Usually I bring an axe when out in the bush to help collect wood to fire and build shelter. But lately I've also started using a small folding saw. The saw has the advantages of being small, light and safe. There's a number of different saws out there on the market and to get a better picture of four of them I now will perform a test. I've chosen four different saws from different price ranges. The test objects are:
Jula's Folding Branch Saw,
Biltema's Camping saw,
Fiskars Pruning Saw and
Bahco's Laplander.
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Since this test was executed I've made another field test on folding saws. See more about the test covering 12 different saws by clicking
HERE.
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Test method
I weigh and measure each saw myself therefore the values may differ from the data you can retrieve from the producers. During the test I cut bout fresh and dry material of
maple,
aspen,
birch and
spruce. The thickness of the material is 30-70 mm in diameter. I've tyred to use each saw the same way, at the same occasion, counting each stroke with the blade and trying to use the same amount of force in each stroke. The amount of counted strokes define the tools cutting capacity.
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Jula's Folding Branch Saw
Supplyer: Jula
Price: 59 SEK
Weight: 210 g
Measures closed: 225 mm / 57 mm / 27 mm
Measures open: 400 mm / 73 mm / 27 mm
Plus: The handle offers a good grip, Good price
Minus: Bad cutting capacity
The rubber handle offers one of the best grips comparing these four saws. The folding mechanism is a bit untight but there is a safety lock keeping the blade secure bout open and closed. Between these four tools this saw has the worst cutting capacity. The design is a bit off balance but the price is nice and low. I'll keep this one in the back of my truck as a backup saw.
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Biltema's Camping saw
Supplyer: Biltema
Price: 70 SEK
Weight: 240 g
Measures closed: 294 mm / 51 mm / 29 mm
Measures open: 512 mm / 76 mm / 29 mm
Plus: Long blade, Good price
Minus: No safety lock
This is the biggest of these four tools and the design is nice and slim. The long blade has some advantage over the Jula saw. Unfortunately this saw hasn't any safety lock. This means that the blade accidentally can slide open although it's closed. But after locking the blade open I like this saw's long blade.
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Fiskars Pruning Saw
Supplyer:
K-Rauta
Price: 169 SEK
Weight: 86 g
Measures closed: 196 mm / 50 mm / 30 mm
Measures open: 353 mm / 58 mm / 30 mm
Plus: Small, light and good cutting capacity
Minus: Handle can be a bit slippery when whet
This is the smallest and lightest of the four tools. Despite this it has the best cutting capacity. The telescopic mechanism is nice and tight. The saw comes with a belt clip but I think a saw this small fits nicely inside the pocket of the jacket.
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Bahco Laplander
Supplyer:
Järnia
Price: 389 SEK
Weight: 175 g
Measures closed: 233 mm / 50 mm / 30 mm
Measures open: 402 mm / 68 mm / 30 mm
Plus: Robust design, Good cutting capacity
Minus: Expensive
The Laplander is probably the most well known of these four saws. It's also the most expensive among the four. The design is very nice and robust and the blade is treated with a black coating to prevent corrosion. The tool comes with a leather lanyard.
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Conclusion
The two cheapest saws was prize worthy but in comparison with the two more expensive tools the cheaper ones loose when looking at cutting capacity. The saw that surprises me the most is the one from Fiskars; although it's the smallest of the four and is offered for half the price of the Laplander, it has the best capacity of the four.Therefore I see the Fiskars saw as the winner of this test followed by the Bahco Laplander.
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