Chris Menz hadn’t had the chance to try a Silky saw until he became a Trail Guide for OnX.
“I’ve used a lot of saws over time,” said Menz. “My parents are landscapers, and I grew up landscaping and living on a 100-acre farm in southeast Missouri where we heated with wood. So there was always a lot of sawing in my life. I’ve used other handsaws, and none of them could take use and abuse for long. So when I got my first Silky I was pretty excited. I’ve been using my Bigboy Outback no holds barred, I’m taking it through its paces, and it’s holding up. It’s a huge advantage to have this saw in my arsenal of offroading tools.”

Besides the good looks and overall durability, Menz loves that his Bigboy Outback can cut in two positions. “Using the saw hyper-extended gives your hand some clearance from the object you’re sawing against, whether that’s a rock or a tree,” said Menz. “It gives an additional two to three inches of space so you’re not bloodying your knuckles. And when I’m cutting something on the ground, it’s a little more comfortable to use the saw in the wide open position.”

Menz was born and raised in Missouri, and he now lives less than 30-miles from where he grew up. He loves offroading in the Mark Twain and Shawnee National Forests. “Both Mark Twain and Shawnee get little use compared to a lot of national forests,” said Menz. “There are always branches that have grown out into the trails that need to be trimmed. My Bigboy is perfect for that task. I can hop out of my jeep and trim a limb without hurting the tree. Or if a tree or branch has fallen on the trail, unless it’s larger than 10” or so I can cut it out with my Bigboy faster than I could gassing and oiling up my chainsaw for the job.”

Menz says that since he got his Bigboy, it rides in his Jeep with him 24/7. “My Jeep is my daily driver and my trail rig,” says Menz. “The Bigboy is a vital tool to have wherever I am. Trail maintenance is where this saw has shined for me the most. But I’ve used it around my house too. I got a new place recently, and I pushed a trail through a 3/10 mile long treeline. I used the Bigboy to cut the corridor. Most of the trees I cut were 3” or so, but there were a couple of 6” trees, and my Bigboy took them out like a pro.”

Menz says that he used to offroad just for his own fun and relaxation. Now, he’s an OnX Trail Guide, he sees himself as a steward. Being an OnX guide has opened his eyes to historic places that need to be preserved, and the need for people who use the land to help care for it.

“I’ve always loved my home state of Missouri,” said Menz. “But now I have an even deeper appreciation for it, and I feel purpose in caring for the public lands that we here have to explore and discover. I spend a lot of my time finding once known spots that had been lost so that we can know them again. And while it’s cool to go and see places like Arches National Park in Utah, I appreciate the public lands at home as much as I appreciate traveling–the hills, the rivers, how the rivers shaped the land.”

“It doesn’t matter what your background is, or who you are, we can all do our part in protecting our lands,” said Menz. He encourages all trail users to invest some of their spare time, whether that’s five hours a year or five hours a week, to make public lands better.

“Even if you pick up one can or one floating plastic bag, if we all took even a small amount of time to do something to clean up, our world would be much better preserved for our children. I try to share my own appreciation of land access and my values with people to encourage them to take care of what we will one day pass on to our kids. Retaining access is very important to me. Being more conscious of how to be good stewards of what we’ve been given is top priority for me. I always ask people how many 10 second mistakes can we fix in 10 minutes? How many cans accidentally or deliberately find their way out a car window that can be picked up in five seconds? You can do a lot in 10 minutes. And if you keep doing, it has lasting impact.”