Bahco Laplander and 4 Camp Saws That Out-Cut Their Price

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If you’ve ever stood at a campsite with a cold firewood pile and a hardware-store folding saw that jammed halfway through the second log, you already know the problem. A good folding saw is the difference between a warm evening and a four-dollar fuel-can run that turns into twenty dollars before you stop counting. The Bahco Laplander is the saw every other folding saw gets measured against, and everything past it buys either blade length for bigger logs or cutting speed for green wood. Here’s how five real options stack up when the wood is dry, the air is cold, and the hardware-store special is back at home, jammed with sawdust.

Five folding saws, all under $90, all available right now. Let’s cut to it.

Bahco 396-LAP Laplander Folding Saw — The 20-Dollar Benchmark

The Bahco 396-LAP Laplander is the folding saw every reviewer owns, and it costs about $24. A 7.5-inch blade cuts on both the push and pull strokes, locks open and closed, and handles four-inch logs without complaint. At under nine ounces, it disappears into a pack pocket and you forget it’s there until you need it. The blade is XT hardpoint — meaning the teeth are impulse-hardened and cannot be filed. When it dulls, you buy a replacement blade for about $10 instead of sharpening. For most campers, that’s a feature, not a bug: no sharpening maintenance, ever.

The Laplander’s weakness is its size ceiling. Four-inch logs are its comfortable max; push past that and the stroke gets short and the saw binds. It’s also a deadwood saw — the tooth geometry is tuned for seasoned wood, not green branches.

My take: If you buy one folding saw in your life, buy this one. It’s the benchmark because it earns it.

Sven-Saw 15-Inch Folding Saw — The Big-Wood Pocket Saw

The Sven-Saw 15-Inch Folding Saw costs about $50 and solves the Laplander’s size problem. American-made with a triangular blade that packs flat at 17 inches, it handles seasoned logs the Laplander can’t open. The trade-off is assembly: you thread the blade onto the spine every time you set up, which is a genuine cold-hands chore when the temperature drops. The blade tension is excellent once assembled — the triangular design is rigid and doesn’t flex under load the way hinged folding saws can.

At about 11 ounces it’s still packable, but the 17-inch folded length means it rides in a larger pocket or straps to the outside of a pack. This is the saw for trips where you know you’ll be processing larger-diameter firewood and you’re willing to trade one-handed deployment for a longer blade.

My take: The saw for car campers and basecamp hunters who need bigger logs and don’t mind two-minute assembly.

Agawa BOREAL21 21-Inch Folding Saw — The Basecamp Workhorse

The Agawa BOREAL21 21-Inch Folding Saw at about $85 is the 21-inch answer when a firewood pile is a real job, not a handful of sticks. The 21-inch blade turns a cord-wood pile into a one-hour task, and the folding design packs flatter than a bow saw. At roughly 14 ounces, it’s still one-handed, but the folded length means it’s a car-camping and canoe-trip saw, not something that fits a daypack.

The BOREAL21’s advantage over a traditional Sven-Saw is the push-button deployment — no threading a blade onto a spine. The trade-off is the price: at $85, you’re paying nearly double the Laplander for length you only need on bigger trips. If your camping is mostly weekend car trips with occasional firewood duty, this is overkill.

My take: The saw for groups and basecamps where one saw does everyone’s firewood for the weekend.

Silky GomBoy Professional Folding Saw 240mm — The Green-Wood Speed Saw

The Silky GomBoy Professional 240mm at about $70 is the saw that makes everyone else’s teeth look slow. Japanese impulse-hardened teeth cut green wood nearly twice as fast as the Laplander, and the rubberized folding lock is the best in the business. If you’re clearing trail, pruning live branches, or building brush shelters, this is the saw that gets it done before your hands get cold.

The aggressive tooth geometry is the trade-off. The GomBoy tears bark on finishing cuts — it’s a felling and bucking saw, not a carving or fine-notching saw. And at $70, it’s three-and-a-half times the Laplander’s price for a speed advantage you only feel in green wood. For deadwood firewood processing, the Laplander keeps up fine.

My take: The trail-maintenance and green-wood specialist. If your sawing is mostly dead firewood, save the money.

Corona RazorTOOTH 7-Inch Folding Pruning Saw — Cheapest Acceptable

The Corona RazorTOOTH 7-Inch Folding Saw at about $20 is the hardware-aisle pick that actually works. Real aggressive triple-cut teeth out-cut every discount saw at this price, and the blade locks open with a spring-loaded latch. For a car-camping firewood saw that you won’t cry over if it gets lost, this is the one.

The trade-off is durability. The stamped handle flexes under heavy load, and the lock wears loose after a hard season of use. The blade is replaceable, but the tooth geometry is coarser than the Laplander, so it’s rougher on small branches and finishes less clean. This is a saw you buy for one season of car camping, not a lifetime of backpacking.

My take: The best $20 saw on the market. Keep one in the truck kit and don’t worry about it.

Features That Actually Matter (And Ones That Don’t)

Blade length: 7-8 inches handles 4-inch logs (most camp firewood). 15+ inches handles 6-8 inch logs. Match the blade to the wood you actually cut, not the wood you imagine cutting.

Cut direction: Saws that cut on both strokes (Bahco, Silky) clear sawdust faster and bind less in wet wood. Single-direction saws are slower but cheaper to manufacture.

Lock mechanism: A solid lock is non-negotiable. A saw that folds on your hand under load is a trip to urgent care, not a camp inconvenience. Test the lock before every cut.

Blade replaceability: Hardpoint/impulse-hardened teeth can’t be filed. When they dull, you replace the blade. This is fine — the replacement costs less than a sharpening service.

What doesn’t matter: Handle material (rubber vs. wood — both work), color, brand reputation beyond the models listed here. The cutting performance is in the tooth geometry and blade length, not the aesthetics.

What to Spend Where

• $20-25 (budget): Bahco Laplander or Corona RazorTOOTH — both cut above their price, both replaceable when dull.
• $50-70 (sweet spot): Sven-Saw 15-inch for big logs or Silky GomBoy for green-wood speed. Pick based on what you cut, not on brand loyalty.
• $85+ (basecamp): Agawa BOREAL21 for group firewood duty. Only worth it if you’re processing real volume.

Keep reading: Check out our guide to hot tents with stove jacks (the real fix for the fuel-can spiral), our pocket knife guide for beginners, and the beginner camping hammock roundup.

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