# chainsaw backpack



## andym

I do trail maintenance that requires carrying a chainsaw into the woods. Sometimes we'll have to hike in a few miles so a backpack to carry in the saw, fuel, oil, and other supplies would be nice. Any tips on making one or where to buy an affordable one?


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## Grace Tree

Try this.
Phil
Chainsaw cases and bar covers


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## treeslayer

Small Wood said:


> Try this.
> Phil
> Chainsaw cases and bar covers



good site, I bookmarked it. thanks


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## AT sawyer

*Trail saw*

I carry my saw (036) on my shoulder when clearing trails, with a Pack Shack cover over the Stihl blade guard. My gas goes into MSR bottles and my oil into an old Nalgene bottle. I put all the other stuff -- wedges, scrench, extra bar and chain, etc. into a rucksack and run an axe through the pack's loops. Prior to the Pack Shack cover, I just wrapped a square of foam around the blade guard and duct-taped it in place. Saw rides nicely on your shoulder for miles and miles. Just make sure you your gas cap is tight (how would I know that?)

Having just graduated to a 362, I'm not sure how my home-made bucking spikes will carry on my neck. The little ones that came on the 036 never got in the way (or worked very well either).


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## VA-Sawyer

Be very careful when carrying a chainsaw on your shoulder. Make sure the guard can NOT come off the bar by accident. There has been more than one person cut their jugular by tripping with a saw on their shoulder. I used to carry my saw that way till I happened across a safety article about it on the net. 
I note that you use a cover over the bar guard. Is it for keeping the guard in place ? If so, I think it would be a good idea to stress the danger of having the saw on the shoulder when suggesting it to others. Just a heads up to help keep our heads on.
VA


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## AT sawyer

That's one of the reasons I wrap the Pack Shack scabbard around the blade guard. The scabbard has Velcro strips that cinch up real tight to the guard, as well as having a compartment for a scrench and other small tools. Just because I've never had a scabbard slide off while carrying a saw on my shoulder doesn't mean it couldn't happen, so point taken. The hot muffler used to remind my neck when I had it too close, and all my fleece jackets have a little melt spot from my 036. The Pack Shack scabbard has a strip of leather that covers the muffler.

Assuming that like me, andym has a lot of ground to cover when sawing, I was giving him an option to a backpack. I have seen guys use freighter-frame backpacks for their saws and they fumble around a lot between cuts. If I'm clearing storm damage or over-winter deadfalls, I'll be bucking a tree every fifty feet-- too short a distance for the mount/remount on a freighter pack. I would consider a freighter if I was after some distant blowdown and knew I would be carrying the saw for miles before I used it.


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## mattc

Check out the Dakine Builders Pack, I do trail work as well and I have been thinking of getting one. Lugging a saw in hand is no fun. 

What kind of trails are you working on? 

Matt.


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## andym

mattc said:


> Check out the Dakine Builders Pack, I do trail work as well and I have been thinking of getting one. Lugging a saw in hand is no fun.
> 
> What kind of trails are you working on?
> 
> Matt.



Mountain bike and hiking. I've looked at the Dakine pack but the bike shops that would really give me the hook up on them can't get them. I was hoping to find some inspiration here for a DIY backpack or something cheaper than the Dakine.


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## AT sawyer

Maye this is more what you're looking for if you're riding a bike, though the article is dated:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/Fspubs/01232334/index.htm

http://www.flsafetygear.com/


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## andym

We'll be hiking in to do our trail work but there is one stretch where it could potentially be 8 miles of hiking with saws. It's funny, one bad winter and a forest service manager that previously refused to give us sawyer class is now asking us when we want it.


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## AT sawyer

If you're hiking that far before cutting, a backpack is a good idea, though some of those soft side packs could get a little hard on the shoulders going that distance. My trail club (PATC) has used Cabelas freighter frame packs for hauling gear, and I would suggest you consider one of those. The shelf can hold your saw and the hip belt and padded shoulder straps balance the load. Plenty of room to cinch on other stuff.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...ct&cmCat=Related_IPL_516484&id=0015826515437a


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## andym

AT sawyer said:


> If you're hiking that far before cutting, a backpack is a good idea, though some of those soft side packs could get a little hard on the shoulders going that distance. My trail club (PATC) has used Cabelas freighter frame packs for hauling gear, and I would suggest you consider one of those. The shelf can hold your saw and the hip belt and padded shoulder straps balance the load. Plenty of room to cinch on other stuff.
> 
> http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...ct&cmCat=Related_IPL_516484&id=0015826515437a



Looking at all these packs is giving me ideas. I'm thinking something like an external frame hiking backpack with a "basket" similar the the True North pack with pouches and loops for extra fuel, oil, tools, lopers, a pulaski, etc. The wheels in my head are turning.


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## bowtechmadman

There is a member here that made quite the pack, wish I could remember or find the thread.


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## Johndirt82

Id go to an army surplus store and start with a ruk-sack. The new army/marine corps issue pack bags are very comfortable and can accomodate anything you would need to attach to it but they are not too cheap.


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## adkranger

Did I hear cheap, easy to fab saw carry rig for the backcountry? Doesn't get any easier......










Military pack board, a few pieces of scrap 1x3, a bit of 4" PVC, some webbing, a few screws and about twenty minutes.......... Done. I doubt I've got more than $7 bucks into it. You could probably do the same thing with an old external frame pack, I usually see them for less than $10 at garage sales all summer long. I've used a wildfire saw pack too, but they are pricey for the casual user and I don't care for the bar up position if I can help it. I do the shoulder carry with a carefully padded saw for short duration but if you gotta hump it far in difficult terrain where both hands may be needed.............

That bike pack looked interesting, but have yet to find one on a rack somewhere......or even a shop that could get their hands on it. Somethings I'll buy over the web, backpacks, boots and technical stuff that I can't put my hands on aren't on that list.


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## jburlingham

bowtechmadman said:


> There is a member here that made quite the pack, wish I could remember or find the thread.



Was it this one?

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=87994


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## groundsmgr

http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/View_Catalog_Page.asp?mi=8691#


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## Toddppm

Great ideas, I normally just lug my saw and/or machette in hand for trail work but they're getting longer and longer...
Will have to check the local surplus places for one of those alice packs.


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## B-Edwards

VA-Sawyer said:


> Be very careful when carrying a chainsaw on your shoulder. Make sure the guard can NOT come off the bar by accident. There has been more than one person cut their jugular by tripping with a saw on their shoulder. I used to carry my saw that way till I happened across a safety article about it on the net.
> I note that you use a cover over the bar guard. Is it for keeping the guard in place ? If so, I think it would be a good idea to stress the danger of having the saw on the shoulder when suggesting it to others. Just a heads up to help keep our heads on.
> VA



Awesome advise, I never thought about that happening. It would be too late if it did happen in all likelihood.


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## VA-Sawyer

Yea, I used to carry the saw on my shoulder from the house to the woods. No bar guard, just the thickness of a winter jacket for shoulder padding. Never thought about it being so deadly. Just happened to come across that internet article ( wished I could find it again ) about the danger. It pointed out how the teeth were set up in a perfect position to slice your neck if the saw should slip due to a stumble or trip. It also referenced some accident reports. That was about 5 years ago, and I haven't had a bar on my shoulder since then. Don't get me wrong, I would be willing to shoulder carry if I had a bar cover that could be properly secured in place, but I don't have one.
I used to think the danger started when the engine did.
VA


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## andym

*Alice Pack*

It looks like we're going to be building a couple of the Alice Pack based packs. For the fuel and oil bottles I purchased a couple of aluminum bottle from Target (on clearance due to a couple dings in them). Someone else suggested I should only use stainless steel for this. What's the consensus here?


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## AT sawyer

*Fuel bottles*

I've used the extruded aluminum 30oz MSR bottles for years without a problem-- they're made for holding fuel. I've seen failures with Sigg and Brunton bottles. If you bought cheap water bottles, the coarse thread pattern and seals may not be up to hard fuel use, particularly if you're changing altitude or working hot, as internal pressure can force leaks. MSRs are pricey, but go on sale in the off season (now).


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## andym

Yep, these cheap bottles are already showing a failure. I packed one to work with me today to carry water and the threads on the cap have stripped. Overtighten it just a bit and it pops off. Guess I'll be looking for a deal on the MSR bottles.


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## mbopp

I've got my old BSA Yucca pack ty-wrapped to a backpack frame. It holds my fuel, oil, water bottles, 1st aid kit, files, tools, and spare chain. For hauling the saw I have some 2" webbing (IIRR old car seatbelts) with snap buckles on it. It's adjusted to length, run through the saw handle, and either looped over my shoulder or the top of the pack frame. You're still carring the saw but it takes some weight off your arms. For fuel bottles I have the plastic Nalgene backpacker fuel bottles. Bar oil is in a snap cap dish soap bottle. If you get a snap cap off a pancake syrup bottle the threads are close enough to the dish soap bottle and the pancake top has a larger opening for the bar oil.
Man, and to think I started doing this with dad's old Zip, then a PM 655, and now the Shin 488.
The Sigg bottles have a pressed-in insert where the MSR bottles have the threads rolled into the neck. There are interesting stories where people were using a Sigg bottle on an MSR stove and had the insert blow out while running the stove. Fire in the hole!

I saw one setup where the guy made a shelf and had it bolted to a Freighter frame too. He'd bunji-cord the saw to the shelf and had hands-free carrying.


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## HIAK

First post here...so maybe should have read the directions

Back when we first landed on the moon, I was humping a saw up the trail on the same flat military board as previously shown. My saw was mounted bar up with bottom of saw flat to the board. I used flat steel straps fitted through inch and a half linen fire hose and bent it to wrap around the bar forming a padded slot to thread the tip of the bar through. Made a similar padded slot holder for the handle end. These holding slots were bolted to the plywood of the pack by bending the ends of the strap out at a 90 to the slot. 

The slots need to be loose enough to easily slip the nose of the bar up through the top slot and let the handle drop into the bottom slot. The guy walking behind me could grab the saw off my pack and hand it to me when it was needed.

We had it rigged with a safety stop so the bar could only run up only so far in its slot to prevent injury in case of a stumble. 

Do not carry your lunch on this same pack or on your gas mix and chain oil pack. The fumes will penetrate sealed snack packs and leave you burping fumes the rest of the day.


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## tree md

I used to have to cut and build trails as well as walk bridges on wilderness trails for the state. We used to just put our saws and tools in a wheel barrel and wheel it in. 

We also had to build wheelchair ramps in the middle of nowhere. Doesn't matter if it's 12 miles back, if it's on state land, all trails and walk bridges have to be wheelchair accessible.


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## Crow Horse

The military pack board or an ALICE pack frame could easily adapted to carry a saw and other goodies. It'll just depend on how creative you want to get.....


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## SilverScout

Here's something I threw together last week. Have the saw, scabbard with scrench and file, chaps, helmet, gas & oil mixture, bar oil and water bottle all on the frame. Have a pouch with gloves, spare chain and cell phone on the right. A pouch for snacks on the left. 

Went looking for an ALICE, but surplus store here didn't have the shelf and didn't know if they could get one. Wound up with a Stansport Deluxe Freighter. 

Seemed to work fine yesterday on a mountain bike trail build.


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## Scrat

AT sawyer said:


> If you're hiking that far before cutting, a backpack is a good idea, though some of those soft side packs could get a little hard on the shoulders going that distance. My trail club (PATC) has used Cabelas freighter frame packs for hauling gear, and I would suggest you consider one of those. The shelf can hold your saw and the hip belt and padded shoulder straps balance the load. Plenty of room to cinch on other stuff.
> 
> Cabela's: Cabela's Alaskan I and II Frame only



 Yeh AT sawyer been using the Alaskan II frame for years for all kinds of stuff. Great shoulder straps and awesome waist belt.


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