Echo Spec Thread

[Tor R]

including Japanese made Husky saws

I do agree on Japan made Huskies, they are not top notch saws even the price is.
I've worked with 439, if they dont do dramatic changes on that model Husky is doomed with their lightweight hopes.
Lots of things I liked with it, but build quality was low quality.

 

[SawTroll]

I do agree on Japan made Huskies, they are not top notch saws even the price is.
I've worked with 439, if they dont do dramatic changes on that model Husky is doomed with their lightweight hopes.
Lots of things I liked with it, but build quality was low quality.

They need to come up with a rear handle saw based on the T540xp - the 439 never was meant as a pro saw.

 

[exSW]

If there I one thing I've found lacking on my Huskys and JReds it's been the plastics. Seems like the more oil and dirt the better protected from the elements.

 

[Mark71gtx]

I have had very few Echo saws cross my bench. Of the handful I have worked on, the only one that seemed poorly designed was a cs-306. I have been pleasantly surprised at the performance of the few saws that I have worked on. From personal experience, they seem durable and perform above their price point.

 

[junkman]

I think the only Echo dealer in my area may be Home Depot . Landscapers i talk to seem to like the string trimmers because they are still 2 strokes ,and not 4 mix .Have not gotten much feedback on Echo saws yet though .Still considered a homeowner saw by most guys in this area .

 

[Mark71gtx]

A local landscaper is using all Echo equipment. He has been doing so for a few years now. So far he is happy with the trimmers, saws, and blowers. He is bringing me a blower tomorrow to check out for him. He said something was wrong with a choke spring or something.

 

[Tor R]

They need to come up with a rear handle saw based on the T540xp - the 439 never was meant as a pro saw.

thats right, it's more ranked as semi pro saw, but most semi pro saws last. With a price tag 600$ customers should expect more then what they get with the 439, I've seen one total blown 439 who had two month duty.

We can speak down on other brands but Husky has alot junk themself.

 

[Nitehawk55]

That obviously depends on hvo is looking/feeling the plastic.

The plastic on the Echo saws leaves an unnecessarily cheap impression in my hands - hard and brittle, with some sharp corners. In a way it reminds me of the interior plastics of Japanese and American cars made some years ago.
They really have to do something about it.

Lack of "taste" regarding the looks is another issue, but there have been signs of improvement there.

Of course no plastic used on saws are perfect, but at least on Swedish made Husky saws and German made Stihl saws it leaves a much better impression than on any Japanese saw (including Japanese made Husky saws).

I'm not seeing that Niko and I'm not playing bias toward sticking up for Echo , I pick out good and bad in all makes of equipment and they all have them . The plastics don't seem brittle or sharp at all to me , sure the styling is different from other saws but nothing odd about it .
I see some poor plastic on other saws and Husky has had it's share of melted plastic top covers over the muffler on many models , you think they would have made some improvements with that .

 

[JeffGu]

They're just like cars... everybody making them ends up with models that are lemons, and models that are really nice. You can call anything professional, industrial, superior grade... as far as truth in advertising goes, it's all considered "reasonable exaggeration" and they all do it. You'll never see an OEM call their product total piece of crap or only suitable for leaving on a shelf in the garage. They don't make commercials telling you that their product is really just worthless junk that only an idiot would actually buy. No matter how true this may be, you aren't going to see them advertise it.

If Echo made all of their products like the cheap crap the home improvement stores and Walmart sell, then some serious bashing would be in order. Echo products are clearly the top of the line that is offered at most of those places, and Echo doesn't claim that their lower priced products are the best they make. That's well within what you would expect from an OPE maker. So many professionals use their products that it isn't any wonder they call them professional grade... they hold up just like everybody else's so called professional grade stuff. Their power pruners (pole saws) hold up better than everything else out there... including Stihl's HT-131. Don't ask me how I know this, just trust me on this one.

I like to poke fun at lots of other brands of OPE... but that's pretty much all it is... a chance to rib people I don't know about stuff I don't care about. Well, except maybe Sears Crapsman stuff. Making fun of that junk is serious business.

I'm not sure why anyone would expend so much energy badmouthing anybody's product line over something as inane as a perceived conspiracy about specifications or plastic that "feels cheap" to them. Buy some damn Echo saws and smash them in a hydraulic press, right alongside a few Husky saws, and some Stihl and Dolmar and Poulan saws, too. I cut entire trees, everything 1" diameter and up, into firewood/kindling all day long. Run all those saws alongside mine, we'll see who starts cussing and swearing at the saws first. We'll do it on a 97*F day, just to see which saws are the real "professional" ones. It will end up being the ones that are still running and starting fine at sunset.

Just sayin'.

 

[sawmikaze]

Im gonna try a 600p next week if anyone cares.

 

[Idahonative]

Im gonna try a 600p next week if anyone cares.

Don't do it Bro. The sharp edges on the plastic will cut your hands up...LOL.

 

[Simondo]

Open question to everyone ....How is the conclusion come to if a saw is a "Good" saw ??
I see this term used by some over saws... How.... and under what criteria is this result arrived at ?
Where is the "Standard" to judge by??

 

[Idahonative]

Open question to everyone ....How is the conclusion come to if a saw is a "Good" saw ??
I see this term used by some over saws... How.... and under what criteria is this result arrived at ?
Where is the "Standard" to judge by??

Just like a lot of things in life...it depends on one's perspective.

 

[Nitehawk55]

Don't do it Bro. The sharp edges on the plastic will cut your hands up...LOL.

Hell yeah ! , I had to go out and get more band-aides after I got the 590 and 501 !!

 

[Idahonative]

Hell yeah ! , I had to go out and get more band-aides after I got the 590 and 501 !!

Yep, you have to have really callused hands to use them but they sure are "Good" saws...LOL.

 

[Tor R]

Open question to everyone ....How is the conclusion come to if a saw is a "Good" saw ??
I see this term used by some over saws... How.... and under what criteria is this result arrived at ?
Where is the "Standard" to judge by??

all saws has weak spots, if we take MS 201 vs 439 cleaning small trees/bushes, Stihl has issues with all the plastic parts who get ripped in pieces while Husky is stronger there, last time I spoked with those lads they had started to use a bigger sprocket on those Stihl's and they had less issues now.
Good saw is one who last the waranty periode, I think 346NE and 254 is more reliable compared to 550, sometime I wonder if 545 may be a better saw on long run compared to 550 also.

 

[Cut4fun]

I was checking out the smooth lines of a saw this week and came out bleeding and a chunk missing out of my thumb print.

Dumbazz move on my part.

 

[Cut4fun]

Wast a echo but a pro grade stihl.

 

[jake wells]

people talk about reliabilty i think this proves my point the only thing not original on this saw is the bar/chain fuel line and carb kit.
looks like chit worn out paint in spots and a busted clutch cover from having a tree dropped on it.
it has cut a few mountains of wood in its day.

 

[beaglebriar]

Old echos are great saws. I've tuned up several 602's and 660's and they're not bad to work on. I have a 290evl to go through right now and a old 500 under the bench for a rainy day project.