Ready to upgrade chainsaws from my stihl 362. I've never ran an 880 before, but I have ran a 660 with a 16" baby bar, it was awesome. Anybody out there have experience with the 660 or 880 and could tell me which would be better to go with? I do know the 880 is mega expensive compared to the 660, big jump in price, and I dont know why. Anybody?

  smokeythedodge said:

Ready to upgrade chainsaws from my stihl 362. I've never ran an 880 before, but I have ran a 660 with a 16" baby bar, it was awesome. Anybody out there have experience with the 660 or 880 and could tell me which would be better to go with? I do know the 880 is mega expensive compared to the 660, big jump in price, and I dont know why. Anybody?

I have an Stihl O-66 which is the predicessor of the MS660. I have the 24 inch bar on it and the 3/8 chisel tooth chain and it is a HAUS. I cannot imagine what you would use an MS 880 for unless you are a commercial logger or regularly cut REALLY big logs or trees. I use my O-66 to cut firewood and it can get a tad heavy after several hours of carrying it around, it is about 16 lbs. The MS880 is damn near 23 lbs. and more depending on the bar and chain you select. I use a Stihl MS192T for limbing and the O-66 for bucking. Both have been OUTSTANDING saws and are very efficient on gas. I have had the O-66 since 1993 and the MS192T since 2006.

I have run an 036 PRO with 20 inch bar but need to go to a longer one as most trees I cut are always too big around "Old Cottonwood trees". and I love it. Reason I like the pro series is that they are a lot easier to handle and have a better power to weight ratio than the regular models. It has been flawless for almost 10 years now.

  smokeythedodge said:

Ready to upgrade chainsaws from my stihl 362. I've never ran an 880 before, but I have ran a 660 with a 16" baby bar, it was awesome. Anybody out there have experience with the 660 or 880 and could tell me which would be better to go with? I do know the 880 is mega expensive compared to the 660, big jump in price, and I dont know why. Anybody?

Those are some heavy duty saws. I used to work forestry back in the day. What I hate about saws like the 660, 880, and others in that power range is the weight. You lug that around all day and you wish for a desk job. I have a little 210C for little stuff around my property because it is light and easy to deal with (I put a real chain on in though - hate those sissy safety chains). I also have a 440 for the bigger stuff I need to do. The 440 is light enough to deal with and has power to spare for most things. I've never found myself needing more power than the 440. I could see the 660 or 880 if I was mounting it in a sawmill and cutting my own lumber. Then the weight wouldn't be an issue and I'd like the power in that application. Have you considered the 440 or 441? -Chuck

I know they ain't what they once were; but, I have an old Muchulock 610 with a 28" bar. It's about 30 years old but all it does is run and cut!!! It's really to big to limb and such, but it's simply awesome on downed trees and such. If I had to buy a saw now, it'd be a Stihl or Poulan probably.

  LiveOak said:

I have an Stihl O-66 which is the predicessor of the MS660. I have the 24 inch bar on it and the 3/8 chisel tooth chain and it is a HAUS. I cannot imagine what you would use an MS 880 for unless you are a commercial logger or regularly cut REALLY big logs or trees. I use my O-66 to cut firewood and it can get a tad heavy after several hours of carrying it around, it is about 16 lbs. The MS880 is damn near 23 lbs. and more depending on the bar and chain you select. I use a Stihl MS192T for limbing and the O-66 for bucking. Both have been OUTSTANDING saws and are very efficient on gas. I have had the O-66 since 1993 and the MS192T since 2006.

Good info. Didn't really consider the weight....good point! I would still have my 362 for de-limbing felled trees, but was looking for something that could handle a bigger guide bar and chain, so weight I don't really care too much about. Of course, I would probably end up using it as my primary saw haha so maybe I should. Any idea why there is such a big price jump from the 660 to the 880? I like to buy stuff that is heavy duty and that I can repair in the future, that's why I was wondering if maybe the 880 is designed more with serviceability in mind than the 660.

  Wild and Free said:

I have run an 036 PRO with 20 inch bar but need to go to a longer one as most trees I cut are always too big around "Old Cottonwood trees". and I love it. Reason I like the pro series is that they are a lot easier to handle and have a better power to weight ratio than the regular models. It has been flawless for almost 10 years now.

EDIT: Hmmm.... 10 years and flawless, it does appear that it has been a good saw.

  DuluthDiesel said:

Those are some heavy duty saws. I used to work forestry back in the day. What I hate about saws like the 660, 880, and others in that power range is the weight. You lug that around all day and you wish for a desk job. I have a little 210C for little stuff around my property because it is light and easy to deal with (I put a real chain on in though - hate those sissy safety chains). I also have a 440 for the bigger stuff I need to do. The 440 is light enough to deal with and has power to spare for most things. I've never found myself needing more power than the 440. I could see the 660 or 880 if I was mounting it in a sawmill and cutting my own lumber. Then the weight wouldn't be an issue and I'd like the power in that application. Have you considered the 440 or 441? -Chuck

Hi Chuck, Thanks for sharing your experiences. I have never handled one of these bigger saws yet, guess I should to get a better idea of the weight, I just figured with me being young and dumb I should automatically buy the biggest and the best haha maybe I should be a little more cognizant of weight and other factors. I will look into a 441, that might be better suited for my needs.

If you can't hold a saw just get into the position you usually cut in and hold the saw there as long as you can every day, to the point that your arms start shaking and you drop the saw (almost). Hold it out farther in front of you to make it harder or hang something heavy on it. Then you can hold any chainsaw. I wanted to hold heavier rifles steadier so I just got a 1.5" solid steel bar about 6ft long and just held it up like a rifle for as long as I could with each arm. If it was too heavy I slid it back on my shoulder, and slid it forward as I got stronger.

Have you thought about Husqvarna saws. The 570 series or 370 series are professional grade with about 5.5 hp, able to run up to 36" bars and are lightweight in about 14 lbs for the powerhead only. I have been using these saws for the past 10 years and they are reliable and extremely fast cutting.