By Paul Turner

5stars

Husqvarna 357XP Review

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Review of the husqvarna 357xp

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When my Husqvarna 362xp died with a sloppy piston lacking all compression, It was a case of replace with the familiar brand I was used to.Though the old saw served well in most situations it was heavy to use when doing under rated work and at times I would of preferred a little more persistent torque.
Reviewing the current husqvarna range on their website in  Sept 2010. The 357xp had more speed and weighed less but 5cc less engine,whilst within in my price bracket. I didn’t compare extensively with other saw manufacturers just a casual perusal.
The saw comes with usual expected operators manual and basic tool kit to keep it maintained.  The weakest of the tools being a plastic grease gun for the bar sprocket. I don’t use it as it performs too inconsistently for my liking. Instead I use my old metal greaser. Maintaince is straight forward and simple, the side mounted chain tensioner is easier than the old style front end type, I would prefer a bigger screwhead or hex socket head for a more positive contact. I chose  the 15 inch  bar which is adequate for most of my needs and reduces weight.
Initially it proved to be a good starter and I personally consider it outperforms the 362xp it keeps going and doesn’t stop suddenly when the going gets tough. After the first 15 hours I returned it to the dealers for its first recommended retune. It didn’t’ make much difference in performance.  The easystart  is what it says a lot  easier to pull the starter cord with the decompression in. However it did become difficult to start  needing up to ten pulls of the starter after running tank empty and also not good from cold.  I didn’t notice if this occurred at this point or later. However Im told this can be fixed quite simply may need just a littlle adjustment, I will persevere with it for now, as once its going it no longer suffers hesitation.
I tend to run the saw quite solidly for extensive periods or turn it off. Felling mostly hardwood timber and processing it in to firewood. On a tank of fuel 0.68 litre it lasts me upwards of a minimum of 35 to 40 minutes, in continuous usage.
The speed it cuts through hardwood timber is impressive and I reckon the productivity gains over another similar  sized less perky saw will be worthwhile. However it comes as a small trade off in increased vibration stresses to your body, unnoticeable whilst in use, but at night or the following day after intensive usage you feel the aches, Like all power tools it  could lead to receptive strain injury and related health problems, however if you were using an inferior saw it would take longer and still cause RSI potentially anyway. The manufacturers website support page has a vibration calculator chart for most saws they make and this is definitely worth consulting when purchasing one of their saws ,especially for health aware employers. This particular model is only recommended up to 6  hours use daily. I would personally advise to keep it under that if possible.  Husqvarna vibration calculator
 It has so far proved to be a robust reliable  sure and comfortable saw to use for me with plenty of go to get the work done,  It is excellently balanced with positive positioning and control in use. I am impressed and any frustrations that occur in usage are generally my error or the situation Im working in, not the machine.  When it comes to replacement I hope that they progress as much as they have with this model again. Producing less vibration with similar or more power for less weight.

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Conclusion Rating
Price/value
4 stars
Performance
5 stars

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