Echo vs Stihl/ kombi or pole saw??

[lawnchopper]

I was thinking of tree trimming and shrub pruning as a side gig. Im not sure what to get. Ive used both sthil and echo products and their both good brands but echo is a little cheaper with their pole saw line.
Im not sure if I should get a pole saw or a kombi type system with other attachments so i can eventually have a weed trimmer, pole saw or whatever other attachments i want cause I eventually want to start mowing. However a telescoping pole saw i can get higher in the trees but is it worth the price $549-$699 if im not a all out contractor?? I figure i'd at least get a pole saw of some type now since i can trim trees in the winter.

dunno???

[RonAyersMotorsports]

There Pole Saw is cheaper because it's mostly plastic components. That often have problems. STIHL has always has a better reputation than Echo on any type of saw, especially a pole saw. Purchase the STIHL and you won't regret it.

[Alan0354]

I would get the real pole saw. Those attachment system never can reach too high. I was just looking into it a few months ago. I ruled out pole saw because I already have the Shindaiwa attachment series, I am a home owner and only have to cut stuff around my own house. I have look at all the brands, none can extend that high....even for my own use only. I end up not buying any and just use the cheap manual pole saw. At least it can reach higher!!!

Beside, attachment stuff sound better than it really is. The attachment are very expensive and the head is usually cost more than the regular trimmer. Your pole attachment is going to be about $250 regardless of brand and the head is going to be about $350.

If you really got to have the attachment series, Echo have 3' extension to add to the length. As I said, you end up spending more.

[MONTE]

Stihl better than any echo intersting comming from a stihl dealer. I have used Echo Stihl and Efco pole saws. All of them are good I like efco the best but that is just me. Never had any problems with any of them and they all made me money. I will say this the echo started the easiest of all of them but none of them were bad about starting.

[DT Lawn Care]

Stihl would be the better one probably. If you are just going to use it once in a while, check the Poulan Pro Pruner at Lowes, if you watch it goes on sale once in a while for $150. My dad bought one several years ago for $150, has used it quite a bit, still runs great today. It is detachable, like the Stihl or Echo power heads also.

[tigerfan88]

poulan pro at lowes

[green grass lawn care]

Originally Posted by tigerfan88

poulan pro at lowes

look i have to second that one here. i went cheap and tried to get a poulan pro hedge trimmer at lowes... the thing was sooooooooo aggravating. it wouldn't transition from idle to wide open with out coughing and dieing most of the time or having to feather it. the piece took a special star like wrench, no not a torx, to adjust the carb that no one had and couldn't find a poulan service center near me. took it back and am getting an echo monday. done with anything not pro grade, and just cause it says pro don't mean a thing. vince

[DT Lawn Care]

I said Stihl would be the best to go with. The Poulan was just a suggestion if he's not going to use it much. My brother has a Stihl KTM110 power head with pole saw which is no comparison, only it would cost like 4 times as much new.

[Alan0354]

Originally Posted by DT Lawn Care

I said Stihl would be the best to go with. The Poulan was just a suggestion if he's not going to use it much. My brother has a Stihl KTM110 power head with pole saw which is no comparison, only it would cost like 4 times as much new.

I agree totally. It really depend how much you use. Cheap don't mean bad. I spent a lot of money on my lawn equipments and I can tell you the only two that never fail are the two cheapest one. I use all the precausion like Stabil, SeaFoam, Amsoil. Keep everything clean. If you use it for thousands of hours, then I agree the commercial ones are beefier. But if you talk about things just happen because of defects, mis adjustment, ALL brands, cheap or expensive are fair game.

My Honda expensive trimmer crapped out in 10 months because the manufacturer left metal fragments inside the carb. The Mantis gear box jammed in 5 months because they forgot to put grease in it!!!! My Maruyama BL8100 all of a sudden need 6 pulls to start but work just fine.

Then my cheapy Echo HC151 never miss a beat in 5 years, neither my cheap TroyBilt multi-tool trimmer. And I use old gas in them for the first 3 years!!! At the time, I don't know what is old gas, Stabil!!! I used Crapsman oil at 20:1!!!!

Go figure!!! I am sure if you fix them all up, the commercial ones are going to last thousands of hours, but if you only going to use few hundred hours or so, what difference? For 1/3 the cost, get in the business first and see how long you are going to be trimming branches.

[Alan0354]

I looked up the pole pruner, Echo PPT265 adjustable unit can extend to 17' with 5' extension. I think that is the longest in the market. I really don't think the quality is that different between top commercial brands. I would go with the longest adjustable one.