Why not just take a chainsaw? Works great for downed trees in the road and can have a few day supply of wood in a matter of minutes. I pack my 20" echo everywhere in my jeep. Has come in handy more than once. Nice and compact with everything i need in a softcase. Couldnt be any easier, more time to enjoy the outdoors and not have to worry about wood or a little stick fire.
Camping - Firewood Gathering Tools
- Thread starter lysol
- Start date
Chili
Explorer
For the most part I agree with you, especially if staying in one spot for days on end with abundant supply of dead wood, but that isn't always the case. The good thing about the bow saw is how little room it takes up for those one-off exceptions.
I ordered that one yesterday. About 10 minutes later I got an IM from my wife: "why did we order a bow saw? lol"
Her email is the one we use on our Amazon Prime account.
What do you think about it?
libarata
Expedition Leader
In an area with other campers, a chainsaw is annoying. I prefer to park at a trailhead, and carry everything, which makes a chainsaw even more annoying. Nature is about enjoying nature, not making as much noise as possible.
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As for the downed trees, I can have a downed tree out of the way quick enough with a bowsaw.
libarata
Expedition Leader
Those things are so maintenance intensive... Dunno how you DEAL with em! Haha
thatbikefella
Observer
Free firewood??? For real???
Jerry Ward
Adventurer
lysol- If you are referring to the "commando" wire saws I'd suggest passing on them all together. They produce a thin kerf so bind as you mentioned and are fragile and break frequently. They make better animal snares than a cutting tool. The chainsaw-type hand saws have a historical basis as they were originally designed to be carried by the British Commando units in WWII for light demo work and shelter/hide construction. From a practical standpoint though they dull quickly and require a tremendous amount of work to make a cut. I'd stick with a surplus military bow saw or a folding hand saw like the Silky Pocket Boy or Silky Big Boy. Take care...Jerry
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libarata
Expedition Leader
As Jerry says, just keep away from them. If you can process with a wire saw, you can break it with a knee, or forked tree.
Chili
Explorer
I haven't actually tried it out yet but quality seems good. I'll probably try it out this weekend as I have some trees that need trimming. Chainsaw will do the real work but I'm interested in testing this out.
AFBronco235
Crew Chief
I have tried the wire saw on some downed limbs in my mothers back yard, just to see how they did. Well, it didn't. Work that is. The concept is sound, but it just wouldn't go through anything more than 1/2" thick, and only if it was green. Fortunately, I pulled out my handy folding saw I keep in my rig and got things taken care off. Just a cheap saw I picked off the incidentals table from a Tractor Supply store and I still carry it with me. Flexible, sharp and small, I think it cost me $5. I don't even remember the brand name.