There is little doubt when shopping for chainsaws that the major brands will dominate discussions. For example, Stihl and Husqvarna are pretty much the stronghold in the market.
Many first time chainsaw users make the mistake of over capitalizing with their first machine without doing a little research and homework. In fact, many could have saved themselves hundreds of dollars by looking at some of the lesser known brands.
It's not that they don't pick themselves up a quality machine with the best manufacturers, the irony is, the chainsaws which were meant to be used and worked often will sit in somebody's tool shed gathering dust.
In this instance, it would have been better to head to a mart type store and pick up a cheap machine for less than a hundred bucks.
One of the lesser known brands, Echo, is still somewhat of a best kept secret. Even though they cater well towards the professional to semi professional, they haven't missed the inexperienced chainsaw user with their lightweight CS-306 machine.
Fancy bells and whistles have been part of the chainsaw marketing scene for several years now and many of the new features pertain to safety. Echo chainsaws are no different but the reputation they've gathered relates to chainsaw toughness and reliability.
Professionals will tell you fancy bells and whistles are great but if the chainsaw has no heart then what's the point. The obvious concern for a novice will be the reliability of a machine and the CS-306 like it's bigger cousins, doesn't lack in the heart department.
Safety is another important issue with chainsaws. One of the main problems with chainsaws is what's known as the fatigue factor. A heavy machine and an inexperienced user spells danger. Echo has kept the novice user in mind with the 306 weighing in at between 7-8 pounds.
Fatigue is responsible for thousands of accidents each year and if professionals can get into trouble, then novices need to heed strict safety precautions when using chainsaws.
