I've been looking for an upgrade to my coughlins folding saw and my research has pointed me to this beauty. The Bahco Laplander, tough to find, amazon EU seems to have it, anyone have any experience with this saw or know where to find one?

http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=118

I just bought a Bahco 396-HP with a 7.25" locking blade but haven't had a chance to cut with it. It locks both when open and when closed. It feels well-built and I like the orange color at the hinge (in case its dropped).

I've got several folding saws - some, like the Trailblazer Take-down Buck Saw and a very old Sven Saw, but the problem is that these take a fair amount of time/effort to assemble and they're kind of big. With that in mind I purchased "The Un-Believable Saw" (from the folks who make the Pocket Chain Saw) and this Bahco 396-HP. I still need to test them both out, but my hopes are high for both.

Keep in mind that there are two models:

Bahco 396-HP has teeth designed to cut dead wood. This is what I want to take with me while out with the Scout troop as we don't cut green wood.

Bahco 396-JT has teeth designed to cut green or live wood. This what I want to use to cut live Buckthorn and pruning trees around my property. I'm planning to see if my local toolstore has this in stock.

I'm not sure what is best for "survival" use. For shelter-building this might involve green wood, but for firebuilding this would involve dead wood.

Hi Ronin,

I have broken 3 Coghlins folding saws and one no-name model in the last 10 years, all at the joint where the plastic handle connects to the blade.

So I spent the money ($27.00 CAN) and bought the Bahco Laplander at Mountain Equipment Co-op about 6 monthgs ago. It was advertised as having a green and black handle but when it arrived it was orange, which I like better.

I tested it cutting pine, spruce and white birch and it is a much better folding saw than the Coghlin's were. It cuts anything up to about 4" dia. quite fast, and is easier to set-up than a wire saw, pocket chainsaw or telescopic saw. It also feels much more solid that the other folding saws I have owned, you get what you pay for.

The down side is that it is not made to tackle large pieces of wood, a swede saw, crosscut saw (or my favourite a Husqvarna chainsaw) is much better at this.

I will carry the Bahco Laplander as my hiking/hunting saw (may even try it at quartering a moose this fall) and if my preliminary tests are an indication it should do the job just fine.

My recommendation is that if you need a folding saw, buy this one.

Mike

Hi Ronin,

The Bacho Laplander pruning saw is a firm favourite with European bushcrafters. It is lightweight, efficient, durable, functional and cost effective. Highly recommended for bushcraft survival. It is useful in the garden as well for pruning back shrubs and small trees. Bacho also make some excellent quality general purpose hand tools. Good Swedish engineering.

I finally googled "Bahco Laplander" and saw the UK Amazon site you were talking about. Don't fret, this is EXACTLY the same as the Bahco 396 I wrote about.

Just do a search in Amazon.com using "Bahco 396". Do consider whether you want/need to purchase the HP (dry wood) or JT (green wood). I actually bought my Bahco 396-HP from the U.S. Amazon.com.

Ken

I am heading to Maine in october for some wilderness camping and I am going to put the Bahco through its paces.

Thanks for all your help guys, this site rocks.

Peace

I love my Bahco Laplander saw. I am pretty sure I posted a review somewhere. I will look later and post if I can find it along with where I bought mine. Kinda sleepy now.

I gave up on the folding camp saws a few years ago. I bought a Stanley handle (you can get them at most wally worlds). You can use almost any saw blade made for a sawsall, hacksaw, or jig saw. For less than 20 dollars you you get a saw that will do every thing the Bahco Laplander saw will and so much more for less money. Even more important with extra blades it wieghs less. The only down side is I had to buy a case for it. I use a roll case made for wrenches to hold it. Not a big deal since it gave me a place to put other things too.

If any of you happen to live in the NW Chicago suburbs there is one green Bahco Laplander 396 folding saw left at Berland's House of Tools at the intersection of Route 12 & Plum Grove Road (just NW of the intersection of Rt. 12 & Lake Cook Rd). This is just like the one mentioned in the original post.

I stopped by there this morning on my way to work.

Ken

I got my Bahco from Tools Plus for $22.99.