liquidsquid,
I have had great luck with my Echo CS-400. It has run many years with only minimal servicing from me (who is NOT a small engine guy). I do try to winterize it very well and store it in the house. (I stored my trash pump in my drafty old garage and that got me rust in the gas tank.)
I run an 18" bar and semi-chisel Picco chain most of the time. If you have any decent chainsaw experience, then you do NOT need to run a safety chain. I have never experienced anything close to a serious kick-back with semi-chisel non-safety chain. (I am a pretty big guy, but also out of shape, so I would say that I no longer have "strong hands".) That chain can also survive a bit of sand and dirt when I am flush cutting trees to the ground. I usually just put the saw on a waist-high flat stump and hand file to touch up the chain on every other gas fill-up.
I do have several 90 year old, very large trees to fell this spring, so I got a full chisel chain from Bailey's. I am only going to use that to fell the big ones, then switch back to semi-chisel for bucking.
l do wear ALL of my safety gear every time! Safety glasses, helmet with ear muffs and face screen down, and chainsaw chaps. I do not wear my steel-toed boots though, because they are just too painful to wear for a full day of walking and cutting trees at the farm.
My two biggest dangers are hidden barbed wire inside of trees and blow downs that get caught up in the air in the crowns of other trees. I usually go by myself on most "work" days, but I will take a family member to cut dangerous trees. A watcher is very helpful when multiple trees are hung up, or I might need medical assistance!
