Chain saw chains - which brand?

Need a couple new chains for my Stihl as I need to cut up a large sweet gum, etc. Our power equipment shop was a recent victim of the slowcown, so I need others knowledge of experience as to which brand/make is best. I only cut up a few cords each year.  Herb

I use Oregons and they seem to work great, sharpen easy and hold an edge well.....

I put Oregon chains on my old cheap Poluan and it cuts very well.

I have found GB chain/bars to be really good, but hard to find around here.  Cant say I have ever seen a chain do well in the dirt.  I use stihl chisel grind chain on the clean wood(mainly as there are no oregon dealers in the area that sell chisel chain, and chisel chain is much faster) and cheaper oregon safety chain on the dirty crap.  

More important than the brand, are you changing your sprockets/bar?  Its much better to have 3 loops of chain, with a good bar and new drive sprocket.  Each time you refill you should touch each tooth with one stroke of a good file(I do like stihl files best).  Every other tank switch chains and flip bar.  This keeps every thing wearing evenly and when it gets dark I sharpen all three with my Oregon filing guide.  If you put an new chain on an old bar/drive sprocket the chain will wear unevenly as the pitch on the sprocket/bar tip have worn to match the old chains. 

When you say it isn't cutting right what is happening?  Does it track straight, or does it cut left or right?  If so you are sharpening the teeth unevenly. Typically every 5 hand sharpenings you need to sharpen with a filing guide or a chain grinder to even things up. 

  Is it cutting slow?  If so there can be two problems.  Are you filing the rakers with a guide every 5 or so sharpenings?  Also many don't sharpen the chain often enough.  Most chains are chrome plated that is actually the cutting edge.  If you don't sharpen it often enough the edge is worn back beyond the underlying metal.  When you do sharpen it may feel sharp, but its the underlying metal that is sharp, not the chrome plating that is still further back.  Then when you use the chain the softer sharp edge is quickly dulled.  This is why its better to sharpen at every gas fillup with just a stroke or two of the file instead of a major sharpening when it acutally gets so dull that its difficult to cut.   When you reach that point you have waited to long to sharpen. 

With locust or hedge that grows in fence rows you may have to sharpen even more often than every tankful.  Look at your chips.  Are they dust?  or are they actually thick chips?  

Safety chain for cutting brushy fence rows is probably a very good idea.  I use a safety chain as well in these locations, along with chaps and helmet. 

I really don't think in this situation that there would be any better value than the oregon safety chain.  Stihl chains are to expensive to wreck on bits of fence wire. 

I will try sharpening the Stihl more often, you are probably right I usually wait too long and try to get a couple tanks of fuel burned up no matter what.   The Stihl chain just seems to quit feeding itself as soon as it gets just a bit dull,  more than the Oregon, if you look at the safety nubs the Stihl version is much more aggressive.  I do think the Stihl version would make it more difficult to kickback at the nose end, they sort of unfold as the chain goes around the bar nose.