Stihl ES Light Bar

[JJinAK]

For Father's Day this year I received a gift card to my local Stihl dealer, and I'm toying with the idea of picking up a new ES Light bar for my 461.  I currently run a 28" Rollomatic, and I'm thinking of swapping to a 28" ES Light.  I was talking to a local logger here, and he swears by them.  I use my saws regularly during the spring/summer months for firewood, with some tree felling.

My question to the group- are they worth the extra money?  I'm interested to hear thoughts.

J

[lxskllr]

I recently got a 20" on my 362, and it doesn't feel much lighter than the Rollomatic E I was used to. That's comparing a consumer bar to a pro bar though. I think comparing pro to pro light would have been more noticeable, and a 28" like yours should feel even better.

I'm not familiar with the 461, but if it balances with the nose down with your normal 28", I think you'd like the light bar. IMO, balance is even more important than gross weight. I'd rather use a saw that was heavier overall, but had a nice balance over a lighter saw that was nose heavy.

[ehp]

at 20 inch I say no but 24 inch up I say yes , they seem to wear pretty good and I have had no problems with these bars

[HolmenTree]

I weighed my 20" 3003 mount ES light bar and the scale said 2 lbs spot on. I got a 20" Cannon bar that weighs 4 lbs and both my Oregon and Windsor bars weigh 2.75lbs each.

[ehp]

ya I donot find much difference in weight on the 20 inch, but I have cut a lot of timber with this 20 inch lite es bar

[MAF143]

I stopped at my local Stihl dealer on the way home this morning to see what an ES Lite 25" would cost and he told me it would be $135.00.  They don't have any in stock and he didn't recall ever selling any around here.

I'm tempted since my 391 is nose heavy with the ES bar that's on it now (came with it when I bought it used), but I don't really cut all that much with it.  I get it out for bucking larger firewood and use it when cutting the larger saw logs for the mill.  A couple pounds sure sounds nice, but it's hard to justify the price tag for me. 

[ehp]

Im still cutting with the same light ES bar and its still rolling pretty good . So with that being said at least this bar has done very well and cut a lot of footage in timber