I weighed the pros and cons. I bought a G660 and did as many upgrades as was practical before I started it up with OEM genuine STIHL parts, as well as, a High Output Oiler, Dual Port Muffler and Foam around the Air Cleaner for easy cleaning. I am all smiles so far.
Great video, good job comparing the two saws. Seemed equal and fair along with an honest review. Your video gave me the info I've been looking for since I started thinking about purchasing a Holzfforma.
Did you purchase the big blue? Been thinkin_about getting the blue myself. Would you call me? --(Talk just a little about this saw and it’s attributes and weaknesses)Leav yer number if answ.mach.kicks in: : sxTooSx)sxhundrd,sev Zer,66 I Have lots of grnd wrk to do& wanted to know If straight4 hrs of working theG660 produces a non-overheating result etc... Thanks
For the price of one of those chinese saws I'd prefer to buy a second hand ms660 for the same price I've actually been doing that for a few years now started with an 044 never had any issues always ran perfect 3 years cutting firewood regular services and I'm now on my second ms660 because the first one was simply awsome and what a beast. 3 used stihls owned by bushman tuned to run hard all day long.
Thanks for taking time to share this comparison, I have a lot of stihl saws but just cant pay 1500-2000 for a new 660 and I like the kit saw idea. Great job, stay safe and God bless
We just built a 066. It is a beast. We used all the parts that came with it except the seals wich are junk. That size saw with the correct chain and look out stihl.
I know it is an old video but thanks for making it. Nice to see side by side comparison. I have jonsered saws and a ms170 Stihl for limbing. Really like the jonsered saws but neither of them have very big bars (blades).
Great video man. I was thinking about buying one. Obviously the sthil is going to hold up a lot longer and have a lot more sack than the knock off, but for the money... can't complain.
@@crazypeoplearoundtheworld304 no, Curtis Cab doesn’t offer an option for the John Deere 1025r cab. You can pull the doors off, the back window comes off and you can open the front window so the air moves through it pretty good in the summer.
For me it's about reliability, the joy of owning and using good gear, and resale at the end. I want a tool that I don't have to wonder when it is going to fail and I have to then spend time to troubleshoot and repair, and then all the extra time to return to complete the job. Researching closely and then paying for quality at the beginning, then looking after it well, means at the end I'll be able to recover a good portion quickly and easily meaning the overall cost of ownership is reasonable. I've learned over time that you really do never regret buying quality, and that the poor man usually does pay twice.
Precisely. These saws require a tinkerer's patience. Many like to tinker. For them the saw is worth it. For most the joy of paying less for less quality makes zero sense. A used Stihl is far better than these Chinese knockoffs new. Time wasted, unreliability, replacing parts with OEM all add up to no advantage.
For what it’s worth, I have an older stihl 036 pro and it needs a lot of attention every time I fire it up it seems. I’d prefer a used stihl over a knock off but my experience is that just because it’s a “stihl” doesn’t automatically mean she’s ready to go 100% of the time.
@@interstellarconundrum4774 Yeah, I already got a 555 husqy to do most of sawing, so as a saw that can hold a big bar and be used once in a blue moon for some low intensity milling and need some work every now and then it would work fine. Otherwise it seems to need a whole lot replaced right away to keep it reliable
If you have any more problems with the tensioner the earlier saws had play in the casting, I'll have to find the part number but it's from precision metals and you use it to shim between the case and the shaft.
I have a G444 Farmertec saw. I watched a video where a guy (Uncle Cy) stripped out the tensioner the first time he used it. Mine otoh has been used a lot and I've had no problems with it. I love this dang chainsaw! I've never had anything bigger than am Echo CS-370 so the 440 clone was a huge upgrade for me. Lol, here in Colorado taking a 440 to pine is like taking a lightsaber to a stick of butter. Oh well, I'll use less gas. Love the G444 so much that I decided to get a G255 as well. I haven't even gassed it up yet but it looks nice. I also got a Farmertec hedge trimmer (HS81 clone) and it looks exactly like the real thing. No one has done a video on that yet, maybe I will this spring.
Thanks for the vid, man. I've been thinking of getting one of these. We have had our ash trees decimated by the emerald ash borer, and I have hundreds of standing dead ash. Some of them as easily 3-4' across. I just don't want to pay 1500-2000 grand for a 660/880 or a 395/3120
We had all our ash trees in Michigan killed by that dam bug too,now they have been dead so long that it is very dangerous as a Sawyer on the ground these darn ash trees are like porcelain, I have seen eagles bust 6 inch limbs off them.we have to have our machines take down what they can and try to hit the big ones they can cut down with other trees to bust the limbs off before I get on them to put them down. It is sad now we have oak wilt killing our oaks all from Asian diseases make me think if it is intentional to drive down the price at the mill,its kinda funny wood has went up 140 percent in 2 years but we still get the same price for our wood at the mill. It seems us loggers are always getting screwed some way or another, its very hard and deadly work. It's the only job I think in the world you can do perfectly safe and still get killed for 170 a cord.syay safe brothers and sisters and when we get to heaven I heard the chokers are made of gold and never twist up or poke you to the bone,and the trees always land perfectly for us.there is a special part of heaven just for loggers,pray every day before you start and while your cutting, its the best job in the world and only a few get to do this.
I love being a real logger,see the happiness in his eyes,only a real logger has that it only shows when we are in the woods. I love it honestly blessed
Have to agree with you on that, hard, dangerous and long days. Usually either steep or brushy, some times both at once, but you can't find the satisfaction you have at the end of the day walking out of a building that you get when you're walking out of the woods. Knowing that you made it through another day, realize that someone is watching over you, really close.
I’m buying a G660 to run along side my Husq 572xp as a milling saw. For the price I don’t mind wearing out the g660 milling don’t have the heart to run the 572 milling, it’s a little underpowered and would really cut the life of the saw. Until I buy a bandsaw mill of course. Watched a lot of videos on them. The power head is decent just cheap pull starter assembly, choke switch and top handle. I’m sure it has a Chinese Carb also but if you don’t want to over extend the budget I think the g660 is actually really good value for the money.
So you could slowly replace it with oem stihl parts and by the time your done you'll have a new stihl saw still cheaper than out right buying the stihl 660
I've never run a Chinese saw, or thought about buying one.. it was nice too see a comparison.. I've always been able to track down a lightly used quality saw if i needed one.. Seen to many people get chinese lemons and I dont think the price is cheap enough to take the risk
That's fair enough, especially if you don't enjoy tinkering with them. I'll be honest though, I've had two of these for right around 2 years now and they've held up really well. Once you get past initial modifications needed, they just run. I started by fixing replacing chain tensioner with OEM, replaced the oiler with the high output version and adjusted the carb, and really haven't had to do anything since other than normal saw maintenance that all my stihl and stihl-replicas get.
@@Morpheen999 heard nothing but great things! And if anything goes wrong just fix with oem stihl parts and it'll last just as long! Only thing I heard is the pull ropes were garbage but that's a $10 fix
I just had to replace my chain tensioner on my neotech 872 as well. I’m starting to change my opinion about these saws. But I’ll hold off a bit longer before in saw something. Chintzy is definitely the word I’d use for the trigger and choke
Great review my friend. You must be from PA. I never seen anyone knock on there head like knock on wood. I do it all the time. I just made my Farmertec order last week. Can’t wait to try them. !!!!!
I have an 038 magnum 2 that says made in west Germany so I know it’s before the Berlin Wall came down,runs awesome,perfect saw to complement my almost 30 year old 066 with a 32” Cannon superbar. Greetings from British Columbia
Thats the difference You buy a Stihl and look after it, it'll last neer forever.. These Holzffs won't be around in 30 years the quality of the steel won't allow it I bought a 460 brand new 12 years ago use it a lot, the years go by and it runs just like when it was new
@@Morpheen999 I have two from way back.. my grandpa and dad where both production loggers. Dad fell in Alaska for 6 years with his 064. Grandpa had a 038 mag.. and a 032 lighting.. still have all. All still run but the 032 it’s put up for good times
I’ve been debating on getting one of these for a couple years. I’ve got 4 Stihls , 028 super av, 029, ms250 and ms362, but I’d like to have a 660 for occasional big stuff. A Stihl would be a big investment for a rarely used saw. Thanks for the head to head comparison.
For about $400 you can’t beat it. I have a Husqvarna 394xp that is a $2000 saw... I go to the $400 holzforma every time because it’s just freaking awesome and hilarious
Bought mine for an Alaskan mill. Ripping 24 inches of maple ran great, 30 inches of ash it needed more power. I am please with the purchase in general. Only problem is my Stihl dealer absolutely will not touch it.
Intersting comparison. I just got a 661. Will fit in with my 044, 038 mag, and 034. Plus all the other brands. I wouldn't knock a guy for spending their hard earned cash how they choose. But personally id never own a knock off saw. Or any Chinese tool. I know everyone does and that's fine but not for me. Good video and nice 660. I sold mine to my cousin he's real happy. Once I get the Mtronic gremlins out of this 661 ill be in good shape. I have the updated coil and carb solenoid ordered. Not a fan of that system.
The little box in the muffler that has the holes drilled in it. That's called a baffle. You cas stick it in a vice and cut it off as long as you can adjust the carb. Of you do you'll get more power out of it.
Great video. I think that the Holzfforma would be great for those once in awhile trees or logs. I do have an older 038 Stihl with a 20 and 25 inch bars. For the price and how much one would use it I would have to go with the Holzfforma.
I've had my 660 for 2 years now. I have had no problems with it other than the gas cap broke. I run a 32in bar on it all the time. I also have a stihl 046 that's been rebuilt and a stock 461. I really cant see much difference between all 3 saws.
So great, - - you bought one. CuldYou contact me and I wouldn’t take 8 mins of yer time?SxTen)Ni, Tree,won,TooOne,SxAte, I’m really ser. considering buying the blue, but didn’t know if quirks would hobble it over the years i’d hope it would offer service to my groundwork. Thnx
Had to bust the plastic limiters out of my Stihl 461 carb adjusting screws. Wouldn’t idle. Like at all. Makes for a long work day. Nice video. Just subscribed!
Thanks for the videos and keep up the great work. Did you intend to have the comments off for the second video? I like to adjust my low idle down to where the chain doesn't move or do any small jumps and the clutch drum doesn't ring. If I can't adjust it down that far, I know my clutch springs are bad or there is an air leak and something needs to be repaired.
I did not intend to have the comments off on the second video. Thanks for letting me know. I wasn’t aware that was the case. I’ll have to look into that.
Good video. I just can think of only one reason to purchase the blue one - price. If you can afford it, buy the Stihl. It has a long history of excellence plus a great warranty.
you need to drill out the caps on the stihl ms660 carb to get full ajustment , i work at a repair shop and we drill them out just to get the screws out to clean the carbs out properly, but you shouldent have to take the low or high screws out from the 1 and 1.5 turns they are... if you have to theres problems elswhere your compensating for
(update) my hults660 with high flow oil pump on a 36" bar has been on my alaska mill for i year now. ive been using 32/1 and 90 oct non/ethanol fuel have not did any adjusting to the carb, changed the plug once. milled 1/2 dozen 80 ft pines into slabs so far, modified my recoil, i removed it, board a hole on center in the cover and start it with a 1 hp drill motor and a socket running off a tailgater generator works beautiful . my furry little paws just cant pull on that beast anymore. if you got an alaska mill put a small harbor freight winch on it with a pully at the aft end of the log, its a game changer!
I've owned several Stihl and Husqvarna saws over the years, currently own neither but still sitting on over 40 saws. Never owned a cheap Chinesium either. Might just be the audio but to me, both of the saws sounded a little lean for my liking.... Anyways, good overall comparison. You convinced me to buy one after getting the "last chance Fathers day sale" offer. Picked up a G660 powerhead, 36" bar and chain, auxiliary oiler, chainsaw mill and 9' milling guide rail for $600 CDN shipping included. Not too shabby. Thanks for the video comparison. 👍
Great video! If I were you I'd order some plugs and take out those decomps... a builder I know said they rob .8hp off you... not sure how true it is but I plugged all mine.
I’ve heard that they go bad and can possibly ruin your saw as well. I might do that. Did it help out with compression and horsepower when you plugged your saws?
This what I use to cut my bread in the morning. It's 150 grain all natural that my GF said would keep me regular. You best wear your chainsaw safety with the natural 250 grain bread.
Better than professional reviews and hater reviews. I would say the saw is a pretty decent saw especially in price comparison. Can't beat 300 to 400 dollars compared to around $2000
Great video. Interesting the holzfforma actually sounds a little hotter than the stihl. I work on a lotta stihl and looking to buy couple holzfforma saws maybe 440 kit and 660? Would you recommend anything different? Thanks man
The Holzfforma sounds a bit hotter than the Stihl for two reasons. The first is that it has a lot more hours of run time on it. The second might be because it doesn’t have the spark arrest screen on it and the Stihl does although I won’t really argue that that would cause that much of a difference in how it sounds performance wise. I recently bought the Holzfforma g466 (the ms460 clone). From what I can tell so far it is a very close match to the ms460 power wise. I haven’t used it enough to really give an honest opinion on it yet because I’ve only ran about 4 tanks of fuel through it so far. But as of right now I would recommend it. The only issue I’ve had with it so far is that it doesn’t like to start very easy after I’ve ran it for a bit. I’m not sure why yet, it could be a tuning issue. I’ve had to run it a bit more lean than I like to get it to fire up again for whatever reason. Other than that I’ve also bought the g111 (the ms200t clone) and I would definitely recommend that saw as well. I’ve been meaning to do a video on it for a while now but haven’t quite found the time yet. I’ll be doing review videos of both those saws in the future so keep an eye out for them. Thanks for watching, I’m glad you enjoyed the video.
Yes sir, it comes in handy. I purchased it new in 2015. It’s a great little machine for getting into the woods and makeshift skidding logs out to a landing or picking small logs up and moving them around & piling up brush.
Been waiting for this Exact video great job although I was a little shocked how hard the 660 had to work to get through that log I really think my husky 365 special would almost hang with it.
With the longer bars on cutting through a piece of oak that stout. It does take a bit to get through it. My ms460 will pull a 32” also and would keep up in the size oak I was cutting in. I’ve been toying with the idea of making another shorter video with a 28” bar on both saws. Swapping the bar in between change out of each saw and cutting some smaller logs. Like around 20” in diameter or so. Thanks for watching.
Damn the G660 BEAT the MS660!! Your cut times, as best as I could get them, were: G660: 34, 33 and 44 second cuts averages to 37, and MS660: 32s, 41 and 41second cuts average to 38sec average cut over 3 cuts. Lowest time was with the MS660(32sec), and highest(44sec) with the G660, although it's interesting the G660's median (or is it 'mean'? I suck at statistics :P ) is lower than the ms's, the MS's good average is because of the 1 good 32sec cut, but you got (2) low-30's cuts with the g660! Great content, thanks for posting!! Am eagerly awaiting Fedex (who shoulda been here yesterday cough cough) to deliver my G660 am so stoked I see you have a 'part 2' video will check that out (love being done for the day at noon :D)
That was my thoughts on it as well. The Stihl had more bottom end for sure. Comparing the g660 with my ms460 I can say that the g660 has more power than the ms460 does for sure. There was a very noticeable difference in power when I first purchased the g660 and started using it after using the ms460 for so long. So all in all not a bad deal for the price. I felt the g660 was close to the ms660 so if I need it for bigger wood it will definitely get the job done.
I just got really unimpressed when you said the tensioner broke right out of the box. Chinese stuff will work but longevity is always in question. One of my customers bought the holzforma 090 clone and it leaks gas out of the cap when tipped on its side. How’s yours holding up and roughly how many tanks of gas have you ran?
So far it’s holding up well. I’ve ran approximately 15 full tanks of fuel through it. However, I did buy a g466 (the ms460 clone) and that saw has not worked correctly from the get go. I think it’s a carburetor issue but I haven’t got it figured out quite yet. The g272 (the Husqvarna 272 clone) that I have works awesome and the g111 (the Stihl ms200t clone) works well also. The g111 does currently have an issue with the chain break rubbing on the clutch and I had to replace the starter rope but honestly is a great little saw. I am in no way advocating for people to purchase these saws as apposed to a Stihl. If you can afford it and don’t care to tinker with them, by all means buy a name brand. These saws are from China so the longevity is more than likely not going to be there, but for the price difference I personally don’t mind. Thanks for watching.
Holzfforma recommends 24:1 but it would be the same as Stihl recommends which is 50:1. I personally use 40:1 in all my 2 cycle small engines. Thanks for watching.
I am also looking to buy a larger saw for doing some milling, I currently own 3 Stihls and 2 Husqvarna's. my 26" bar is not long enough for what I need, after reading several of the comments about copy this or copy that, I hate to say this type of thing has been going on for more years than most of us know about or care about, 30+ years in the pump industry and there are a lot of foreign and domestic pumps that look an awful lot a like, same thing some parts are interchangeable. who copied who?
The stihl definetly has more power just straight out torque I think, they just love eating wood but hey for the money the holzforma seems a great saw and a good buy and theres not too much difference, also stihl doesn't have as much adjustment in the carb as they dont really need it they are super powerful and come out of the factory ready to rumble
The G660 is limited by its muffler, once opened up it's on par with the stihl. In performance, in quality obviously not. But for the money can't complain.
You mention the gas cap is "chinzier." The plastic is a different grade and not quite as dense but its design is much easier to grab with a bare hand. Much much easier to grab and twist. The groves are more agressive and the lesser dense plastic is grainy and gives you a better grip. I have 2 of the best factories supplying what I have now if anyone needs some.
i did 660pro has nikisil Italian top end .canged base gasket more squish .cleand ports .dual performance stainless muffler . foam filter. sthil bar sthil chain sthil coil sthil oiler thing rips . did few big jobs . nothing compared my881 stihl
Greetings.Please advise if there is a difference between Holzfforma and a regular clone on Aliexpress.A regular clone is much cheaper .I'm from Russia.
I enjoyed your review on the two saws. From my review the Stihl cut through that log faster than the knock off. My biggest thing that concerns me with the knock off saw is how the saw is going to hold up over the long run whether it's the carb acting up or some of the parts wearing out prematurely or breaking. I think I'd stick with Stihl.
I’m wondering how it will hold up longevity wise and parts wise as well. I felt the Stihl did a better job as well. If I was in the logging industry I would definitely be purchasing the real deal. But for the average person who is just using it once in a while I think it’s not bad for the price. Thanks for your reply and Thanks for watching.
@@thebustedwedge1141 I've had two of the G660s for right around 2 years and absolutely love them. I dealt with the holzfforma 'normal' issues (real air filter, chain tensioner fix, high output oiler) before ever putting it to hard use and haven't had any issues since. I've used one for general use (felling/bucking) and one primarily for milling. They've both seen a ton of heavy days and still run like champs. I've had full days of 36"+ hardwoods to bury them in and other than normal saw maintenance haven't had to do anything special. Best of luck to you, hope you enjoy it as much as I have. Even with fixing the normal issues with oem parts, I'm under $500/saw whereas I'd have had to spend 1000+ easily for each stihl oem.
@@thebustedwedge1141 sounded like the g660 could've used a little more tuning to eek out a few more rpms. The Stihl was definitely the better runner of the 2 but I feel some carb tuning could really improve the G660s cutting speed. Nice video bud.
@@justinnoble2497 Thank You sir. I agree, more tuning would improve the cutting speed but I’m a little leery of the Chinese carburetor so I’ve been trying to keep it tuned down a bit. From what I’m seeing in the comments though it sounds like they are holding up to heavy use so that’s good to hear. Thanks for watching.
I honestly like the Stihl better but only because it’s a genuine ms660 and we can’t get them anymore around here. The two of them have the same power from what I can tell though so I guess I’ll have to see how long the Holzfforma lasts.
@@thebustedwedge1141 I noticed that the Stihl reved higher rpm and had more whistle and you had to fight it less good video. THE holtz high adj might need to be tweeked just a lil.
Yes sir I noticed the same thing. When I made this video it was getting dark and I was trying to hurry. I actually recorded the cutting part in between the talking parts so I had enough light to do it in. Which is also why I’m not wearing chaps in the cutting portion of the video (I didn’t know where they were at and didn’t have time to look for them 😄). I’ve thought about making another short video again of just the cutting where I adjust the carbs to close to the same, I use the same bar and chain and I cut all the way through the logs. The whistling in the Stihl is because that saw has been used so little that it’s not even fully broke in yet. I think my uncle has run maybe one tank through it. Thanks for the comment and for watching.
Saw looks awesome seems like a solid deal I may have to get one! Would be fun to do a little learning tuning /building saws on one and not have to worry as much about a costly genuine
Chain was much sharper on the Stihl. Very dull on the blue one. Nothing but saw dust and no chips not to mention the smoke coming from the log. LOL Great comparison though.
The smoke coming from the log was actually the log starting to burn because there’s no spark arrestor screen in the muffler on the blue saw. The log had some very soft dead spots and started to catch on fire which is why I was kicking it after cutting with the blue saw. My hand sharpening skills are lacking to say the least Lol. So I made a second video where I used the same bar and chain combo and and used a brand new chain. That’s what part 2 is. Thanks for the feedback and Thanks for watching.
I wouldn’t worry about it personally. That’s what I’m running now. Stihl recommends 50:1 in their stuff. I ran 50:1 in my MS460 for years until a couple of years ago when I switched to 40:1. I haven’t had a problem yet. I’m not a professional logger and I don’t usually cut unless it’s below 50 degrees Fahrenheit so that may factor in also. The break in period is the most crucial but honestly even with that I ran 50:1 in my MS460 because at the time I didn’t know any better. Hope this helps, Thanks for watching.
Considering you can buy 4 G660's for the price of 1 MS660, not too bad. Boy that MS660 of your uncles is Minty! I am waiting on a G660 to arrive myself. You a cheese lander? Howdy from MN :-)
The part number for the bar I used in the video is 320RWDD025. It is a Oregon PowerCut bar that is 32” (80 cm) long. The pitch is 3/8, the gauge is .050 and it calls for 105 drivers to be on the chain. The chain I don’t have a part number for but it’s a Stihl brand chain. It’s the rapid super chain (the chain with the yellow not the green) and it is 3/8 pitch, .050 gauge and has 105 drivers. You can go to just about any hardware store that sells Stihl chain and they can make them for you to whatever length you’d like.Thanks for watching, sorry about the delay in the response.
The Sthil carburetor limiter is easily overcome. Simply drill the pins out and make sure to get the shaving cleaned out. I have no choice but to do this procedure since most of my cutting is above 10000'. If you're below 4500' there really is no reason to make this modification.
You need to grind your rakers back a little bit more. that stihl has the power to pull that and get rid of that damn Oregon bar that saw will never saw properly with that Oregon bar on it because it creates an oil flow issue
