I had brought with me on our Big Lap trip a small saw that I had purchased at Bunnings quite some time ago.  It tended to live in the back of the Land Rover together with an axe, primarily for sorting firewood out.  The first major use for this saw was on the Telegraph Track in Western Australia along the south coast,  you can read about the trip report here.  We had a tree down blocking our way after 2 days solid driving and passing nobody.  The only way was to cut through this or return along the same narrow track.  I had not wanted to bring a chainsaw on this trip due to the weight and space so was left with a small saw to get the job done.  After a lot of effort I managed to clear the track to move forward but from then on I realised I needed a better saw.

I had seen the videos from Drifta on the Silky BigBoy and thought that was the one for me.  There are a number of other smaller and even larger saws from Silky that Drifta stock however this seems to be a good one without going too big.  There are lots of different options on these saws but really you need to think what you will be using it for and work from there.  You may find you need more than one!  My use was for firewood and also clearing tracks of small trees, anything too big I knew we would have to retreat unless we also have a chainsaw or maybe I also need the Silky Katana Boy!  I chose the Large Tooth BigBoy with the red handle and there is also a medium tooth size with a black handle but not much difference between the two.

Silky is a Japanese company who make a huge number of different saws and Drifta has selected the ones best for the Australian 4WD and Camping market.  A word of caution if you find these on eBay you are likely looking at the cheaper local Japanese version of the saw with thinner blades and not as strong as there professional series which is imported to Australia.

I have put together a video review of the BigBoy kit I have from Drifta…

The Silky BigBoy is available as a kit from Drifta which comes with a soft bag and spare blade so well worth going for the kit and saving a few dollars.  I find the bag is superb for keeping the saw in good condition and keeps it protected in the back of my vehicle.  You can also purchase the BigBoy on it’s own though if you don’t need the bag or blade.

Checkout the BigBoy Kit here

Checkout the BigBoy on it’s own here

Checkout the full range of Silky Saws that Drifta sell on their website here