MS391 Owners.......

[golfandwoodnut]

390s are the best bang for the buck. Atleast new. i got a 660 like new for $800 with 2 bars.

 

[trailrated]

If you are upgrading from a 290 go to a Pro 361. Don't get me wrong, I have a MS390, but when I bought it new it was only about $120 more than a MS290, I think about $470. The 391 is alot more expensive than that, you might as well go 361 if you are going to spend $500+.

I didn't see a 361 at my dealer, and I'm not seeing one in the catalog. Was it replaced with the 362 maybe?

YES!

I just looked up the 362 it was retailing for $700 :bug: at my local dealers.... think I am going to have to pass on that upgrade :-S
I was thinking I would be willing to spend maybe $100-150 more than I did on my 290 (say up to $500) to get some more power but over $300 more is a bit much for me. Thats nearly double the cost!

Yea, 500 -550 is all I want to spend, thats why I was looking at the 391. Wonder why the 362 is cheaper than a 391?? Maybe because its a "pro" model??

 

[bigburner]

when I go to the woods I throw in all 3 working saws - MS250 [little], Husky [middle], MS460 [big]. I have had the MS460 a couple of years and bought it for the reason mentioned in the original post. This saw with a 20 bar is an unbelievable cutting machine. Think it was about 800.00 bucks and it was worth every penny. I also have a 36 inch bar for it, I don't use it a lot so the diminished performance the the bigger bar isn't a deal. No regrets - it has power threw the whole RPM range.

 

[Exmasonite]

Was just at the local stihl dealer (Torrington, CT) and they have a Demo 391 for $494 (tag says reduced from $550). Not sure how many hours a demo unit will have on it.

 

[Highbeam]

I also have a 290 and would not "upgrade" to another saw in the 290/310/390 series. These FYI are the same saw with only a different piston and cylinder. You know, you could always just put on the 390 P&C.

In your shoes, I would skip the Stihl and get the 6401 Makita. Mucho upgrade potential and a pro saw at 64cc. You can swap the P&C some day for the 73cc or 79cc version. Plus there are big bore kits beyond that. Stihl has priced themselves too high.

I like to buy saws on the bottom of the range since the bottom end stout enough to handle the bigger piston should have a long life if you use the small one.

 

[trailrated]

I also have a 290 and would not "upgrade" to another saw in the 290/310/390 series. These FYI are the same saw with only a different piston and cylinder. You know, you could always just put on the 390 P&C.

In your shoes, I would skip the Stihl and get the 6401 Makita. Mucho upgrade potential and a pro saw at 64cc. You can swap the P&C some day for the 73cc or 79cc version. Plus there are big bore kits beyond that. Stihl has priced themselves too high.

I like to buy saws on the bottom of the range since the bottom end stout enough to handle the bigger piston should have a long life if you use the small one.

Yea but I'm not that mechanically inclined when it comes to choosing and changing piston/cylinders.