Bill_D

W/ that coin you could buy a new JD GT 225 or equiv.  Dumb move whover bought that thing.  I give it 25 hours til ya need a ring job.  Doooohhhh!!!!

I swear I love peeps mentality.   I recently sold a car w/ 16K original miles on it(recall I adveer4tised here 1st old T Bird)  This clown flys from Dallas to me in Chi and drives it home.  I told him 25+X he was nuts but he insisted.  badda bing, badda boom he threw a belt 25 miles out, fixxed that, made it another 50 miles, and burst a hose, fvckin dipp$#%*!!!  I found out later he ran the nmotor dry of oil 100 miles later because the rubber gasket gave on the oil filter.  Get this, he was mad at me!!!  Thank gawd he paid in cash.   Thank gawd his mom slept w/ her brother to create this gem!!!!

I have the Echo Will, and love it, it was about $500 plus I bought a 5' extension for it for about $90 as well.  It is very lengthy w, a reach of 19' now, plus the 5 or 6' I stand lifting it, meaning I can prune to about 24' now which is plenty for my needs.  It is a absolutely brutal tool to handle.  I', 6'00" about 225lb in pretty good athletic shape, and can only use it in about 15-20 minute spurts, then need to rest for about the same, and the re use, as it puts such a strain on my biceps, and upper body.  The Poulon one you mentioned, I have seen selling for about $200 w/ a 12' reach and 31cc engine, looks like plenty for occasional use like you mentioned.  Now, I mean NO offense by this at all, so please dont take it this way, but i recall you had mentioned your heart surgery recently, and cant help but suggest maybe try it out at the store to make sure it isnt too much to handle, as when your reachin' up w/ this damn heavy thing, it gets exhausting in a hurry!!!  And the problem is once ya start a branch, ya dont wanna stop until your all the way through it, or else you'll hang up the saw, and have to climb up a ladder to free it most likely.  So in summary, I would say, no ya cant compare the Poulan to an Echo or Stihl  quality, but for occasional use, I'm sure it is all you'll need Will.  I work the absolute hell out of the Echo I have, w/ the only wear so far is I hung it so badly once I had to replace the chain.  Other than that it is a tank.  one thing to consider is you could probably buy the entry level Echo Split boom w/ pruner attachment for about $275, that at least would give you perhaps a more quality engine for a few bucks more.  I believe the reach is the same, however only a 23cc engine though.   

I thought Kramer had this all worked out for us!!!

Wish ya posted this a few weeks ago, I just gave away a couple park hoppers.   Anyways, have a great trip!!!! 

I still think it would be easier to just open all your windows, and roll your house down a hill, but hey, that's just me.