Camping & Chainsaws: Which Chainsaw & Why?
Apart from all the normal camping equipment you take when you go on a camping trip, it’s a good idea to take a small chainsaw along with you.
That is especially true when you head off to a rural destination. A chainsaw can help solve a lot of the small, often niggly, problems encountered when out camping.
So What Sort of Chainsaw Would be the Best Choice for Camping?
Dewalt small battery chainsaw
Luckily nowadays there are more options available and a small cordless electric chainsaw is probably the chainsaw of choice.
The Dewalt pictured here is an ideal example.
But of course there are many other battery driven small chainsaws available to choose from. Here are a few for you.
Lets look at WHY we think these chainsaws are ideal for camping trips.
Reasons Why Cordless Electric Chainsaws are Ideal for Camping.
1) Portability & Packability.
Both Portable & Packable
Portability and packability would be high on the list of ideal characteristics for a chainsaw to take camping.
On the packability front.
Space is normally at a premium when you go camping. Being able to pack a small chainsaw with everything it needs to operate into a small, self contained carry case is first prize.
Having everything in one place when you need it just avoids unnecessary irritation and stress.
Unless you are going seriously off the beaten path, then a mini chainsaw with a 6 inch bar, like the Greenworks 6 inch mini saw with case, pictured above, would be ideal.
And once you get to the camping site, an ideal camping saw would not only be easy to access, but easy to carry to wherever it’s needed. So smaller and lighter rather than bigger and heavier would be high on the list of specs to meet.
But if you think you need (a bit) bigger, then the Dewalt would certainly be a good pick. It is still only 25 inches in length (64cm) so doesn’t take up a lot of room.
The Dewalt doesn’t come with its own carry case, but that is not the end of the world. You can find a selection of chainsaw carry cases here.
2) Easy to Use
Open the carry case, attach battery, apply oil to bar & chain either manually or via the oiler, and push in the safety button/ pull the trigger. That’s all it takes to start cutting with a battery operated chainsaw.
That’s much easier than first putting gas into the tank, fiddling with the carburetor and choke, huffing and puffing while you pull the starter cord and hope the engine fires.
A battery driven chainsaw is just so much easier to get operational – provided you have charged the battery of course!!
3) More Environmentally Friendly
With a battery operated chainsaw, there is no belching 2 stroke oil smoke when you are using the chainsaw.
They are also much quieter than a gas powered chainsaw.
So not only are they far more environmentally friendly to use, they are also less irritating for fellow campers especially if you are camping in a quiet, rural area.
4) Affordability
Small cordless electric chainsaws can vary in price quite significantly but are generally more affordable to purchase and run than their gas powered counterparts.
So when you buy a saw to take camping with you, you might want to consider WHAT ELSE you might want to use that chainsaw for. i.e. in a non camping environment.
That might influence the type of chainsaw you want to buy, which in turn will influence price.
Factors that play a role in the what you will pay include:
– Bar length. Generally the longer the bar, the more money you will pay.(The longer the bar = the bigger the chainsaw and therefore also it’s capabilities.)
– Brand. Brands position themselves differently in the market to attract a specific market segment of buyers. In the mini chainsaw segment, well known chainsaw brand chainsaws tend to cost more than unknown brands.
– Spec levels. For example, cordless electric chainsaws fitted with a brushless electric motor will cost more than those fitted with a brushed motor.
Some Potential Downsides of Battery Operated Chainsaws to Consider
1) Working Time
Battery chainsaws have a finite working time per battery charge. When your battery runs out of charge, you either have to stop working or have a second, already charged, battery available.
On the plus side, even if a single battery charge only works for say 30 minutes (of actual working time), that is actually probably more than sufficient for most “camping” jobs that need to be done.
2) Extra Batteries ?
A second battery will obviously cost you money unless it is included in the initial purchase package. This is not uncommon with the lesser known brands of small mini chainsaws.
If you feel a second battery might be necessary, then be sure the chainsaw you choose uses a battery that you can easily buy later on.
Most well known chainsaw brands will have this option available.
3) Recharging batteries
If you are out in the back of beyond, then re-charging the battery may become a challenge. But again, you would need to do quite a lot of chainsaw work to flatten a battery
4) Sometimes batteries and chargers are not included!
Buy the Milwaukee battery & C charger separately
When you buy a battery operated chainsaw, make sure you understand what you are getting, or not getting.
Many well known chainsaw brands offer the option of buying the bare tool only. That means you are buying the chainsaw but without a battery or charger!
The reason for this is that they will have a range of battery powered tools that all use the same battery and charger.
If you already own a power tool from that brand, you might already have a battery and charger that will work with that tool and so have no need to buy another battery and charger!
But do take note! Some brands have more than one range of tools and these different ranges almost always use a different type/size/voltage battery which wont necessarily fit or work with your new chainsaw!
Bottom line is do your homework before splashing the cash!!
Other Factors You Might Want To Look At
Inbuilt Oiler – or Not?
All battery powered chainsaws need oil in order to lubricate the bar and chain. The smaller the chainsaw, the less likely it is to have an oil reservoir included in the design of the chainsaw.
Most chainsaws with a bar of 8 inches or longer will have an inbuilt oiler. Some 6 inch bar mini chainsaws do include an oiler .
Others, like the Greenworks pictured above, do not.
So you either have to fill up the oil reservoir regularly or you need to periodically (every 2-3 minutes) apply oil to the bar and chain manually with a small oil bottle when working.
One advantage of NOT having an inbuilt oiler on your chainsaw is that once you have finished working with it, it wont leak oil when you store it.
This is unfortunately a regular feature of any chainsaw that includes an oil reservoir. Draining the reservoir and storing the chainsaw correctly will help. But it won’t necessarily stop the leaking altogether!
How Important is Chain Speed?
Chain speed is a metric that will give you a good idea of how well your chosen chainsaw will perform.
All other things being equal (e.g. chain is sharp and correctly tensioned), the faster the chain speed, the more efficiently the chainsaw will cut through something.
What is a Good Chain Speed?
Generally speaking, for battery driven chainsaws, the smaller the chainsaw the slower the chain speed. That is logical because the smaller chainsaws have smaller electrical motors with less power.
Similarly, brushless electric motors generally give a higher chain speed.
Mini chainsaws with a 6 inch bar will have a chain speed in the 5 – 9 m/s range.
Now compare that with the phenomenal 10 inch top handled Makita that has a chain speed of 24m/s.
That is up there with many gas powered chainsaws.
How important is chain speed for a camping chainsaw? It probably depends on what you will use it for when camping. If it’s just going to be used for odd jobs, then chain speed as a decision factor is probably not high on the list.
To Conclude
Small to medium sized battery chainsaws (say up to 12″ bars) are arguably the best type of chainsaw to take on camping trips with you.
They are light, easy to operate, efficient and environmentally friendly.
What more could you ask for?