I've never carried a saw or an ax in many years of camping.

Just got back from a three-day trip in which I carried a $10 Cogland brand Sierra Saw which I purchased after looking longingly at some very similar saws for $30 by a different manufacturer.

The Cogland really worked nicely. One campsite was in a meadow that was oddly surrounded by almost nothing but white pine. A fair way up the trail, I found a small, dead cherry tree, sawed it down, dragged it to camp and sawed it into usable pieces. Thus we were saved from cooking on sappy stinky pine, which makes lousy coals. During the trip, I roasted corn ears, pork chops, steak and potatoes, and toasted bread. (No biscuits.)

Both camps were in overgrown farm-type meadows, and the saw also worked wonders as a crude mowing device, which provided some very nice enhancement to the tent sites.

I much look forward to using the saw for winter camping in southern half of New York State, when the temperature is often perfect for warming one's self by a sizable campfire (rather than desperately cold).

Cogland, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, makes a vast array of cheap camping accessories, some of which are downright cheesy. I'd say their Sierra Saw is a solid $10 purchase -- and an instance where premium equipment isn't necessarily worth the money.