Didja make up your mind yet? In typical GJ fashion, four pages of opinions, most of them having nothing to do with the original topic and of course, paying no attention to the planned usage of the saw. I say if the Stihl is easy to source, go for it. It's what I would get for the occasional , as in not everyday nor professional, use. if it were readily available. I'm going to guess that in the price range they are all pretty much the same and if Menards carried Stihl, I would have bought the same saw. They carry Poulan so that's what I bought. I started with the 42 cc with the 18" bar and it works as it should, the only bad thing is that, like every other thing I've had with the Poulan name on it, it's cold blooded, but once it's warmed up, works flawlessly. One storm, an 80+' cottonwood tree decided to become a 50' tall tree and while I was cleaning up that mess, the tree shifted and I got the bar stuck...bad. I probably could have used a Sawzall to free it up but, me being me and not having the ability to think rationally when under duress or when pissed off, made the 30 minute drive each way and bought the Poulan 50cc with a 20" bar. It worked and now I have two saws. (Actually three if you count the 16" homeowner special Homelite that has the plastic chain adjustment that constantly loosens up causing the chain to come off). I also have a Remington pole mounted electric saw that does a helluva job for what it is. It ain't gonna cut up a tree, but in a pinch could be taken off of the pole to help free up a stuck bar if a Sawzall or other chain saw isn't available.
In all honesty, I think battery powered saws have their place and that place is trimming, but only if you already have tools that run on the same platform. Unless I had a ton of batteries available, wouldn't want to rely on one to clear enough **** to get out of the driveway in the case of an emergency.
