Hi-Viz Hardbody Felling Wedge

A hi-viz hardbody felling wedge is a plastic wedge you drive into the back cut to keep it open and lift the tree toward the face. The hard body takes heavy blows, and the bright color makes it easy to find in leaves and brush.

What a wedge does

Set a wedge in the back cut as soon as there is room, and it keeps the kerf from closing and pinching the bar. Drive it further and it lifts the tree toward the face cut, which helps on trees with a slight back lean. Plastic wedges are used because a chain that touches one is not ruined, unlike steel. A hard body resists mushrooming when you hit it with an axe or sledge.

Hi-viz color matters more than people think. A wedge dropped in leaves is gone for good.

Carry a small axe or a hand sledge to drive wedges, since hitting one with the back of a saw or another wedge does damage. Keep spares in the truck, as wedges get lost under brush, buried in leaves, or split after hard use. Hard plastic wedges are cheap enough that it pays to have extras on hand.

Using wedges safely

Wedges help but they do not fix poor felling cuts or a heavy back lean. Plan the escape route, keep the hinge intact, and stack wedges or use a pull line for trees you are unsure of. Felling should only be done by trained operators.

See more sizes and styles in our felling wedges section.