I used to have a stihl 290 farmboss, from when they were still made in Germany, but it was stolen sometime during my wedding. All I know is that when we got back from the honeymoon it was gone. I ended up buying a stihl MS390. I wanted another 290 farmboss but the store owner told me that the MS 290 was not as powerful as the old 290 built in Germany. I don't know if he was full of it but he gave me a good deal in the 390 which he had in stock.

Its a good powerful saw, but two years after i got it it started running rough and cutting out. After about 30 mins of checking the spark plug and so forth I realized that the fuel line was rotten and had a hole in it. I went to my dealer and showed him the rotten fuel line, he said "oh yeah I always replace the fuel lines on those saws when I am doing a tune up, they go bad". I asked him why stihl didn't change how they made the part if they were always going bad, his response, " they're only $7.50".

I wish I still had my 290 farm boss.

Also i have a 22 year old Shindaiwa 450 chainsaw for limbing and such. It"s a great saw. Been though a bar or two with it and only had to rebuild the carb about 4 years ago and replace the pull cord once. Great saw.