A few of us took ‘Silky’ saws up Trail 4 last Saturday to test them against this past winter’s collection of blow-downs. They’re not as fast as a freshly sharpened chain saw, but they are surprisingly effective — more than good enough for routine trail maintenance. The biggest ‘Silky’ folding saw (pictured below) weighs in at just over 2.5 pounds (1.2 kg), roughly one-tenth the load-out for our smallest chain saw, with accessories and fuel. We also carried a smaller, lighter ‘Silky’ (less than a pound, 0.45 kg) that worked just fine for most obstructions.

Trail Clearing with a ‘Silky’ Saw

Unless you’re facing a substantial clearing job, a high-end, light-weight folding saw is a perfectly good alternative to a much heavier and more costly chain saw. In fact, these folding saws are so handy that a number of us are starting to include them in our standard backpack inventory.

Trail Clearing with a ‘Silky’ Saw