Hmm, thinking about my more recent hunting endeavors, I consider what life would've been like had I not brought that little pocket chain saw with me and had to chop those 8 to 12" logs down to firemaking size with an axe, or worse still a hatchet or knife. If all your going to chop on is limbs and branches, then packing an axe or heavy hatchet or knife might be all you really need. For cutting decent ridge poles and logs, I really prefer not to have to work that hard. That little chainsaw is irreplaceable for such work. Given it's light weight and small footprint, it is my go to survival pack tool for wilderness work. It'll do a pretty dang good job on branches and limbs too, long as they aren't too small. Then I can use that knife or axe or hatchet for splitting the bigger pieces.