The Best Compact Saw for Clearing Trails

It was a couple years ago, probably eightish miles up the Stuart Peak trail near my home in Missoula, Montana, when I first started thinking about it. A small tree had fallen perpendicular across the trail, no more than four inches in diameter. I had to slow my already-not-that-fast uphill trot to almost a complete stop to step over the tree.

I thought for a half-second, like I always do, that my day would be a tiny bit more pleasant if that tree had not fallen there—or if someone had removed it before I started my trail run that day.

But I carried on, to the top of the peak, stepping over a couple other pieces of deadfall, a minor nuisance on the way up the trail, but a brief low hurdle on my way back down.

I remembered some mountain bikers I’d run into on this same trail a while back, in the early season. They’d carried a chainsaw to cut the trees that had fallen over the winter, but of course they stopped at the wilderness boundary, where bicycles weren’t permitted (let alone chainsaws).

I finished my run, and repeated it several times, always encountering some deadfall. Same with some of the other trails around Missoula—every year brings a few more trees down.

Every time I stepped over one, I made a mental note:

And then I’d go home and never do it. Once or twice I googled electric chainsaws, but never clicked “buy.”

A derecho ripped through our town in late July with winds in excess of 100 mph, and I spent two consecutive days cutting fallen branches, and hauling 15 pickup loads to the city brush pile (it’s a small pickup).

The first day, when everyone’s power was out, I had the longest conversation I’d ever had with my neighbor Nathan, standing on the sidewalk in front of his house. I mentioned how I wished I had actually bought a chainsaw instead of just thinking about it, because I’d have it for this, but I’d also be able to cut deadfall on trails.

“What you need,” Nathan said authoritatively, “is a Silky Katanaboy folding saw. They’re amazing. My buddy talked me into getting one and I love it.”

I googled the Silky Katanaboy. It was $245, and huge. Ideal Version of Me could wait some more, I guess.

Then my friend Kevin and I did an adventurous run/hike up Pyramid Buttes this September, and there was so much goddamn deadfall. I cursed myself, but, shrug, what are you gonna do, cut through 30 trees in the middle of your 17-mile day?

A couple weeks later, on the way up Sky Pilot, same thing. Lots of gymnastics to get up and around all the deadfall. If I were a pompous asshole, I would have huffed and said, “somebody should do something about this!” But come on, I have some idea of how the world works, and you don’t just call the Forest Service and report a downed tree on a lesser-used trail, like you’re calling down to the front desk to request more towels.

I googled the Silky Katanaboy again. It was too big (20 inches long, 2 pounds), and too expensive. If I bought it, I’d have to mentally record where the downed trees were, then go back, hike in with an actual backpack, and cut the trees. How about something smaller?

The Silky Gomboy Curve 240. $65. Folds down to 9.5 inches. I measured my running vest. A 9.5-inch saw would just fit. Sure, it’s bulky and heavy compared to, you know, not carrying a fucking saw when you go running, but I’m already carrying bear spray in there, and I’m also a 45-year-old middle-of-the-pack dadthlete who loves to eat baked goods. Other people aren’t exactly taking a microscope to my Strava times, but they might appreciate a tree not blocking the trail.

I looked online for reviews, finally finding one for the exact model, by Casey, a mountain biker from Montana. The review was good, but what really sold me was when he said this:

“With work and kids and stuff, I don’t get to go to a lot of trail work days, so this is one of the ways I try to give back and do my part because I use these trails a lot, so I gotta support them somehow.”

All told, he said, getting off his bike, pulling out the saw, cutting the tree, and moving it off the trail took 10 or 15 minutes.

I bought that saw, the Silky Gomboy Curve 240.

It fits in my running vest. I cut a piece of deadfall off a trail this week. It’s not much, but it’s something.