Introduction
Lightweight wood saws for backpacking can be useful tools. I’ve used them for:
- Cutting firewood.
- Preparing limbs for snow trench shelter roofs.
- Building a pyramid for hanging a pot over a fire.
This article includes a video where I show the process by which a saw can be used for preparing wood for further hatchet-splitting (or batoning with a knife) to create dry kindling from wet wood.
Backpacking wood saws are not considered essential items by most of us, but they offer enough utility that it’s worth exploring the market to see what’s available across the weight spectrum.
Limitations
Backpacking wood saws suffer from three primary limitations:
- They are bulky.
- They are heavy.
- They don’t have enough cutting power to be useful.
So-called survival saws are the least bulky of all of them. They have no frame to hold the saw blade, which is typically just a short “chain”. Folding saws are less bulky than non-folding saws, but require more time to deploy.
In terms of weight, saws with longer blades require more framing to keep the blades stable, and will necessarily be heavier.
Cutting power and quality is defined by these three factors:
- Teeth per inch (TPI) – the number of teeth per inch of saw blade. The fewer teeth per inch (and the deeper the teeth), the faster you can saw through a given thickness of wood (generally), but the rougher the cut and more likely the teeth will get hung up on knots in the wood.
- Opposing teeth – saw blades with teeth that are perfectly in line (parallel to) with the saw blade cut more aggressively – i.e., faster with less effort, because cutting is performed on both push and pull strokes. This feature is a hallmark of pruning saws, which are designed with opposing teeth for cutting through live, wet wood. Dry wood blades do not have aggressively opposing teeth, and can get stuck in soft, wet woods that can swell during sawing (e.g., fir, pine).
- Blade length, thickness, and saw frame – the more robust a frame is (which provides blade stiffness), the thicker a blade is, and the longer a blade is, the more power you can transfer to the saw with your body. This makes cutting faster and more efficient. All of these features also add weight to the saw.
An Overview of Selected Wood Saw Models
One of the more popular compact camping saws is the veritable Sven Saw, a folding model with an aluminum frame and 15-inch blade that weighs about 11 oz (310 g).
The Sven Saw is a powerful, functional saw that folds away to a relatively compact package, but is generally considered to be a bit heavy for the backpacker who needs a saw only for incidental use.
At the other end of the spectrum, one of the lightest and most compact wood saws is the Coghlan’s Pocket Saw, which weighs a little under 3 oz (86 g) and rolls to the size of a small spool of fishing line.
Although very compact and light, the Coghlan’s Pocket Saw has very little cutting power and is generally considered to be more useful in a survival kit than as a backcountry tool requiring frequent use.
The Pocket Saw is a lighter weight version of the well-known Nordic Pocket Saw, which typically  uses nylon webbing handles connected to a very light chainsaw-style blade. Nordic Pocket Saws are much more powerful than the Coghlan’s Pocket Saw and would be well worth the added weight of 2 oz (56 g) or so if you needed something that could actually cut wood.
I’ve used both the Sven Saw and the Coghlan’s Pocket Saw and neither of them is found in my backcountry kit today. For the past few years, I’ve been using two products that I find to be “high performance” (good cutting power) while still being light and compact enough that it doesn’t provide me undue hardship to include them on short backpacking trips.
The first one is the Bahco Laplander pruning saw.
It’s not quite as powerful as the Sven Saw, and has a much shorter blade length (7 in vs. 15 in). It’s a folding saw as well but requires only a push button to engage and it deploys quickly. It’s also more compact and lighter (6.8 oz / 193 g) than a Sven Saw. It cuts both wet and dry wood well.
The most popular alternatives to the Bahco Laplander are folding saws from Fiskars and Silky, especially the Silky Pocketboy 130. My experience with Fiskars folding saw blades is that they don’t hold their sharpness in response to heavy use. I find that Silky Saws are a little less ergonomic when it comes to discomfort in my hand during sustained sawing – the handle isn’t quite as comfortable for me as with the Bahco Laplander.
The second one is the Suluk 46 Uki Bucksaw.
The Uki has a custom-designed aluminium frame built for stiffness and light weight (4.9 oz / 139 g), and uses standard 12-inch buck saw blades. Heat-shrink tubing is used to create a comfortable handle. It doesn’t fold, so it’s the bulkiest of the wood saws mentioned here. The blade can be tensioned to a very high level so it’s an efficient cutter. It cuts dry wood well, but suffers and gets stuck on wet softwoods like pine.
In Use (Videos)
The first two videos show the Bahco Laplander and the Suluk46 Uki in use on dry, soft wood (beetle-killed pine).
The second two videos show the same two saws on wet, harder wood (dead aspen).
Final Thoughts
Suluk46 accomplished something special: a beautifully-designed 12-inch buck saw that weighs less than 5 oz (142 g). It has potential, but its utility is limited by thin, aftermarket saw blades that shine when sawing through dry, soft wood but suffer for wet hardwoods. The Suluk 46 Uki buck saw will be fine for most users cutting dead fir and pine.
The Bahco Laplander is about 2 oz (56 g) heavier than the Uki. However, it’s more compact and more versatile, and represents the best of what a lightweight folding saw can offer.
The Sven Saw has the most power of all of these saws, due to its blade length. Like the Uki, it suffers when trying to saw through wet hardwoods.
The Pocket Saw is nearly useless beyond its ability to be included in a survival tool that you might give away as a gift, but otherwise is unable to efficiently cut wood that you can manage to break yourself with a swift kick.
DISCLOSURE (Updated April 9, 2024)
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Discussion
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You made a chess set????
Amazing : )
Just a knight for a chess set that was missing one.
ohhh…
I would have thought you made an entire set : )
Thanks for this review. Its hard to beat a Bahco laplander, especially for the price. They are highly regarded in the bushcraft community as well. Ive had mine for over 5 years now. It has seen hard use and still cuts great. Haven’t even considered sharpening it yet. Would love to see a similar article on survival/Belt knives. I just got a Mora Companion HD. Its a lot of knife for the price and 4.8 oz. Nice to have knife that can baton and hold its one in a survival situation for the weight and price.
I owned a Laplander and both sizes of the Sven saws, all three are long gone.
In there places are a large Silky saw that resides in the truck (blowdown across the road) and the one that goes in my pack- the Silky F180.
Silky saws will cut circles (or through stuff faster :)) around just about any equivalent weight/length saw. Â You typically get a few choices in blade design (I’ll carry a fine blade for bone along with a wood blade during hunting season.
The F180 (5 oz)weighs less than the smaller Pocketboy, but has more blade length.
Sorry but the “pocket saws” are garbage imo.
Why would anyone carry a saw backpacking? Â If you were married you wouldn’t have to ask, because it’s the same reason you pack in chairs too- happy wife = happy life :)
I carry a saw for long winter bike packing trips where I am staying at cabins that might not have saws.  The silky F180 is the lightest I have found and it cuts fast.
I volunteer for trail maintenance work. We mainly use Corona saws but they are heavier. I see a lot of experienced volunteers carrying their own Silky saws for the work. Bigboy and Gomboy are very popular. If we are going on a logout, Katanaboys are a must, along with crosscut saws.
I’ve made an UL handle for a Silky Pocketboy 170 blade. The resulting folding saw weights 77g / 2.7 oz, and with a 6.5 inches long super-sharp blade, it’s up to quite large jobs.
More in the MYOG forum.
^ nice!
Nick Gatel says “In over 50+ years of backpacking I have never needed a saw. What am I missing?”
I find this amazing but then obviously you never backpacked in the mountains of TN, Georgia or NC—where terrible blowdowns occasionally block our trails—and it’s much easier to stop and dump my pack and clear my way than it is to fight thru the mess.
On every backpacking trip I carry these tools as part of my Standard Load—
The 10 inch Corona cuts like butter when new and folds quickly so I can drop it down my t-shirt when I’m hiking for quick access. It needs to be replaced once a year as the saw’s teeth kerf angles get slowly bent straight up and down and therefore don’t cut as well. At $20 a pop it’s not a big deal.
Every backpacker in my opinion should carry a good hand pruner—in my case it’s a Felco model. Does wonders when hitting walls of sawbriars and brambles—and low hanging rhodo branches.
When you hit something like this (especially when wearing a 90 lb pack)—it’s safer and much easier to dump the pack, take a break, and cut your way thru.
Voila! My trip can continue without bloodloss or ripping off pack gear or losing important swinging appendages. Plus, any backpackers behind me will gratefully appreciate the work.
It amazes and confounds me how hikers—both dayhikers and backpackers—can walk a cluttered trail and not even take the time to simply move fallen branches off the trail. One flick of the hiking pole and in 2 seconds the deadfall is gone. But nope—too much of a burden I guess.
Yeah, that’s why I carry a saw — to clear the trail. I find it especially helpful in the winter. I have a folding saw (Silky) that is pretty good, but a bit of hassle on skis. I may explore some of these options — I like the idea of a solid saw with a sheath. It is bulkier (especially in the pocket) but easier to manage with mitts on.
@bertman4: I start with a Corona 13″ replacement pruning blade and carve it into a 3.4 oz (including sheath) UL saw:
I’ve also made a longer 4.6 oz saw from a 21 Corona saw:
Both are great for wood, and can also be used as snow saws.
^ slick work- well done :)
I’ll do a plug for Knifepoint Gear. They just came out with a saw that works with any standard reciprocating saw blade. At 3.5 oz total, it comes with a carbide tipped 12inch diablo wood blade. In one of their videos, Alex cuts down a 10 inch diameter tree in minutes, really impressive. in another video he pits it against, I think, a Silky saw , and saws through two 10 inch diameter logs in less time than it takes to saw through one with the Silky.
I’d be interested to see that video; I’ve yet to see anything that would cut with a Silky (in the same length blade)
Here is the only video I could find on the Knifepoint Gear website:
Impressive. I especially like that you can get carbide-tipped blades, choose what kind of blade you want, and that the blades can be easily and cheaply be replaced. The only minor quibble would be that some field assembly is required.
Here are some videos from other sites:
https://jerkingthetrigger.com/2020/04/14/sneak-peek-ultralight-saw-from-knife-point-gear/
not sure what the other saw is, definitely not a Silky- maybe a Gerber
I’ve owned at least a half dozen smaller saws and now only own a couple of Silky saws (and one very BIG Silky saw)
@mtwarden
Ever try coronas? I have a 10″ curved corona and a 210 gomboy, to me they are pretty comparable.
I do find on an occasion where a straight blade is better than a curved but if you’re just processing wood for fire doesn’t matter really from what I’ve experienced
I haven’t, but have heard a lot of positive things about them; if they keep up with a Silky- I’d agree :)
This is about my 5th time referencing this article. Really appreciate the info on this, Ryan. I was revisiting it today as I was ordering lightweight saws to help with trailblazing and maintenance for the Nature Preserves I manage. Being in the northeast the Bahco is still king. I’ve never had one fail on me and they are invaluable when a saw is needed or very nice to have especially on canoe trips and in the winter. Our wood is usually wet, especially in the Adirondacks or semi-boreal areas.
I came to backpacking from a bushcrafting background and Bahcos are still the go-to. I like messing around with bag axes and tomahawks a lot more than saws, but a saw is much safer, much less work to use, generally lighter, and generally more efficient for hobby trail-clearing.
My personal favorite is an Agawa Boreal 21, but I think its 1lb2oz. (I take it on canoe trips as a matter of course, but I’d need a reason to take it backpacking.)Â Agawa also makes a shorter saw in the same vein (15″ instead of 21″) which certainly under a pound, but I don’t have own one. I’ve used Svens and really didn’t like them, and I’ve made a lot of bow- and buck-saws in the shop and in the woods. Silkies are great tools, but tension in a limb can wreck a blade fast.
A Bahco and a Mora will get an enormous amount of wood-chewing done, if you need to do it.
I remember seeing this one in action in this BPL video. (@ minute 28) Looked like it worked great!
Nice saws David! Say reading back to TiPi Walter’s comment got me thinking about that issue: Ultralight trail clearing. That would be an interesting topic for an article and a follow-up thread. Anyone got any ideas about how to assemble an ultralight come-along?
Yes Virginia there are heavily wooded trails with somewhat amazingly varied terrain out here on the Outer Banks but we sure get a lot of blow-down!
I like my old SVEN Saw. However, a 16″ model is too small/too heavy. I usually have my 21″ SVEN. It cuts better than anything I have found. And, I have tried many over the years. Not exactly ultralight, but unless it is the two month summer, a fire is nice to have here in the NE. (Even in June it is not unusual to get <32F/0C nights.) I have lightened it up some to 14oz, but this is not for the fainthearted. But, it will chop up a downed tree limb in short order. Roughly, 1/2hour of cutting will give you 4-6 hours of burning. For example, I usually locate wood in the forest and drag it back to camp. It gets cut while I wait for supper to cook under my hat (about 20min.) I lay the fire, and light it, just before I eat.
The SVEN has a couple mods that can be done to make it more useful.
1) Sharpen and set the saw every month of use. (A combination blade blade is best.) There are lots of manuals about sharpening on the web. It takes about 15minutes to a half hour with 2″ disk diamond Dremel and a hand saw set. Set to about a 4point set…or a little wide, generally. The hardened teeth REQUIRE grinding, not filing.
2, Drill an extra hole in the blade about 1/8″ shorter than the old hole. The extra tension will hold the blade in the cut with little to no blade flutter. Less flutter means less friction, hence less work. Replace the upper pin with an appropriate screw and grind it clean. Depending on the blade, you might have to grind the corner off to get it to open easily where it can bind near the front of the saw.
3) Always cut with the fire wood piece hanging free. This lets the weight open the saw-cut slightly.
4) Use two hands on the saw. One on top, one on the extended handle.. Use your foot to hold the piece. The SVEN is designed to cut on the push stroke AND the pull stroke. The two handed grip facilitates both.
5) The “red” body can be drilled out with a series of 3/4″ holes with no loss of strength. This will let you take a couple, three ounces off the saw.
6) In most frameless packs, the 21″ SVEN will slide in diagonally, next to your back. It doubles as a pack frame. I find my frameless packs easier to carry with the saw than without it.
7) A nice touch is to grind all the corners and aluminum edges off and sandpaper them smooth, even the wing nut, though that is steel.
Really, only 1 out of 3 blades is good, ie sharp enough right out of the package. I’ve gone through quite a few blades and when a new one doesn’t cut as well as an old one, well it was made in China, of course.
I’ve started carrying a lightweight saw (I have one of David Gardner’s saws as well as a printed one from Jan) for ad hoc trail maintenance. A lot of the trails in PA are paths cut into the side of a slope and one 3″ diameter tree with a lot of branches blocking a trail can be very difficult to navigate around. I have the Sven saw in both lengths, but stopped carrying them because of the weight. I don’t always need a saw, but when I do the 2-3 ounces of the UL ones is well worth it.
If we have a fire in camp we don’t need a saw – we simply break up the dead wood (rarely more than 2″ in diameter) either using the “2-Tree Leverage” or the “Put one end on a rock and stomp” method to break it into usable-sized pieces.
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