Best Stihl Chainsaws

I bought the MS170 for $249 in September 2017. It has been worked hard on large hardwood (up to 40cm in diameter) and loads of branch pruning. I've… Read more

never had it serviced or performed any maintenance on it. I've only ever put fuel and bar oil in it (more about that later) and sharpened the chain.

I love the size and weight of this thing. Easy to wield in awkward positions and from up ladders. And it cuts like a hot knife through butter with its narrow chain. The chain also stays sharp for a long time. I recommend the Stihl guided hand sharpener for when it dulls.

It starts easily from cold every time if you (1) pull start on full choke until it gives the first half-kick (usually takes 4 or 5 pulls) then (2) move to half choke and pull until it starts (usually takes another 3 pulls). It starts this easily even after being left for a year with old fuel in it.

The only time it didn't start easily was when, for the first time in 40 years of using chainsaws, I put bar oil in the fuel tank and fuel in the bar oil tank (******* idi*t). Emptied both tanks. Rinsed out the fuel tank with fuel. Pulled the spark plug out. Pulled the starter dozens of times with no compression to rinse through the fuel line and carburettor. Put spark plug back. Removed air filter. Sprayed Aerostart in. Pulled a couple of dozen times but still would not start. It started again when, out of frustration, I moved to aggressively drop starting it. And, since then, it has gone back to not skipping a beat.

It's been a fantastic chainsaw that was no more expensive than lesser brands at Bunnings.

***** 2026 UPDATE *****

After a number of extended stints of hardwood cutting in 2025, the MS170 had started to cut in a curve, probably due to unevenness in chain sharpening. It had also lost power and would quickly bog down, even under a light load. It was time to show the little saw a little love:

1. Took the carburettor apart and found that there was a lot of sawdust sitting on top of the compensator diaphragm, impeding its ability to function. I cleaned it with carburettor cleaner and then rebuilt it with a carburettor kit. Note that I could have bought a new non-OEM carburettor for less than the cost of the kit but these cheap Chinese non-OEM carburettors are pretty roughly manufactured. Better to rebuild the Zama carburettor that came as standard with the saw.

2. Put a new o-ring on the carburettor compensator tube that fits into the airbox, ensuring a good seal.

3. Used some gasket card to make a gasket to create a better seal between the airbox and carburettor throat. Strange that the saw didn't come from the factory with this.

4. Replaced the air filter. It was pretty clogged.

5. Replaced the fuel filter, even though it looked pretty clean.

6. Spark plug was in excellent condition. It was not worn and not fouled with oil, soot or other deposits. Gap was fine. Did not replace it.

7. Inspected cylinder walls, piston and rings. All in excellent condition. No scoring.

8. Removed, cleaned and inspected clutch and clutch drum. In excellent condition. Cleaned and regreased clutch drum roller bearing assembly.

9. Used gasket card to make a gasket to seal between the engine cylinder and the muffler, mostly to prevent uncombusted two-stroke oil leaking down into the plastic body of the saw creating a mess.

10. Cleaned the spark arrestor mesh in the muffler. It was only slightly clogged with carbon deposits.

11. Replaced the chain tensioner with a side tensioner from the MS250. This is a simple drop-in replacement that makes chain tensioning much easier, faster and more convenient. Note that the side tensioner sold by Stihl does not come with the screw to secure the tensioner to the saw body. You will need to ask for this. It's not essential to have this screw as the tight fit of the side tensioner and the sprocket cover and bar nuts mean that it's not going anywhere when the saw is in operation and is also unlikely to drop out even when the spocket cover is removed. But, hey, there is a hole there for that screw.

12. Installed some metal dogs (aka bumper spikes) on the saw body, near the base of the bar. These extend out beyond the short plastic dogs moulded into the plastic body of the saw. The screw holes are already present. No drilling required.

13. The Torx 27 flange head screw that secures the left arm of the chain brake handguard had broken off completely inside the lug of the plastic pull starter cover. I tried drilling/unscrewing it out from the inside using a 1mm tungsten carbide drill bit. Instead, the screw heated up and half melted itself out through the side of the lug. I cut it the rest of the way out with a rotary tool. I then rebuilt and reformed the lug by plastic welding, using a soldering iron to melt plastic zip ties. Then a little bit of careful filing into perfect form followed by redrilling the screw hole. Finally, installed a new T27 screw.

14. Replaced the bar and chain with a Toughmax bar and tungsten carbide chain.

The MS170 is now back singing at full power and cutting fast and straight like new. Bloody love this saw.

Great saw, if you know what you’re doing – Cannot recommend enough, been running this saw hard for 5 years with minimal issues. I think a lot of these negative reviews are from lack of… Read more

servicing and incorrect use/maintenance of the saw. Service it regularly, clean the spark arrestor and be careful with your 2 stroke ratio and you won’t have any problems.

To note.

I noticed my chain did come loose but only when using the Stihl synthetic bar oil (the purple stuff, I think it’s called synth plus) went back to the normal bar oil and haven’t had any issues.

Also the spark arrestor clogs up especially if you run your mix rich. This causes the saw to be hard to start and lack power. Just give it a clean from time to time.

Light enough to use effortlessly, but powerful enough to not take all day – I bought my 231 for small pruning jobs around the yard, track clearing, camping and to compliment my much larger saw (661 w/ 30 and 36" bar) in… Read more

firewood cutting.

It starts without fail everytime. Put the switch to bottom setting. Pull it until it first tries to start, the click it up one position and it will always start next pull.

I'm very happy with it and haven't had a single issue in these first 6months, I've easily and fairly quickly cut down trees of upto 14" diameter.

I was worried it would feel slow and sluggish compared to the 661. However it's a pleasure to use, when used within its limits. I'm glad I spent the extra over a small Stihl like a 170 or 180.

Good Medium sized saw – I've had this unit using the 20" bar for probably 15 years now. It was used at lot in the beginning then had a span of probably 7-8 years with… Read more

minimal use. Now I've been using it again for almost another 3 years pretty heavily and it's Stihl going strong (pardon the pun). Just as easy to start as the day I bought it. It is starting to leak a little bit of chain and bar oil just recently, but its about 15 years old so I'm pretty happy with that amout of use I've had out of it before something has gone wrong that i really need someone else to have a look at. Used on soft and hard woods with no issue, and only now thinking about upgrading to a bigger unit for a few bigger jobs I have around the property and wanting to cut a few slabs.

Ordered this item from TEMU on line and was supposed to be delivered within 15 working days but months later no sign of the saw, i have tried… Read more

contacting them several time without any luck, all i get is a useless BOT with the same Auto response, Just lost 100s of € on this item so went on line to check out this lot and was not surprised to see almost every review is 1* reviews. I'm writing this to warn others of this fake on line selling company.

I’ve had mine for about 3 years and use it for firewood collection / mostly hardwood. I needed something quite light because a lot of the wood I… Read more

colllect is at ground level and need to manage fatigue. Good for what it is, but a little more torque would be good. As others have said, it seems to oil the chain well, when not under load but heavy cutting leads to burning the chain and dulling very quickly. I’ve switched to a carbide chain which largely fixed the problem. Bar and chain are a bit flimsy - would be great if it could be upgraded in that department. I think people find it difficult to start because the handle is too small to get your foot through to hold it down. In retrospect I probably should have gone for the 261 for my needs.

Runs great , good power , poor suspension – The saw is very smooth, throttle response is amazing, power to weight ratio is awesome. I run a 28 inch bar and use it professionally for felling and… Read more

bucking. Starts well , good power very weak suspension when cutting with the top of the bar - back cutting - floppy almost and bottoms out. I had to put heavier springs out of a 661 which helps but still not perfect . 1550$ paid and you have to reengineer it - stihl should have fixed this issue by now - I don’t understand. Having said all of that I use the saw daily and have bought two more for my crew , if Stihl would fix the suspension it would be the absolute best saw out there. I have been running Stihl s since 1988 and they are always way ahead of the competition.

Cuts anything I throw at it ! – This little chainsaw cuts through anything I throw at it, if it’s cut under its own weight !! Then there’s no problem at all , most people push down… Read more

expecting it saw to cut through the wood fast ! That’s a good way to kill any small to medium range chainsaw, the ms 180 cuts all my dry hard wood, I use it on average every few days. No complaints about my MS 180 :)

Stihl Ms362 c-m is a lemon – Less than 30 hours work. Spent more on repairs than purchase price. Oiler is crap. Stihl Australian does not respond to complaints via their contact… Read more

form. Saw now needs to be scraped. Stihl is aware of the lemon associated with the oiler on this saw. Their service shop blames the user but they are happy to charge time and time again without fixing the problem

Endless problems, terrible customer service – Even in the first week of owning a this saw, starting has been a mission. Floods easily… I have got the technique now but still temperamental. Also… Read more

rough idle. After about 4 hours of use cut of switch would not stop the saw. Ended up having to put choke on to stop the saw. Then could not start saw. Took saw to retailer to service and get saw working. Only 4 hours use of light pruning green branches. Service centre said engine is cooked, unrepairable, said I was using wrong mix of fuel… impossible I use the same 50:1 mix with my boat engine, whipper snipper, posthole auger and other products… never had an issue. Would not warranty, after excessive discussions retailer charged me $150 to fix. Eventually got saw back… still not great starting, now the stud that holds the bar on turns in the plastic so can’t keep tension. Not covered under warranty again… saw just over a year old now. Got a different store to put a new (size larger) stud on.

I see good reviews I just think mine is a lemon.

Great saw – Overall it's one of the best saws you could hope for in it's size, i've recently only started cutting my own firewood and the 271 is a little beast.… Read more

There lies the problem in that an 18" bar is too small for my liking, at least for felling trees where i live in Tasmania. I've bought a 500i for larger trees but the 271 is still a fantastic saw at it's size.

Worst saw I have ever owned, the Stihl MS211 is terrible, hard to start when hot, then wouldn't start at all after 15 hours total use. Stihl shop… Read more

Hastings then said that the piston had deformed due to low octane fuel being used even though the owners manual says to run 90 octane or above, I had used new 91 octane.

I used Stihl 2 stroke oil and Stihl bar oil, I did everything properly, I work as a maintenance engineer so know my way around machines. Even though its still under warranty they are not going to replace it. Will never buy another Stihl product ever again. Through my work as an engineer a lot of people ask my opinion on mechanical items they are going to buy, I will be telling them to stay clear of Stihl from now on, terrible product and terrible service. Stihl could at least just admit they got it wrong with this particular model saw and provide support, instead they try to blame the customers and deny all the overwhelming evidence that this is a terrible saw.

Avoid – Owned this for approx 2 years, very limited usage - probably used less than a dozen times for light duties (kindling and pruning). Motor failed, got… Read more

nothing but shrugs from my local dealer where I bought it (Wrights Nowra) with no recourse but a motor replacement at my expense which is close to the cost of replacing whole unit. Premium price tag but poor quality product with even poorer response from local dealer and Stihl when something went wrong.

I had a good petrol Stihl chainsaw that broke down. I own a battery Stihl chainsaw on a pole, so the logic purchase was a Stihl MSA 220C. I couldn't… Read more

be more unhappy with it. The adjustment of the tension of the chain is impossible. The wheel on outside to adjust the tension is a joke and not workable. So you have to take the cover off and adjust the wheel underneath. The chain constantly comes off. Hence you tighten it more and then the chain doesn't move because of lack of power. The material is all flimsy. I jammed my chainsaw and to get it free I had to use another one. Hence the chainsaw dropped on the ground. My mistake, but same happened lots of time with my old saw. The plastic MSA 220C broke. I could remove the broken plastic and can still use it, but it shows how flimsy and bad the plastic is, including the power button. Definitely will be my last STIHL product.

Great saw when running, unfortunately it quit with a scored piston after 5 hours, dealer gave me my money back and admitted it was a common issue Show details

Not very robust – Had used the saw less than a week in total, when a crack appeared on the front casing. A few other guys had same problem. Stihl warranty won’t cover it. Show details

Like the other posted poor reviews, my MS291 lasted only 4 years while using it only a couple of times a year to cut down a couple of trees each… Read more

time. Repair shop said the cylinder and rings were scored. They said it’s common. They wanted $650 for a new one. Why? Husqverna has a five year warranty deal. Factory has not responded to any of my requests. In my opinion, STIHL does not live up to their reputation. Maybe Husqverna will.

Generally a good saw, with some minor issues – I purchased an MS201t, the new model to the MS200. It worked ok for 2 years then the oil channel corroded out and required the block to be changed.… Read more

Then the bar alignment screw broke off, it was of insufficient strength requiring another block change. The handle of the saw had a weak fragile spot that fractured easily. Replaced top handle housing assembly from dropping the saw a meter or two. There were also problems with the switch, it wouldn't turn off. Then I started to experience problems with the saw, it wasn't cutting properly, after contacting Stihl in Osbourne Park WA, they offered an upgrade kit for $250. I asked if I could purchase this upgrade kit and said she wasn't able to do that. Months later I went to the Stihl shop O'Connor, they were really good, and explained that the upgrade is basically a solution to what is otherwise a mass product recall. The women at the other shop had deceived me, Stihl were meant to sell this kit at a give a way price of $35 to fix a defective product line. It consists of a carby, flywheel and ignition module, it made the saw run properly. So no more problems now.