problem. Been running Echos for over twenty years and have no complaints.

 

[HitzerHillbilly]

I've had a MS 311 for a few years now! Been an excellent saw, but I won't be one to knock echo either.

 

[Ashful]

echo has a 5 YEAR WARRENTY AND THEY STAND BEHIND THEM,dont be brand brainwashed,i have a cs 400 echo that's 5 years old and have run hundreds of hours -starts up 2nd pull and cuts all day

What I've always experienced, and have heard many repeat (landscapers and homeowners alike), is that the top end Echo equipment is dead reliable. My 510 EVL had some years on it, but still fired and ran predictably, every time. Same with my Echo blower and trimmer. However, they do usually fall short of Stihl and Husqvarna saws on performance, in terms of power/weight ratio. They also miss the little thing that Stihl just seems to get right, such as properly sizing and placing their fuel fillers, clear tanks, better ergonomics, etc.

 

[rowerwet]

I love my 590! After having an inherited ms261 die from abuse done before I got it, I bought a used husky 460. It does the job and has been good enough. I got an incomplete 455 but sold it later that year. This spring I bought an CS400 I couldn't believe how much faster the saw was, but still not everything I needed.
I just found a brand new CS590 at home depot for $300, not only is it fast like the 400, but it has serious power!
My latest scrounge is a row of trees I have to fell, cut and clear. The job is going so much faster with the 590. I only use the 460 for limbing or when the 590 is dull or pinched.

 

[mountainlake]

With the Echo CS590 out there don't even consider a Stihl 291 or 311, not in the same league. Steve

 

[mountainlake]

all the ney sayers about echo don't know what there missing,if you don't own them you don't know;the 590 is the best buy on earth,i have 2 also husky's455-555 auto tune-365-372-and 4 older huskys [61-262-390-268]I have new stihls 271-391-441-[the 271 and 391 are ok, nothing special and the 600 dollor 391 cuts about as fast as the 400 dollor 590 echo.ihave jonsred 2261-new 2260[awsoom] an echo 680 that eats the stihl 391 up with a 24inch bar, the 391 has a 20inch, the stihl is good quality,but wont cut with the competition,now the stihl fathfull will get mad but they are not the saw the 039 super-029-older farm boss,the 441 15 years old is faster and better built than a 939 dollor new one,plus echo has a 5 YEAR WARRENTY AND THEY STAND BEHIND THEM,dont be brand brainwashed,i have a cs 400 echo that's 5 years old and have run hundreds of hours -starts up 2nd pull and cuts all day,the 680 has an oiler pump with your thumb when you need xtra oil,its awsoom simple good deal, good luck to all john, full time pro'

A Echo CS590 is built just as good as the pro Husky and Stihl saws and WAY better than their rancher models, the best buy out there by far, I got a brand new one for $302 from Zoro when they had a 30% off sale for 1 day. Far as cutting I was on a sawmill job yesterday and my customer ran my CS590 to cut some logs in half and he wanted to keep it at the end of the day, he owns a MS362 Stihl. Steve

 

[Hezz]

Bought a CS590 a few weeks ago because of this thread and a few others. Paid full price (399), got a nice Husqvarna case at dealer cost and my son got a free hat...

Couldn't be happier, saw starts easy and cuts much more quickly than any of the old worn out Stihl farm and ranch saws I have mostly used. Thanks for posting your experiences!

 

[D8Chumley]

Congrats on your purchase! Mine is back at the dealer right now. They are backed up 3 weeks, it wouldn't idle, kept shutting off. I'm sure it's just dirt in the carb somewhere, as sometimes even though I clean out my funnel there is still some dirt in it when it's in the back of my work truck. Hopefully I'll have it back next week. Other than that, I have no complaints. I'm getting itchy, it's about that time to start cutting the blowdowns and dead standing I've got around the woods here

 

[Ashful]

I'm getting itchy, it's about that time to start cutting the blowdowns and dead standing I've got around the woods here

Spent some time splitting the last two days, as is my tradition for this weekend [1]. So far, about a cord and a half of oak, and a half cord of mixed ash and sassafras. Weather sucked today, with a slow rain all afternoon. Didn't bother me much, but made a muddy mess of the grass around the wood piles, between foot and tractor traffic.

[1] - https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/five-cords-one-finger.95375/

 

[drz1050]

I have an Echo CS-590 with a 20" bar. No complaints. Starts in 3 pulls when cold, one when hot. I've buried that bar into beech, oak and hickory and it just keeps going, as long as I don't lean on it (which I know you're not supposed to do anyways...)