My first boss (i'm a tree surgeon by the way), once told me that Husqies are the ferrarri's of saws, great when they work, but require alot of maintenence. Sthil are more like volvos, not quite a good but keep going. The Echo's now are becoming a supurb saw. Makita's are great, but run at very high revs (good for clean cuts and fast work, but not so long lived). Jhonserad are low budget husqies (same company), so very good and very little difference.
Go with the best you can afford, but don't be tempted by bells and whistles.
And, as everybody has said, get yourself on a basic chainsaw course as soon as possible (most farm colleges offer them). And make sure you get the best protective gear possible (most accidents are by inexperienced users, cross cutting and not wearing ballistic trousers).
Good luck and feel free to ask for any advice
Baggins
sorry swyn but they're not bad saws, that being said I also use Stihl). One thing to consider also is how available spares are - if you have a husqvarna dealer near to you then a husky might be a better choice. Garden machinery and repair dealers sometimes sell second-hand reconditioned saws but take care as they may be on their last legs. You dont need a license to buy a chainsaw (you do to rent one however as the hire firm is liable), but if you are doing felling work I would reccomend you put yourself on a National Profficiency Test Council (NPTC) course - type that in a search engine and it will give you details of your nearest assement centre; if you are a casual user you dont need to take the assessment but you should get tuition from an experienced user and get the chance to practice plenty of felling, which is the most dangerous part of using a saw. What else can I say - using a chainsaw to cut is just like using hand tools - if it feels dangerous (body stance, etc.) then it probably is.
