Curious if anyone who has tried both has a sense of what type of saw is most effective for backpacking: a folding saw, or one of those newer chain saws like the Chainmate or the SaberCut survival saw?
In the past, those wire-type survival saws stunk, didn't get very good results, so I ignored them and stuck with my Silky folding saw. Lately, I've been seeing these new chain saws and some folks I respect, like Doug Ritter, are saying they're worth considering. Supposedly, the quality ones have several advantages: they are very fast, they can cut larger diameter wood, and they are more flexible (for instance, you can attach paracord to the handles, loop the chain saw over a high branch, and saw it off from the ground). One disadvantage of the chain saws is that you could not operate them with one hand, if you happened to injure yourself.
In the past, those wire-type survival saws stunk, didn't get very good results, so I ignored them and stuck with my Silky folding saw. Lately, I've been seeing these new chain saws and some folks I respect, like Doug Ritter, are saying they're worth considering. Supposedly, the quality ones have several advantages: they are very fast, they can cut larger diameter wood, and they are more flexible (for instance, you can attach paracord to the handles, loop the chain saw over a high branch, and saw it off from the ground). One disadvantage of the chain saws is that you could not operate them with one hand, if you happened to injure yourself.
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