People will talk about the cost of a chainsaw and debate the amount of use
it will get. They will argue that they only want a saw for once in a while,
so why spend over $200. For intermittent use, that saw may hold up fine over
the years. If they want a saw that would definitely hold up, then they can
go to a consumer saw made by the pro companies for $250 - $350. It will
perform marginally better, but will be easier to maintain and have less
failures overall. Then if they want a saw to really perform, they should go
to a pro saw $500 - $1000 pending type and size.

I had a Stihl saw, 026 or something like that. A great saw for the cost.
Worked every time and was a tough saw.

However, what people often overlook is the effect on the human body while
using the saws in question.

A while back a friend of mine and I were cutting some curly maple. He was
using his pro version Husky, and I was using my Stil consumer version. I was
doing pretty good, but by the end of the day he had cut 4x the amount of
wood that I had. And he wasn't worn all out like I was.
A day later I traded that saw in on a pro Husky with a 26" bar. The next
session out, I was able to keep pace. Cutting was effortless as the saw did
the cutting and didn't need any urging on from the user. I wasn't worn out
at the end of the day either. For the sake of the productivity and the saves
on the aches and pains on the back at the end of the day - can I justify the
extra $400? Sure can. Imagine what a doctor visit would be like after a back
problem could cost. Or the fact that you might hurt your back and have to
take a day or two off just to rest and recover. So sure, that lil extra is
easily justified.

My two cents.
--Jim