Portable Pole Saw
Equipment
Contributors to this thread:
Need to buy a portable pole saw to do some minor trimming of shooting lanes.
It seems like there's always a couple twigs or small branches that I wish I could cut.
Thanks
Wicked Tree Saw has a 6 and 12 foot option. They are made to hold up. Well know names are junk.
Yes, I checked out theit YouTube video about their products. They seem top quality.
Figured if I bought a six footer I would always be wishing I had a 12-footer.
A good folding saw which I always have in my pack and a small bungi cord. Any limb the right length will do for the pole.
Now you guys know the wicked tree saw is owned by the dude ( I use the term dude very loosely here) that did the fake crying video over killing Walter peyton, just saying.
I've had the Silky 21-footer for years. Expensive but high quality and durable. Also use it a lot around the yard. Way too big to carry on a hunt, but very useful when first hanging the stand.
Stihl makes one of the best telescoping pruning saws I’ve ever owned, and I’ve tried a pile of them. Super sharp blade with plenty of width on the blade’s kerf. They’re a bit spendy, but well worth the money.
Gotta respectfully disagree with ya, Charlie. I have a Wicked saw. The saw is plenty beefy, but the kerf that the blade cuts is too narrow, and it binds too easily, even with a brand new blade, IMO.
Scrappy....I don’t think Cryin Todd has anything to do with the Wicked saws now. They are out of Texas now, but, you might be correct that he, at one point, was affiliated with them. I believe they were based out of Iowa when they first came out.
Scrappy,
Good idea. I always have my folding saw and pruners.
Never thought about the bungie trick.. tks
Silky is high dollar but excellent out to 25 feet.
I own the 6 foot Wicked Tree Saw because it fits in my pack and with a couple tree spikes I can get anything I need. Depends on your strategy for pruning.
Not seeing a Stihl hand pole saw.
All my friends are jealous of my Stihl pole saw. It gets borrowed a lot
Hooyman extendable tree saw has worked for me. Extends from 2’-6” out to 8’. Strapes well to the outside of my pack. Cut is pretty good.
During season, I carry a small folding saw and a roll of electrical tape, cut down a sapling - tape the saw to it and cut away.
Preseason I have an extendable with a saw and twig trimmer.
Think I'll cut a sapling and lean it against the tree where my hang on stand is.
I keep a 10 foot pole saw in the truck, but need something while I'm hunting.
I bought the head unit of the "saw/branch cutter" and retro fitted it to a pool screen pole. Works like a charm and can really get out there you just have to add a longer rope for the clipper part.
I've got the "chainsaw" attachment for my Stihl. I can clear a forest with it and then put the "weed-eater" attachment on and clean the forest floor, if needed. Of course I use the weed-eater attachment for yard work.
Look at the Black & Decker lithium powered pole saw, get an extra battery or two with it.
I broke down and bought the 21 ft Silky over 15 years ago and it is still going strong. Yea, it's $400 now, but that thing doesn't owe me anything. You get what you pay for with this one. Still on the original blade!
I have a Wicked saw, but to be honest im not that impressed with it. Like someone else said, it doesnt cut the best and binds. My old gerber saw that eventually broke, cut better.
Hooyman is made of plastic and broke the first time I used it. I've never seen a telescoping Stihl or Silky. I went with the Wicked, and while not perfect, all is good.
I have a telescoping Silky. It doesn't get as small as the OP wants though. The blade is awesome, but any time you have it maxed out for length, cutting decent size branches is tough. Not to mention the little bitty branches that just want to flex and sway. The pruners are better for those.
I have used the HOOEYMAN 5 foot extendable and 10 foot extendable for years and have never had an issue. Anything can be broken but they are unsurpassed for weight and portability. I would not recommend for timber harvest but in my opinion the best there is for a mobile hunter. For the fixed position all season stands there are numerous more heavy duty options.
I have the "Wicked Tree Gear Ultra Light Pole Saw, 14 ft. WTG-015"...
Them Silky saws must be totally awesome to justify the price.
Most of the really expensive items I have for hunting I was gifted, the Silky pole saw being no exception. Mostly, those items were too expensive for me to justify buying myself, and I have family that likes to buy nice things for Christmas/birthday/etc. I think the model of pole saw I have is the Hayauchi. The Silky blades are indeed awesome, but like I said above, anything that telescopes like that is going to have a tough time with the length maxed out due to stiffness limitations. Having said that, I did buy myself a Zubat hand saw (much cheaper), but for lite work that thing replaces a chainsaw.
Most of the time, a saw sucks at "minor trimming". Those tiny little branch tips and twigs can't be cut with a saw because there isn't enough rigidity in the branch tips to hold it for sawing. With a saw, you often have to remove more of the branch than you need to. I like low-impact pruning. I don't remove any more of the cover than I have to. Saws don't allow that. Pole PRUNERS do. I can clip off exactly how much of the branch I need to remove with a pole pruner...no more, no less than I desire. Doing minimal pruning also attracts less attention by other hunters to my tree. When I see cut branches laying around, or cut stubs on trees, the 1st thing I do is look for another hunter's stand. I don't want to leave evidence of my stand for other hunters to discover.
Silky saws justify the price.