People know how to select most products they buy. They check the 'sell by' date on milk. They try on a pair of pants. They squeeze a melon. But chain saws? They don't know how to shop for chain saws.

'Historically, customers have shopped for chain saws by asking for a saw based on bar length,' says Mike Elliott, co-owner and vice president of sales and marketing for Texas Outdoor Power Equipment Distributors in Georgetown, Texas. 'That's the wrong approach.'

Gary Adams, territory sales manager for Florida Outdoor Equipment in Debary, Fla., agrees. 'They're often looking for the biggest bar. Their assumption is that if it has a bigger bar it's going to cut faster. That's not necessarily true. They need to select a bar length and engine that are correctly matched to each other and to the job they want to do.'

Elliott's company has a technique for helping customers match a saw to their job. 'We cut sections off of logs so that we have disks of 4, 6, 8 and 10 inches. We show these disks to the customer and ask which disk looks like the type of log they'll be cutting. You'd be amazed at the people who will point to the 6-inch disk but ask for a 20-inch bar.'

Adams and Elliott agree that for most homeowners, a 12- to 14-inch bar is plenty.

Adams adds, 'Don't look at the biggest job you're doing. Look at the stuff you're doing most often. If you're mostly doing limbing and trimming, you can always take a little extra time to tackle the occasional large tree.'

Bar length should be sized not only for the job, but also for the engine. 'Customers walk in and say, 'I want a 16-inch saw,'' said Elliott. 'What they don't understand is that you can put a 16-inch bar on anything from a 25 cc [cubic centimeters of displacement] to an 80 cc engine.'

Engines of equal displacement don't necessarily provide equal performance. Elliott said that smaller engines from better manufacturers will outperform bigger engines from other manufacturers. He cites ECHO chain saws as examples. 'A 35 or 40 cc engine will power a 16-inch bar on an ECHO. And above 40 cc, you can run an 18-inch bar. This isn't always the case with other manufacturers' products.'

'Customers also need to consider safety features - the way the chain brake works, tip guards, balance, maintenance,' said Adams. 'They should also be concerned about the quality of the saw, especially the engine.'

Some design features that will make a difference to the average homeowner may not always be visible from the outside, so shoppers should consult the specifications sheets for the saws they're considering. 'You're looking for ball bearings instead of bushings,' says Elliott, 'metal oilers instead of plastic, and forged steel connecting rods instead of stamped metal.'

Serviceability will also matter to the average homeowner. 'No matter how good you equipment is,' says Elliott, 'eventually it's going to require servicing.' Regardless of the service task in question, Adams says parts availability is a huge issue. 'We often hear of customers waiting four to six weeks for parts, even parts for big, national brand saws.' Developing a relationship with a good servicing dealer helps avoid downtime.

The final consideration when shopping for a saw is to budget for the necessary safety and accessory items. These include chaps, gloves, hearing and eye protection, as well as a case for the saw and oil that meets the manufacturer's requirements. An extra chain is a good investment, too. And always read the safety manual. - ARA