# Stihl MS 391

- Source: https://stierproducts.com/products/stihl-ms-391
- Category board: https://stierproducts.com/categories/chainsaws
- Placement: #8 of 13 in Chainsaws, B tier
- Brand: Stihl
- LP on this board: 557
- Last researched: 2026-09-23T03:13:50.917Z
- Method: https://stierproducts.com/methodology
- Dataset: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22062813 - every board at once, one dated snapshot per release, same licence, prices and photographs left out
- Reuse: Text, rankings, tier assignments, LP values and verdicts are free to quote and reuse with attribution to stierproducts and a link to the source URL (CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Product photographs are not covered: they belong to their respective owners and are reproduced to illustrate the product being reviewed. Do not redistribute them under this licence.

## Verdict

A farm-class Stihl built for years of firewood duty, freshly validated by Popular Mechanics' 2026 testing, with the category's best dealer support behind it.

## For

- Farm-and-ranch class workhorse with a long track record in firewood duty
- Backed by Stihl's dealer network, the best support story in the category
- Performed well in fresh 2026 testing for bigger trees
- Strong cutting performance on big trees
- Featured in Popular Mechanics guide

## Against

- Premature failure after a few years of seasonal use

## Flagged as one to avoid

This product entered 1 of 6 runs as one buyers cross-shop but should not buy, rather than as a pick. It is published here rather than dropped.

## Evidence

Consolidated from 2 cited sources at one outlet

Limited coverage: fewer than two distinct outlets are cited for this placement. Read it as a weaker reading than a product with broad coverage.

| Outlet | Said by | Stance | Link | Link status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Popular Mechanics | Bradley Ford | B | https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/lawn-garden/a70393522/stihl-ms391-chainsaw-review/ | fetched and confirmed |
| Popular Mechanics | Tony Carrick | B | https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/lawn-garden/g61679016/best-chainsaws/ | fetched and confirmed |

## Nearest alternatives on this board

| Rank | Product | Tier | Page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 3 | Husqvarna Power Axe 350i | S | https://stierproducts.com/products/husqvarna-power-axe-350i |
| 4 | Echo CS-3410 | A | https://stierproducts.com/products/echo-cs-3410 |
| 5 | Stihl MS 182 C-BE | A | https://stierproducts.com/products/stihl-ms-182-c-be |
| 6 | DeWalt DCCS670T1 | B | https://stierproducts.com/products/dewalt-dccs670t1 |
| 7 | Husqvarna 460 Rancher | B | https://stierproducts.com/products/husqvarna-460-rancher |
| 9 | Oregon CS1500 | C | https://stierproducts.com/products/oregon-cs1500 |
| 10 | Husqvarna 455 Rancher | D | https://stierproducts.com/products/husqvarna-455-rancher |
| 11 | Ego Power+ CS1613 | D | https://stierproducts.com/products/ego-power-cs1613 |
| 12 | Stihl MSA 80 | F | https://stierproducts.com/products/stihl-msa-80 |
| 13 | Milwaukee M18 18V Chainsaw | F | https://stierproducts.com/products/milwaukee-m18-18v-chainsaw |

The full board is at https://stierproducts.com/categories/chainsaws.

## What this tier means

- B: Good. A solid choice with real caveats worth knowing.

## How to read this

- Each category is researched in four independent runs, one per lens (expert consensus, value, reliability, community pulse). Every run ranks a board of candidates that deliberately includes products buyers cross-shop but should avoid. Placements score on a ranked ladder (LP), and tiers are derived from LP, so no tier is ever assigned by hand.
- LP is this product's points on its own category ladder. It is comparable within a category and not across categories.
- Link status reports what our pre-publication link check found when it fetched the cited URL. It says nothing about the quality of the review.
- A citation with no usable link is listed rather than dropped, and is excluded from the counted total above.

## Image

https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/stihl-ms-391.webp

Product photographs are not covered: they belong to their respective owners and are reproduced to illustrate the product being reviewed. Do not redistribute them under this licence.