A good backpacking saw

D

Deere Man

Joined
Oct 1, 2008
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190
Hi all. I'm in need of a good saw for backpacking. I'm stuck between a folding saw or a "pocket chainsaw." I was wondering if anybody had a recommendation as to which is better. I was also wondering what a good brand of either is. Thanks.
 
Silky Saws Pocketboy 150 or 170. They are very popular around here. I'll probably order a 170 pretty soon myself.
 
I broke several pocketsaws. Now I'm using a Bahco Laplander. It's very lightweight and performs really well, I'd certainly recommend it.

bahco-laplander-folding-saw.jpg
 
I have bought a number of different small folding saws to carry in my pack. The ones that I like the best, are the Silky brand saws. They cut better than any other brand that I have found to date. Like Snow recommended, try a Pocket Boy by Silky. But be careful, one is not enough. They can be addictive. :)
 
Haven't tried any others mentioned but I have 4 Silky's and really like them. Far better than any others that I have owned. You get a lot of performance from a very small package with one of the small folders.
 
If weight is a factor, I would suggest the Gerber/Fiskars sliding blade saw. Weight is a very lite 3.8oz and it'll work hard for you.

P1040120.jpg
 
If you can tolerate a bit more weight (about 1.5 oz. over a PocketBoy 170), consider the Silky Super Accel 210 for reasons described in the other pending saw thread. For ultralight, the weight of that sliding Fiskars is tough to beat. I'd just be a bit more gentle with it.

DancesWithKnives
 
get a swiss army OHT they have a great saw in them. I cut through a 6 inch thick branch with one in no time flat.
 
+1 on the Bahco Laplander.

It's rebranded by Kershaw here in the US. You can pick them up on Amazon and lots of other places for $17 - $25 bucks. Money well spent.
 
Deere Man said:
...I'm stuck between a folding saw or a "pocket chainsaw."..
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Go with the folding saw. With the pocket chainsaw you have to be very carefull because once you have cut about half of the branch or whatever, its own weight will make it bend and they chainsaw will get stuck. Since you need both hands to operate the saw, you can't free one of them to bend the branch a bit in the other direction (or at least support it). Somehow is way more tiring to use the pocket chainsaw than any folding saw.

I own both and I don't pack my pocket chainsaw any more.

Mikel
 
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+1 on the Silky PocketBoy

As Mike says, you need two hands to use a pocket chainsaw
And it does not cut anywhere near as aggressively as the PocketBoy
 
Right now I vote for the pocket chainsaw because it's really compact. But I'm starting to think I like having a free hand while sawing, especially since I haven't had to saw anything particularly thick yet, so I might switch over to a folding. You can't go wrong with either I believe; like most things, it probably comes down to preference. I would love to try out a silky PocketBoy; do most people go with the medium teeth?
 
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After using some of the folding Silky saws, I wouldn't consider anything else at this point. I did carry the little Fiskar's (as Longbow points out) on our last several hundred mile trip on the Pacific Crest Trail because of its super light weight and durable characteristics.
 
I don't consider a saw a backpacking tool. For me, saws are emergency daypack gear should I need to make unexpected shelter. A saw is something that gets carried but rarely used. The slide-out Fiskars has been the one for me due to it's light weight. After Christmas, I hope to make the Silky 170 my winter saw and will probably rely on the Fiskars for Summer. I think the Silky 170 is about twice the weight of the Fiskars.
 
rksoon,

I have a Super Accel 210 with the large teeth and my backpacking partner has the Pocketboy 170 with XL teeth. They are the same size in terms of teeth-per-inch despite the different descriptions. I also have a spare blade with the more medium size teeth that I intended to use as a bone saw.

For most western woods, I like the largest teeth. So does my friend with the PB170. I've even used the large tooth SA210 on some hardwood (dry fruit tree wood) with no problem.

If you can tolerate the extra ounce and a half, I like the SA210 better than the PB170 for reasons described in the other current saw thread.

DancesWithKnives
 
Thanks DWK2! L to XL teeth it is, since i'm on the west coast. I'll check out the SA210 too, i wouldn't mind the extra 1.5 oz for a little extra length with same teeth density.
 
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Mikel_24 said:
Go with the folding saw. With the pocket chainsaw you have to be very carefull because once you have cut about half of the branch or whatever, its own weight will make it bend and they chainsaw will get stuck. Since you need both hands to operate the saw, you can't free one of them to bend the branch a bit in the other direction (or at least support it). Somehow is way more tiring to use the pocket chainsaw than any folding saw.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I understand this. If you are cutting a branch off a tree, you can cut starting at the top of the branch and it will lean down and not pinch the saw. If you are cutting on the ground, you can put another branch or rock under one end and cut from below the branch, again not pinching the saw. How is it that you are cutting where the branch pinches the saw? I'm not trying to be combative, I just use my pocket chainsaws a lot and can't quite picture what you are describing.
 
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