Having cut and burned firewood for over 30 years, and owning a small farm, I've been a Stihl user for years and years. Recently, I purchased an Echo 400 and after some tuning and opening up the muffler, it is a veritable beast of a saw. I liked it so much that I bought a larger 490 for heavier work and it too, after some tuning, is a real fantastic saw. I was a Stihl user for a long time, but I've found the new Stihls don't compare to Echo saws and won't be going back any time soon. I have cut trees with 30" trunks with both and I can tell you that the Echo has quite a bit more grunt that a Stihl of the same size. When cutting the big stuff, the only saw, manageable by mere mortals, that can best one of the larger Echos, such as a 590 is a Husqvarna, and I don't remember the number, but it was a huge, something like 62-65cc HEAVY saw, but it cut like a monster. If I had to cut the big stuff a lot, I'd have one. They're too heavy for me to use all day, but for felling the big uns, they're amazing. Aside from that Husky, I'll take an Echo all day long.