backpacing w/ wood tools

“I was up in the atic and found my old sevn saw. Good tool, light too. Since losing my steel craftsman hatchet in the woods I've been toying w/ the idea of getting a gerber hatchet. But now I remeber my sven saw and I'll be playing w/ that this weekend. I was just wondering what you all use in the woods to make fires and stuff.



I know most of you will say:
Tea if you need a saw to break it, you aren't "leaving no trace"!!!! But I like fire, and I like them big, size does matter to me.”

“Been watching too many Captian Morgan commercials again?”

“Most of the time I don't make a fire. The rare times I do, I'll just pick it up off the ground or snap off pieces between 2 closely grown large or "V" trees. I don't even like carrying a 4" bowie (sometimes though).”

“When I first got it I used my Sven saw alot. Now I don't carry Sven anymore, I just break the dead branches and what I can't break I burn in half and so on.

A few weeks ago I got an old friend and his woman to campout for a night. I got to the site an hour before them and got more than enough wood for me for one night. When Brian got there he said the wood pile would never do for him because he likes huge roaring fires....the way he fed the fire he was right.”

“Two kinds of people in the woods. Big fire-little wood pile; and little fire-big wood pile. Which are you?”

“I don't normally carry a saw or a hatchet. But if I do, it's a saw and I use it to clear blowdowns. Sometimes I use it to cut dead and downed wood for firewood but that rare for me.

Hatchets need to stay home. IMHO.

Big fires mean you keep warm by constantly fetching wood. Small fires you keep warm by sitting by it and enjoying it.

Nothing wrong with fires as long as the time, place and size is reasonable.”

“Something I noticed recently. When I hike with friends the fire is a focal point for the evening. But when I hike solo I rarely, if ever, even consider building a fire.”

“fire good...


magic bad...”

“I love fires, and have since I was a small boy... But I'm not angry anymore... and the neighbors pets no longer tell me to drink chicken blood. And the bed wetting stopped last year.

Who wants to go hikin?”

“You're scaring me”

“oh sure phaed....i bet you take your skillsaw too.....


i got an 18V cordless dewalt circulars saw and also a dewalt 18v reciprocating saw.....i used the sawsall when we went hiking at whiterock with jgeails, mozark and jerbear.....”

“i don't carry any tools for fire wood. i have found that using downed wood, no larger in diameter than my fingers, provides as much or little fire as my family or i need. i don't think i have ever built a fire while out solo, and don't mind one way or the other when i am with a group if there is one or not. my wife and son enjoy them.”

“Go to Target and buy the Fiskars (they make the Gerber axes) hatchet on sale RIGHT NOW for $11. Yes, that's right...a hatchet EXACTLY like the $40-50 Gerbers for 1/4 the price. The only difference is that the Fiskars does not come with the ballistic sheath, but I am working on the Gerber folks to buy one seperately. I also have the Gerber BackPack Axe, which has the sheath, and it is nice because I can place the sheath on whichever one of the two I decide to carry. The BP Axe is cute and will fit into most any compartment, but I find that the extra length of the handle on the Fiskars Axe (same thing as the Gerber Camp Axe) makes it mmore efficient to use, and is easier to strap between two compression straps on the outside of my pack.

As far as saws go, I once again recommend that you visit the garden tools section at Target and purchase the Fiskars Sliding Blade Power Saw. It uses the same polymid fiber handle as the axes, and has an agressive 6" retracting saw blade. Cuts very well, weighs about 3.5oz, and costs only $12.”

“I bought one of the small lockback type saws after seeing LeSubtiles in action. I only carry it in winter though. Works great and they cost only about $7-$20.”

“Father Goose always carries his Sven Saw with him, and we always have a good fire. It's great to be able to saw up deadfall bigger than 6" and put a couple of big logs on the fire. They last a long time that way.”

“I'm with HPM - I rarely carry a saw when just backpacking but I always have my 21 inch Corona Pro with me when doing blowdown work - does a great job on firewood too. On the other hand I am often out solo and I never have a campfire when solo.”

“Start attending black powder rendezvous and reenactments.

Backpack for a few days using only tools and materials available in 1840. Carry a few iron pots, wool blankets, and a canvas tent on a wooden pack frame and you start appreciating nylon, titanium, and fleece a whole lot more.”

“Hatchets are so old school. Get a hacksaw it makes dismembering so much cleaner. And you call yourself a Eagle Scout. Don't forget to rake back the ground cover so as not to leave a mess on the surface. Stained dirt is harder to recognize then stained leaves.
;-)”

“Dont be so wastefull rabbit... bring a dog instead.”

“Read your Wilderness (as prescribed by Congress) regulations that apply to cutting or chopping. Totally taboo.

In non-wilderness backcountry, get as boy scouty as you dare - if that's your fancy...”

“I never had a fire while backpacking until I went with TTers. I always have a fire car camping, cause that's what we cook on.

On the first Maine trip I went to start the fire and someone said "already?" I was gonna warm up the moose stew over the fire like I always do. I ended up using Pennsy's stove though. First time camping I'd ever used a stove like that. First time I saw a laptop in a camp site as well, LOL...”

“What that hell was the laptop used for? Fuel for the fire?”