Ok, so lets put this discussion in one place, bars and chains for the T540i XP battery climbing saw.
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I've been running the T540i for around a year and a half, and out of the 5 different climbing saws (4 of them gas) it is the one I use 90% of the time. Mine has a 14" bar and in my opinion the saw doesn't have the power to run a 16" well, though I don't have experience with a 16. Unlike gas saws, there aren't any performance mods you can do to a battery saw (that I'm aware of) so the only way to adjust its performance is by the cutting hardware.
Stock setup: .325" pitch, .043" gauge. Honestly seems fine. I wish it was a full chisel chain and didn't have the safety bumpers because I think it would preform better that way, but overall works quite well and I have no major complaints about it. A good system, though being a bit of an odd-ball size there are literally only two models of chain I can find that fit it. I wish there were more choices and at times couldn't find any in stock, during covid at least. Husky chains, SP21G, are $30 each.
Panther setup - 1/4" pitch, .043" gauge, requires changing the drive sprocket. Quickly after buying the saw, I switched to the Panther setup to try and get more performance out of it and have used that setup for most of the time I've had the saw. The bar is substantially lighter making the saw feel more sporty and less fatiguing to use. I was surprised at how much faster the chain accelerated from stopped to cutting speed, thanks to the chain itself being quite a bit lighter. These facts make it about the only 'performance mod' you can do to the saw. I thought it was a good improvement in cutting speed for limbing firs in particular. August notes on the page where he sells t it that the bars and chains are less robust than the stock setup and certainly that will be the case anytime something is smaller and lighter, but I've never had any problems with it. My only real complaint about the system, and I've mentioned this before, is that I find the tiny chains much harder to sharpen. Some times I get a good edge, other times not as good, and that is very annoying. It's actually why I'm looking at other options, because even if the saw CAN cut faster thanks to it being a narrower kerf and thus more efficient, without a good edge on the chain you lose any advantage it has. These chains are $30 each from MonkeyBeaver, Baileys has a compatible Woodland Pro chain for $23 but I think those chains suck, then they have a Stihl chain for $31.
Oregon setup: .325" pitch, .043" gauge. So I just bought this and put it on last night, and I haven't used it yet. I was hoping it would be a lighter setup than stock, to get some of the improvements I found running the Panther setup, but with larger and easier to sharpen teeth that I can get a much better edge on. Turns out both the bar and chain are within a few grams of each other, so no improvement to be found there. Honestly it seems exactly the same as the stock setup in every way I can see, almost like it is the exact same product with a different label. The good news is these chains, 80TXL, are $20 so a lot less than the 30 dollar Husky branded chains. I think Oregon even makes the bars and chains that are labeled Husky.
After running the Panther for well over a year, I swapped back to the stock setup recently to remind myself how it feels. I do feel the added weight and slightly slower acceleration, but honestly I think I'm cutting faster thanks to being able to get a better edge on the chain. Now I've put the whole Oregon system on to see if it feels ANY different from the stock setup. Unfortunately I'm having back problems again, so it may be a little while before I'm able to put some climbing hours on and really test it out.
Anyone else with experience to share?
