Husqvarna (16") 41cc Consumer Chainsaw

Mike Sawisch,
Product Expert
Chain Saws Direct

I have a number of chain saws of various sizes and brands, but the smaller 16” gets the most use for felling even rather large trees and cutting firewood simply because it’s lighter and easier to maneuver than the larger saws.

After my 39year old Homelite finally wore completely out, I was spooked away from a new one by many not-so-whoopee product reviews of later models. By the same product reviews, I was drawn to the Husqvarna 435 that was generally rated pretty good across the board in all categories.

It tried to start on the first pull in choked position, and instantly lit up on the next pull after choke was opened to normal position. After normal warm-up time, it runs and idles perfectly while showing plenty of torque during my past two weeks of using it to drop and cut-up a number of both live and dead/seasoned-out oak trees that were up to 18” in diameter.

It quickly cuts through live wood and hardened dead wood like hot butter. Quickly starts either from cold or hot restart and runscuts beautifully in any position.

Great saw – I couldn’t be happier with anything else.

I have a number of chain saws of various sizes and brands, but the smaller 16” gets the most use for felling even rather large trees and cutting firewood simply because it’s lighter and easier to maneuver than the larger saws.

After my 39year old Homelite finally wore completely out, I was spooked away from a new one by many not-so-whoopee product reviews of later models. By the same product reviews, I was drawn to the Husqvarna 435 that was generally rated pretty good across the board in all categories.

It tried to start on the first pull in choked position, and instantly lit up on... more

I purchased this saw after doing quite a bit of research. I wanted something in the 40cc size for limb work and to put on the back of my 4-wheeler for trail maintenance and such.

So far I love it. I have not had any of the hard to start problems others have had. I sawed a nail shortly after buying the saw and ruined the chain. I replaced it with an Oregon chain and it cuts great.

I tried out the Echo CS-400, the Stihl MS230, and the Shindaiwa 352S; and while all the saws were good saws the Husky seemed to cut faster and weigh less. I have to say the Echo was very close. The Stihl and Shindaiwa were very nice but both were higher priced.

I purchased this saw after doing quite a bit of research. I wanted something in the 40cc size for limb work and to put on the back of my 4-wheeler for trail maintenance and such.

So far I love it. I have not had any of the hard to start problems others have had. I sawed a nail shortly after buying the saw and ruined the chain. I replaced it with an Oregon chain and it cuts great.

I tried out the Echo CS-400, the Stihl MS230, and the Shindaiwa 352S; and while all the saws were good saws the Husky seemed to cut faster and weigh less. I have to say the Echo was very close. The Stihl and S... more

I purchased this saw at a different retailer at the same price. My father in-law is in the tree business and he suggested this saw over the smaller 235 33cc Husky. The 435 is a much better buy.

He was jealous of the quality and power of this saw and he works exclusively with Stihl saws. This saw will cut like a hot knife through warm butter with the softer blue spruce and pine trees around my home.

It slows down a little bit when cutting through tougher woods like silver maple and red oak. I've had no kick back issues.

The first start up out of the box was tough. But now, cold starts take 4-5 pulls and warm starts take 1 pull. The brake works great and the choke is easily operated with my thumb when stopping the saw.

There's no need to keep the 435 running while you walk around. The saw is light enough that "drop starting" it is not an issue. Just make sure the brake is on.

Occasionally I've started it up, and when I disengaged the break the chain started running on its own. A quick "blip" oh the throttle will rotate the chain and then it will stop moving on its own.

I've filled it up once in the last 3 days and spent a good six-seven hours cutting wood. Included chain dulls out quickly, so having a sharp spare on hand is a must.

Bar and chain removal is simple and operating the chain tensioner is cake.

I purchased this saw at a different retailer at the same price. My father in-law is in the tree business and he suggested this saw over the smaller 235 33cc Husky. The 435 is a much better buy.

He was jealous of the quality and power of this saw and he works exclusively with Stihl saws. This saw will cut like a hot knife through warm butter with the softer blue spruce and pine trees around my home.

It slows down a little bit when cutting through tougher woods like silver maple and red oak. I've had no kick back issues.

The first start up out of the box was tough. But now, cold star... more

The last Husqvarna we owned lasted over 10 years and cut something like 40 to 50 cords with very little maintenance. At one point, under heavy use, the plastic starter-wheel broke. I noticed that on this newer 435 saw, the plastic wheel is a larger diameter, thus there is less force on it.

Nevertheless the user manual gives good advice. Pull the cord slowly until the starter pawls engage, then pull sharply. This is important because the engine simply will not start unless the cord is pulled very sharply. And pulling sharply without engaging the pawls first is likely to wear-out and/or break the plastic wheel.

When I first got this saw it would not start. Eventually we discovered that the spark-plug gap was too deep, and was probably never adjusted to spec by the dealer. Even still, this Husky is more difficult to start than others past, and I'm not exactly sure why. Perhaps the magneto is a bit undersized. Perhaps it's just a lean running engine.

The emissions of the 435 are approved for California. The engine must use some sort of lean-burn technology because this 2.2 HP saw will run for 1 hour on just a 1 1/2 cups of fuel, that's 12 fl.oz., the volume of a soda can or a typical coffee mug.

With a very sharp (new) chain, the performance of this saw is amazing. The issue I have is that the stock chain dulls after just an hour or two. To maintain acceptable performance on this chain, it is important to sharpen both the top and side of the tooth, and file down the depth-gauges to spec. This is tedious work to do for all 66 teeth but it saves time later when sawing.

At first glance, the newly designed plastic lever for the choke appeared flimsy and weak, but so far (after a few months of use) it has not been an issue. The extensive use of plastic is probably just to reduce weight.

When I first started sawing, I did not want a saw any heavier than 10 lbs, so the 435 was a good choice. However, after sawing several times a month, I've gotten used to the weight, and now I prefer a heavier, more powerful saw.

So to prospective buyers I would say that if you plan to saw a lot, and/or you expect to strengthen your biceps, then I would recommend choosing a larger saw.

Of course, one should always cut in a way that avoids pinching the bar, and especially pinching the tip of the bar, since this can damage the bearing and destroy the bar. I learned this the hard way, and had to purchase a new bar.

Having extra chains on hand is not really necessary, only a convenience in some cases. For instance if you prefer to sharpen multiple chains at once, and/or you prefer to saw with multiple sharp chains.

The last Husqvarna we owned lasted over 10 years and cut something like 40 to 50 cords with very little maintenance. At one point, under heavy use, the plastic starter-wheel broke. I noticed that on this newer 435 saw, the plastic wheel is a larger diameter, thus there is less force on it.

Nevertheless the user manual gives good advice. Pull the cord slowly until the starter pawls engage, then pull sharply. This is important because the engine simply will not start unless the cord is pulled very sharply. And pulling sharply without engaging the pawls first is likely to wear-out and/o... more