Our fire department uses both Stihl and Husqvarna saws. Most of us prefer the Stihl saws.

Lots of people complain about Stihl saws being hard starting. If you just put the choke on and pull the cord endlessly, yes, they're probably going to start hard for you.

The way we tend to start them is to put on the choke, pull it over until it "pops," then take off the choke half or all the way (winter vs. summer) and pull again. Usually starts on the next pull after the "pop." We use no-ethanol premium gasoline in all our two-stroke engine equipment.