stihl

[trapper]

Anyone else notice stihl  missing as a sponsor?

[Walnut Beast]

I do now that you pointed it out

[Old saw fixer]

Hmm, wonder what's with that?

[JD Guy]

Unless I missed it I don't see Husquvarna either?

[Al_Smith]

I think they come and go for whatever reason .

[Jeff]

Husquvarna never was a sponsor

Wow, It didn't take someone long to notice Stihl, it came down less than a week ago from Northeast Stihl.  Apparently the largest forest products related forum in the world can no longer compete with youtubers and other places to put their support.  Big big hit for us. Because of my cognitive issues, I had to move almost all of my website clients to others that can take care of them in the last 2 years, as I no longer am capable.  Losing a major sponsor like that is very very tough. 

[Walnut Beast]

I can honestly say that my two new Stihl purchases were due to Yellowhammer and Ehp on the Forestry Forum here with good input from other members. Sad to see Stihl !!!   Stihl if you think I make my purchases off of YouTube videos you are wrong!!! 

[barbender]

Yep I also have 2 Stihl saws I wouldn't have otherwise because I read about them on here. 

[Southside]

Stihl needs to hear that from you, they have a corporate contact page.

[Walnut Beast]

These companies love to give stuff to some  idiots on YouTube just because they get a good amount of clicks and for as many good reviews there are just as many bad ones. And the people they give or loan stuff to can and has backfired on companies. I had a guy call me from Ventrac on a very expensive mower for brush and steep inclines. The conversation didn't last long! I told him the guy that you leased the unit to on YouTube that was supposed to promote your product actually did you a big disservice when he got the unit buried and had to use his excavator to pull it out. I said no thanks after seeing that 😂

[doc henderson]

hopefully our brutally honest comment regarding our support for mom and pop shops did not turn them off.  But it is the wrong move if it did.  I have over a dozen Stihl saws, among other high end products.  I have faith in the products, I worry about the families that have devoted lifetimes to professional product sales & service like Stihl.  when the masses can go down the street to a big box store and save a buck, they will.

[teakwood]

I have always been a Stihl guy and i wanted a 500i since a long time ago, but it was because of the good feedback from several guy here that i decided to buy one, and another member made it happen. So sad that Stihl doesn't support the best Forum anymore.
I don't seek Youtube for saw reviews, it's full of self crowned experts and office chair loggers.

[Greenhighlander]

I am not gonna act like I am a huge Stihl fan as 2 of my 3 current saws are husky and I love them , but this news has insured I will not even think of buying a product of theirs again.  

This is a really bad decision on their part. Anyone with any online experience knows you get the facts on forums , not you tube videos . They are for advertising and entertainment , forums like this are for real life experience.   

[Al_Smith]

Because I'm a collector/restorer I have many brands although more Stihl and McCulloch products .I have no brand loyalty however most of my cutting is done using Stihl chainsaws .I've had good luck with them as well as the blowers ,weed wackers etc .Then again I've had good luck with the few Husqvarnas I own so it's not apples and oranges just personal preferences I think in most cases .Often times from my view point conversations like this are much like the never ending debate about mix oils and ratios .Hmm speaking of same perhaps another go at it would be in order . ;D

[Spike60]

I'm obviously not a Stihl guy by any means. But either way, it's not good simply in the context of it hurting the forum. 

But, this stuff happens all the time. Was there a conversation where they gave some explanation as to what was behind the decision? Or was it just the modern, cold email with no details?

[Jeff]

Total respect for the past sponsorship. Im just afraid times and people that have time to understand where we fit in have changed. Problem is, the present fast paced social media flies over top and doesn't understand or recognize any longer the soil that we are.

[stavebuyer]

I am afraid that they probably see "us" as the remnants of a niche market whose time has passed. The "future" is selling solar powered robotic lawn mowers over the internet. Sadly, they are probably right. How many 20 somethings are manually felling timber or cutting firewood? As we age out, we aren't going to be replaced. Best we can hope for is that they let us wither away in peace and that a few 2 cycle engines wielded by a handful of 70 somethings probably isn't going to doom the planet.

[Ianab]

I don't know about "passed" but niche is probably true. Only a small part of Stihl's business is now professional logging saws.  Walk into a large "Stihl Shop" and see how much of the floor space is dedicated to pro chainsaws? They have some on the wall over there, but the other 90% of the shop is other stuff. The current "growth" area is electric garden tools, so you can't really blame them for concentrating on that.  

It still kinda sucks. pun intended. 

[Al_Smith]

Sales of anything tend to follow trends and right now it's on battery powered everything .From pick-me-up trucks to drill motors .Saying that I've operated a few off brand battery saws and for what they are they do okay .They always start and will run as long as you have enough charged up batteries .No gasoline to argue about or mix oil to debate about .Almost no noise to drive the neighbors bonkers .Certainly not oak slayers but again just how many people attack a 3 feet diameter oak ?Not many !

[doc henderson]

When we lived in Hays, Ks where I met my wife, we had 5 acres.  the garden was 50 x 300 feet.  We had beautiful fescue grass and I bought a rear engine snapper from the lady that sold the house.  After getting sprinklers in and new grass replacing the old sparse buffalo grass, we had a great lawn.  I worked lots of hours so Georgia tried to mow.  It was an oldie but a goodie man mower.  It had a key, but a button to push to start.  the throttle for the motor speed, but a mechanical tranny with a spinning plate and a wheel that moved in and out, as a continuous variable speed, like a hydrostat, but not.  The blade had a manual lever to engage, and then you stepped on a plate on either side to hold the blade in the engaged position, and if you let off, the blade disengaged.  I have told the story of the chocolate lab we could not keep in the yard, and we had a cable trolley that I could attempt to keep the dog on.  i was at work so my wife was mowing. she ran along the cable and some how got it over her legs and stood the mower up in a wheelie position.  she could not let her feet off she could not shut it off she could not get off the mower.  I was not home and overall not happy.  No offense to @Bindian but in general as I said this was a great man mower.  you really had to know how it worked and it would keep doing what you asked it to do even if it killed you.  

So i told her we were going to got buy a John Deere mower for her, that if you leaned a bit to fart, the blade would shut off.  banana switch in the seat to the electric clutch.  first mistake "for her".  She wanted a mulching deck.  Well we got this 4 k mower home and it could mow 10 feet before it clogged up and died.  remember I do things on an industrial scale.  I bought fertilizer granules at the local co-op in bulk.  so the JD salesman (husband to the nurse I knew as the manger over peds unit) came out and said we should have to mow every 2 or 3 days.  what?!  So the agreed to the deck I wanted (salesman and my wife).  a 50 inch deck with a blower and 3 bags on the back.  Of course my wife kept saying, "I thought John Deer was supposed to be these great mowers"!  A few repairs here and there and she would repeat that comment.  I told here, we can get parts, and they can fix anything on that mower.  It had a 17 horse water cooled Kawasaki engine.  We moved to hutch and we started seeing JD at Lowes for just over a thousand buck.  she said why did we pay so much, and we keep having to "fix" that mower.  I had just replace the tie rod end.  I had her compare the size of her finger to the tie rod end on the mower.  when we got home she did it again on "her" mower, and it was a thumb instead of a pinky.  I bought a damaged one from a doc friend that he had ran off a retaining wall, knowing it could be fixed.  the plastic hood parts were over 500 dollars.  the decals were 150 bucks.  You cannot just order a hood but each part including bolts, all separate on the schematic.  took and hour to order the parts.  

The point is my wife thought the big box store was better and it was less hassle.  but if you really need service and quality, you go to a dedicated dealer.  Many of the JD dealers are now authorized Stihl dealers.  I had already got acquainted with the Amish dealer.  it is 20 minutes farther to drive one way.  Keith knows my name and recognizes me in town.  His whole family is working at the dealership.  JD cannot beat his price and that is how I heard that prices were set by Stihl.  Fairview service will throw in a spare chain or something.  That is why I was now unhappy that they would get a large account by allowing them to discount the price, when they did not do that for others.  appearing to go for volume instead of just quality.  Is there really going to be a kid in the back that know all the products inside and out? Sorry I get more verbose after working a string of nights!

The spacing in this long thread is in honor and memory of our friend Danny @WDH .

[Larry]

Three years ago I got to spend 3 days at a local but high powered influencer company working on a non profit web site (I was the picture guy).  During my time there I learned a lot.  Data collection and analyzing was state of the art.  I couldn't believe the number of people and resources used to accomplish the task.  Results were over the top.  Actually a bit scary.  A influencer with 50,000 followers or more is a gold mine.  Face it, the average person wants an average chainsaw and will gladly be a follower, no thought required. 

INFLUENCERS DRIVE ROI, AND WE CAN PROVE IT.

The very first item you see on their website. 

[ehp]

YellowHammer , when your 500i does not pick up the fuel when you first start it and you got to keep hitting the trigger to get it to pick up its rpms , just hit the primer ball another 3 to 5 times and it will run like normal, the engine has not ran long enough for the injector to get fuel pressure so it bogs until it gets fuel pressure , I have found most 500i are not the same , some take 5 or 6 primers with the ball to where some take 15 primers with the ball to get them started in the morning but once started they work great . If you get a 500i when you first start in in the morning and its idles fine but just sits there and stumbles and misses bad, just shut it off and prime it another 5 times and start it and it will be fine , Its all about the injector getting fuel pressure 

[Spike60]

I am afraid that they probably see "us" as the remnants of a niche market whose time has passed. The "future" is selling solar powered robotic lawn mowers over the internet. Sadly, they are probably right. How many 20 somethings are manually felling timber or cutting firewood? As we age out, we aren't going to be replaced. Best we can hope for is that they let us wither away in peace and that a few 2 cycle engines wielded by a handful of 70 somethings probably isn't going to doom the planet.

Agree, and we here on FF as an audience likely have some limitations from a marketing person's perspective. The age you mention is one. And I suspect our group, while consistent, is somewhat unchanging in Stihl's view. Many of the members are loyal Stihl users, and that will not change. The rest of us that run Husky, Echo or whatever, are just as unlikely to change. Most of us identify with whatever brand we run, and tend to stick with it. It may be nice to have a company like Stihl "support" the site. But marketing needs to generate new business, and I don't know how much potential exists in this situation.

[thecfarm]

I can't think of a 20 year old that owns a chain saw.
I had one at 20 and used it here a lot. 
Seem like everyone wants a house with 250 square feet and neighbors to fight with.  :(

[TimW]

No offense Doc!  When I bought my five acres, all I could afford was a push mower.  The place was mostly wooded, which at the time was a plus with a push mower.  A friend bought a new Cub Cadet "cub" tractor to mow with and told me I could have her 10hp rear engine Snapper.  It wasn't running and I put a new carb on it and mowed for years with it.  It had that sliding ratio trans on it.

Over the years I rebuilt that "great man mower's" trans and drive axle not once but twice.  Used it until I could afford a Hustler Fastrac that I still have going on 17 years now.  The Snapper parts guy, over the years, sold me Hustler, my Mahindra, my 29 foot gooseneck, my two Stihl saws, a Stihl heavy duty weedeater, and a Stihl pole saw.

 I wanted to buy a cordless Stihl chainsaw, but he told me when I need it for pole knotching, to give him a week notice and I could borrow his "loaner".
He now co owns the business and sharpens my chains for free and sales me at wholesale.  I take him 6 foot long SYP half logs for chain saw checkouts.  When we see each other, we first talk about our kids (he has 3 girls) , then business.

So it is sad to hear we lost Stihl as a sponsor.  When I was little and learning stuff from Dad, he had a Poulan chainsaw.  Didn't take me long to learn it was a throwaway saw.  Now I only buy stuff that I can fix with parts I can buy.  Which reminds me, the instrument cluster for my Mahindra has been discontinued.  Oh well!
           hugs,  Brandi