As someone who worked in forestry/tree surgery for years I'd say Stihls are a good saw. I only used Stihls & Husqvarnas. All other makes seemed to give up a lot quicker.
For faster cutting and slightly higher revs I'd always use a Huskie, but for slightly lower revs and more grunt the Stihl got the job. It used to be the case that Stihls were the go to saw for farmers, as they were long lasting and reliable for being picked up to use on and off. Huskies were higher revving but could be a bit more temperamental as they got older.
Get a decent sized bar. 12 inch is too small, but if you go for top length bar that the model can accommodate, it sometimes is at the expense of sapping a bit of power. A mid range bar14/16 inch will cut up to 28 inch log - that's pretty big!
