If you've been looking at different chainsaws, chances are pretty good you've come across brand names like Craftsman, Husqvarna, and STIHL. All good chains saws, and all aiming for different consumers. The Husqvarna line definitely targets the bigger industrial sized jobs, but they do also produce machines that work well for the average home owner / casual chainsaw user.
The Craftsman chainsaws (sometimes manufactured by Poulan), are more for the casual user, or maybe as a backup saw. They also make a good alternative to lugging around a big saw, if you don't want to drag your hefty STIHL or Husky off to the job site. Homelite also makes smaller chainsaws, that would be good for cutting firewood, and taking down smaller trees. Other manufacturers to consider are Jonsered, and Echo. Their not nearly as well known, but do fill a niche.
Husqvarna, and STIHL, do own the majority of the market however, with an estimated eighty percent of the market share. Husqvarna holds a slight lead over second place STIHL. If your in the business of farming, growing, or chopping down trees, than chances your going to go for the Swedish designed and built STIHL, or the German manufactured STIHL.
STIHL has been producing chainsaws for about 70 or so years, and both their 250CBE and 180 models are amongst the most popular. THE 250CBE is more for heavy duty power users, where as the 180 is lighter, but provides great value for the money. The nice thing about STIHL saws, is they won't wear you down and beat you up. You'll be able to use them for longer stretches, and get more work down.
