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Professional Rear-Handle Chainsaws

Rear-handle professional saws are the production tools of forestry and logging: felling, bucking rounds, and limbing all day. We organize them by displacement class and rank each class by power-to-weight — the single most useful pro metric, because it captures cutting power against the fatigue of carrying the saw.

Power-to-weight (hp/kg) = engine horsepower ÷ powerhead weight. Higher is better. Where a manufacturer doesn't publish horsepower we show "not specified by manufacturer" rather than guess.

The saws below are classed forestry: large pro felling and bucking saws (roughly 60 cc and up, plus pro-line 50 cc models). Mid-size farm & ranch saws — Farm Boss, Rancher, Wood Boss and similar — are listed separately further down, because they are built for occasional heavier cutting rather than full-time production work.

50–59 cc class Forestry

Model Duty class Bar Weight Power Power-to-weight
Husqvarna 562 XP Mark II Forestry 18-in bar 13.0 lb 60 cc 0.80 hp/kg
Husqvarna 562 XP G Mark II Forestry 20-in bar 13.4 lb 60 cc 0.77 hp/kg
HUSQVARNA 550 XP Mark II Forestry 16-in bar 11.7 lb 50 cc 0.75 hp/kg
HUSQVARNA 550 XP G Mark II Forestry 16-in bar 12.3 lb 50 cc 0.72 hp/kg
Echo CS-590 Timber Wolf Forestry 18-in bar 13.2 lb 60 cc not specified by manufacturer

60–69 cc class Forestry

Model Duty class Bar Weight Power Power-to-weight
Stihl MS 400 C-M Forestry 20-in bar 12.7 lb 67 cc 0.94 hp/kg
Husqvarna 564 XP Fuel Injected Forestry 18-in bar 12.8 lb 62 cc 0.93 hp/kg
Husqvarna 564 XP G Fuel Injected Forestry 18-in bar 13.0 lb 62 cc 0.92 hp/kg
Makita EA6100PREG — 18" 61 cc Forestry 18-in bar 13.2 lb 61 cc 0.77 hp/kg
Stihl MS 391 Forestry 18-in bar 13.7 lb 64 cc 0.71 hp/kg
Echo CS-680 Forestry 20-in bar 14.6 lb 67 cc not specified by manufacturer

70 cc & up class Forestry

Model Duty class Bar Weight Power Power-to-weight
Stihl MS 500i Forestry 18-in bar 14.0 lb 79 cc 1.07 hp/kg
HUSQVARNA 592 XP Forestry 36-in bar 16.3 lb 93 cc 1.03 hp/kg
HUSQVARNA 592 XP G Forestry 20-in bar 16.7 lb 93 cc 1.00 hp/kg
Stihl MS 462 Forestry 16-in bar 13.3 lb 72 cc 1.00 hp/kg
Stihl MS 661 C-M MAGNUM Forestry 36-in bar 16.8 lb 92 cc 0.96 hp/kg
HUSQVARNA 585 Forestry 28-in bar 16.5 lb 86 cc 0.92 hp/kg
Stihl MS 881 MAGNUM Forestry 36-in bar 21.4 lb 121 cc 0.90 hp/kg
HUSQVARNA 572 XP Forestry 20-in bar 14.5 lb 71 cc 0.88 hp/kg
Husqvarna 395 XP Forestry 20-in bar 17.8 lb 94 cc 0.86 hp/kg
HUSQVARNA 572 XP G Forestry 20-in bar 15.0 lb 71 cc 0.85 hp/kg
HUSQVARNA 372 XP X-TORQ Forestry 20-in bar 14.6 lb 71 cc 0.83 hp/kg
HUSQVARNA 3120 XP Forestry 24-in bar 22.9 lb 119 cc 0.80 hp/kg
HUSQVARNA 565 Forestry 20-in bar 14.3 lb 71 cc 0.77 hp/kg
Husqvarna 365 Forestry 20-in bar 14.1 lb 71 cc 0.77 hp/kg
Echo CS-7310P Forestry 20-in bar 14.8 lb 74 cc not specified by manufacturer
Echo CS-7310PW Forestry 20-in bar 15.4 lb 74 cc not specified by manufacturer

Farm & ranch saws Farm & ranch

These mid-size saws (about 40–60 cc) suit fence-line work, firewood, and storm cleanup — occasional heavier cutting on a property. They are not full-time forestry production saws; for daily felling and bucking, see the forestry classes above.

Model Duty class Bar Weight Power Power-to-weight
HUSQVARNA 460 Rancher Farm & ranch 24-in bar 13.2 lb 60 cc 0.60 hp/kg
Echo CS-620P Farm & ranch 16-in bar 13.7 lb 60 cc not specified by manufacturer
Echo CS-620PW Farm & ranch 16-in bar 14.1 lb 60 cc not specified by manufacturer
HUSQVARNA 555 Farm & ranch 18-in bar 13.0 lb 60 cc 0.71 hp/kg
Shindaiwa 591 Rear Handle Farm & ranch 20-in bar 13.2 lb 60 cc not specified by manufacturer
Shindaiwa 600SX Rear Handle Farm & ranch 20-in bar 13.7 lb 60 cc not specified by manufacturer
Stihl MS 311 Farm & ranch 18-in bar 13.8 lb 59 cc 0.67 hp/kg
Stihl MS 362 C-M Farm & ranch 18-in bar 12.3 lb 59 cc 0.86 hp/kg
Stihl MS 362 Farm & ranch 16-in bar 12.3 lb 59 cc 0.86 hp/kg
Makita EA5600FREG — 18" 56 cc Ridgeline Farm & ranch 18-in bar 12.8 lb 56 cc 0.71 hp/kg
HUSQVARNA 455 Rancher Farm & ranch 20-in bar 13.2 lb 56 cc 0.58 hp/kg
Stihl MS 291 Farm & ranch 18-in bar 12.4 lb 56 cc 0.67 hp/kg
Stihl MS 261 C-M Farm & ranch 16-in bar 10.9 lb 51 cc 0.83 hp/kg
Stihl MS 271 FARM BOSS 20" Farm & ranch 20-in bar 12.3 lb 50 cc 0.62 hp/kg
Echo CS-501P Farm & ranch 16-in bar 10.4 lb 50 cc not specified by manufacturer
Stihl MS 261 Farm & ranch 16-in bar 10.9 lb 50 cc 0.83 hp/kg
Husqvarna 445S Farm & ranch 18-in bar 11.0 lb 50 cc 0.60 hp/kg
Husqvarna 450S Rancher Farm & ranch 20-in bar 11.0 lb 50 cc 0.64 hp/kg
Husqvarna 450X Rancher Farm & ranch 20-in bar 11.2 lb 50 cc 0.67 hp/kg
Shindaiwa 493 Rear Handle Farm & ranch 16-in bar 11.1 lb 50 cc not specified by manufacturer
Echo CS-4920 Farm & ranch 16-in bar 11.1 lb 50 cc not specified by manufacturer
HUSQVARNA 545 Mark II Farm & ranch 16-in bar 11.7 lb 50 cc 0.68 hp/kg
Makita EA5001PREL — 18" 50 cc Farm & ranch 18-in bar 11.9 lb 50 cc 0.72 hp/kg
Makita EA5000PRGG — 20" 50 cc Farm & ranch 20-in bar 11.9 lb 50 cc 0.72 hp/kg
Stihl MS 251 WOOD BOSS Farm & ranch 18-in bar 10.6 lb 46 cc 0.62 hp/kg

Choosing by job

Rear-handle pro head-to-heads

Echo CS-501P vs Stihl MS 261 For 50cc pro value Echo CS-590 Timber Wolf vs Stihl MS 271 FARM BOSS 20" For mid-size firewood and felling HUSQVARNA 550 XP Mark II vs Stihl MS 261 C-M For 50cc all-day production HUSQVARNA 572 XP vs Stihl MS 462 For 70cc felling and bucking HUSQVARNA 572 XP vs Stihl MS 500i For high-output felling HUSQVARNA 572 XP vs Stihl MS 661 C-M MAGNUM For large-timber felling Husqvarna 562 XP Mark II vs Stihl MS 400 C-M For 60cc felling power-to-weight

Independent reference database. Specs are compiled from manufacturer sources and normalized for comparison; verify with the manufacturer or dealer before purchase.

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