Without a sensible and reliable tool, it is very difficult to imagine logging, pruning large branches or sawed trees. It doesn’t matter to which category of users you consider yourself - a summer resident, gardener or an ordinary villager. Sooner or later you will have to face the choice of a chainsaw.
The best option is waiting for you on the counter of the next tool store, but you just have to decide on the criteria and other equally important characteristics that you definitely need to pay attention to at the time of selection. The main parameters of the tool directly affect the quality of work, as well as their duration.
So, let's try to understand this issue and determine the main criteria for choosing a chainsaw. Reviews about manufacturers, features of equipment and other important nuances will be considered in our article.
Difficulty choosing
Each technical tool has a specific operational resource. In our case, that is, for chainsaws, these are hours. So before choosing a chainsaw, be sure to pay special attention to this moment.
The indicator for simple tools ranges from 500 hours, and for more advanced ones - two or even three times higher. Together with the class, the power of the device is growing - from 1 to 9 horsepower, along with the duration of the work - from 1 to 8 hours. But in parallel with this, the price tag also increases, so the rule is that the more expensive, the better, it does not always work here. Because it is necessary to take into account the practicality of the purchase.
If you need a chainsaw for a summer residence, the choice in favor of a professional, as well as a powerful tool is impractical. Trimming branches and sawing wood with a tool that is designed for serious streaming work is not the best investment. So before choosing a chainsaw, you must first outline the scope of its application, as well as the frequency of use.
Saw Classification
All chainsaws can be divided into three groups - household, farm and professional. Here the main calculation comes from the intended use of the tool and its technical level. The choice of inexpensive household chainsaws is work in "home" conditions. That is, they will completely cope with the cut of trees in a small area, with the preparation of firewood and other needs of summer residents and owners of suburban estates.
The choice of a chainsaw of a farmer group (semi-professional) implies a higher load on the tool and its frequent use. In fact, this is practically the same household category, only for large volumes: it is thicker than a branch, larger is a logging site for harvesting firewood, etc.
The choice of a professional chainsaw will be justified if you work somewhere on logging or saw it all day long, for example, at some temporary work. It’s not worth it to buy an instrument of this group for one-time, albeit difficult, work. In this case, it is much more practical to hire a person with such a saw than to buy expensive equipment, which will then gather dust somewhere in the garage.
The optimal and universal choice of a chainsaw for the home is the farmer group. It differs not only at reasonable prices, but also with an assortment of very serious equipment for almost any specific needs.
Manufacturers
It’s worth mentioning right away that the choice of Chinese chainsaws in the domestic market is simply huge, but the quality of the models, as well as their effectiveness thereof, leave much to be desired. Of course, you can find an explanatory series from masters from the Middle Kingdom, but this will be a great success and not a regularity.
So here it is better to trust trusted and well-established brands that have been working in this market for more than a dozen years. Every venerable manufacturer understands that there is a serious struggle for each client on the market, and the misses made are not only a loss of many thousands of dollars, but also a blow to reputation. And rehabilitating itself in the eyes of demanding consumers is very, very difficult.
Moreover, for all well-known manufacturers, the choice of chainsaws is large, one might even say a huge one, both in the budget and premium sectors, so choosing the best option is not a problem. The competition is fierce, so company prices do not inflate, especially in the budget segment.
Top Chainsaw Manufacturers
Consider specific brands that you can and should look at when choosing chainsaws. All of them are presented not only in specialized offline stores, but also on thematic Internet resources, so there should be no problems with “feeling” the products.
Stihl
It is a German brand with almost a century of history. In fact, he became a pioneer in this area after he created the first electric motor saw. The manufacturer is represented on the market in all groups and segments. In its assortment you can find household, farm and professional saws from different price categories.
Judging by consumer reviews, the quality of the instrument for this brand is beyond praise. However, it will be useful to clarify that in recent years a lot of fakes have been divorced on the domestic market, which, of course, are critically behind in quality and technical terms from the original products. This is where undeserved negative reviews about the Calm instrument appear.
The pricing policy of the brand is quite acceptable with such a high quality product. Ordinary home saws can be bought for 15 thousand rubles, about 35 thousand are models of a farmer's group, and a professional tool starts at a mark of 50 thousand.
Husqvarna
A venerable Swedish company has been operating in the market of garden tools, equipment and saws, including for nearly 300 years, and during this time it has shown itself exclusively on the positive side. On the market you can find models of all three groups, and the company pursues a more than adequate pricing policy.
Users leave completely positive reviews about the products of this brand. It is good for everyone, but, perhaps, the only fly in the ointment that hits the consumer’s pocket very strongly is expensive consumables. Of course, tool breakdowns are minimized here, but the same chain, which is better and more reliable cannot be done in principle, costs very good money.
Prices for household products start at 14 thousand rubles, farm models from 25,000, and professional ones from 30 thousand. In this case, there are not so many fakes as the Calm products, but they still occur, so you need to keep your ears open and buy tools only in trusted stores.
Emak
This Italian brand is not as well known in our country as the others, but those who at least once tried to work with tools of the Oleo-Mac or Efco brand are singing praises to this manufacturer in unison. All models undergo meticulous testing on the conveyor and are characterized by an increased operational resource.
If in the first two cases it was almost possible to go broke on consumables, then here we have quite attractive price tags. In addition, a good half of spare parts are interchangeable with some domestic saws, so the savings are quite obvious. Users mostly leave positive reviews about the saws from this brand. They are reliable, easy to use and unpretentious in maintenance.
Budget household models from this manufacturer will start at 15 thousand rubles, the average price segment starts at 20 000, and the professional - from 40 thousand. Although it was not noticed fakes, it is better to give preference to trusted stores.
Champion
This is just the rare exception when a Chinese factory produces quite decent products. Of course, it is very difficult to compare it with Shtil or Husqvarna tools, but saws find their customers primarily due to their more than affordable price tags along with good product quality.
Reviews about the products of the Champion brand are mixed, but the overall rating ranges from four out of five points. It is better to choose a specific model from well-proven series. On large trading Internet sites there are many reviews of real customers about certain saws, and you can already navigate them.
The manufacturer works only in a budgetary, that is, a household group, and does not swing a farmer’s tool, not to mention the professional segment. For 6-8 thousand rubles, you can buy a very decent saw for a home or garden, which will faithfully serve for a long time. In addition, supplies for the “Champions” are mere pennies in comparison with accessories for more noble models from venerable brands.
Partner
This is a Swedish company, which until recently supplied the tool exclusively to professionals in their field. In the early 90s, farm models and even later household models began to appear in domestic markets for a wide range of consumers. After the reorganization, the brand has completely switched to the budget sector and is in it to this day.
The Partner company is part of the large Husqvarna concern and produces a very good and at the same time cheap tool. For 6-10 thousand rubles you can buy an intelligent chainsaw - simple and inexpensive to maintain.
Reviews on the products of the company "Partner" are mostly positive. There are practically no critical flaws in technology, and minor flaws are more than offset by a low price tag. In addition, repairs, as well as consumables for saws, are inexpensive. Materials are sold literally in every store for a summer resident.