Using a camp saw: why your grandpa's bucksaw is a thing of the past

November 7, 2020

Recently my wife came home dragging a large box from the lawn and garden center where she works, and she plopped it down happily at my feet. It was a box containing a Stihl product. Now usually I am thrilled with a new Stihl product. For those of you who don't know, Stihl is a premiere manufacturer of chainsaws and weed eaters. Actually, they are the very best in this writer's humble opinion.

But I digress... In this instance I saw that the box held three things; a battery powered chainsaw, a battery powered weed eater, and a battery powered hedge trimmer. I must say that I was a bit appalled, primarily because for the past several decades of camping, I had used a folding buck saw for everything from cutting firewood to building emergency shelters with no problems to speak of. That, and the fact that I despise weed eating and hedge trimming.

But, to be fair to her and to keep peace in the family, I did take the small chainsaw out to the deer camp to try it out a little bit. All I can say is that I am sold on this thing. First off, it has three batteries with it; (one for each of the implements), and as long as you vow to never use those useless items, you are good. I started the day by tackling a stand of honeysuckle that had began to choke my hardwood trees. To my utmost surprise the battery lasted two and one half hours of intermediate use, and actually it outlasted the blade. I lost interest before I got through the second battery, but I did change the blade once. I ended up with a very large pile of honeysuckle and a much smaller pile of oak limbs that I pruned from my stand of oaks. The only question I have now is whether or not I'll be able to recharge those batteries from my cigarette lighter somehow... I'll keep you posted.

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