So let me start off by saying that I’ve had the “Little Buck Saw” by QiWz for over a year now. If I had to sum the Little Buck Saw up in one word, it would be “impressive”. This little saw, for it’s size, makes light work out of some decent size logs. As with any other size buck saw you are limited to the size of the logs strictly by the depth, as the lateral bar determines how deep you can go, though most of the time you can eliminate this simply by turning the log over.
The Little Buck weighs a mere 4 ounces or 113 grams. Removing the padded grip will get you down to 3.8 ounces or 107 grams.
Personally, I find the padded grip annoying, although some of you might like it. I find the grip squishes down to nothing and then collapses downward, causing me to have to adjust my grip. With some experimenting, you could easily DIY another grip. I’ve considered using a bicycle handlebar grip or some type of tape like was used on old 10-speed bicycles. All in all though, the grip is not necessary as the little buck still performs well without it.
The Little Buck Saw is made of 3 independent aluminum alloy tubes, 4 feet of non stretch Spectra cord, and a wooden dowel that is used for adjusting the tension on the saw blade. The blade comes in 2 varieties: a European blade and a bone saw blade. I chose the European blade so I can’t give any insight on the bone saw blade. You can add spare blades for $12.00 US.
The saw breaks down into a 15 x 2 inch bundle and can be assembled in less than a minute. There is a learning curve here folks, but once you get it down it’s lighting fast. The Little Buck Saw comes with a Tyvek pouch with some added velcro for easy storage. Weight on the Tyvek pouch is 0.4 ounces or 13 grams. The Little Buck Saw will set you back $69.00 US and comes with free shipping as of June 2016.
I recently made a video on youtube on the Little Buck Saw and the maker “QiWz” watched the video review and pointed out that I was putting the saw together wrong, so I will attempt to explain how it goes together in his words. The saw is designed to have the Spectra cord come from around (rather than from above) the rubber nipple and attach above (rather than under) the zip ties. This makes it even more stable . The way to assemble it is to put the blade into the vertical tubes, attach the horizontal tubes to the rubber nipples, put the Spectra cord loops over the tops of the vertical tubes, then tighten the windlass with the supplied dowel or a stick off the ground.
Here’s the way it looks when after is assembled.
Straight Talk – I don’t always carry this saw when I go hiking, mainly because I don’t always have a camp- fire. Is it a must have for ultralight backpackers who like to have a fire? Absolutely. After a year of using this ultralight saw, I’d say it was money well spent.