I thought biodrive as well
Whew, had me worried for a second. I read the title and thought you were talking about the manual bow saws like we used as kids in scouts. I sure as heck wasn't going to trade the stihls in for those things.
I cut around five cords a year for five winters with a 30 inch sandvik bowsaw when I lived in Maine. Split what needed splitting with a light general purpose axe, wasn't even a maul.
I learned a LOT about felling, pinch points, straight cutting and sharp edges and getting down with hand splitting technique (technique beats grunt most of the time), doing all that by hand. Proly could still do it, just takes some time and yes you get some manly man arms out of the deal...
Now I did get a chainsaw then (a cox with a left hand bar, I related its demise here before...), but I strictly segregated my cutting, stuff cut with the chain saw was for sale, all my own stuff I did by hand.
Back then I never saw a gas bowsaw used, nor have I since then, no experience with them. I saw stihls, jonsereds and poulans mostly. I did see a gas reciprocating saw (guessing it was a Wright) but never in action. Old logger and mill owner had it, didn't like it much is what he said.
His skidder was an old war surplus tank! The turret was off so it was a convertible... that thing could drag some wood, tell ya whut....He used that for pulp, loaded the logs on a big what he called a "scoot" just a huge sled, with runners, no wheels. Ya, it left some ruts, but it was mostly used in hard winter with frozen ground...he left it abandoned one day when he stopped doing pulp and went to saw logs, really not far from a road, and told anyone they could have it if they could drag it out..no takers.
