Mine is about six years old like I said, bashed around on quads, tied to dirt bikes, and generally abused (gently) I've cut green spruce, tamrack, poplar, dry poplar, birch, and spruce. its also pretty resistant to blade twisting, which is more due to blade quality than design as it is "tall", and easy to tilt, but I've seen rigid profile swede saws break low-quality blades that way. the only sign of wear is around where the little clip ring (not a carry ring like I used it for 6 years ago) and the aluminum has thinned out some. but its not a really necessary piece, and if it did wear through, it wouldn't take much to drill new holes. the only swede saw I've used that was better was my dad's solid frame that has a cam to tighten the blade making it super rigid, and that saw is older than me. again, find one that has properly tempered teeth (the teeth on my saw are blue, with the spine section being uncolored) I also like the fact that most of the parts of the saw could be rebuilt, repaired in the wild with a few survival kit items. very effective and simple
vote : trailblazer, greater range of uses, greater cutting capacity, does not rely on the strength of the user like hand held (knife style) saws. I feel that the added weight is well worth the less effort required when using the saw.
that sven saw looks good too, if weight is a concern, but either way, frame saw all the way from me.
