Forestry and firewood tool breakdown
There's a Flaw With How You Lift Firewood, and Your Lower Back Has Been Paying for It for Years.
How a chemical engineer, his wife, and their US Army veteran son invented a tool that changed the way over 100,000 people harvest firewood.
Jon, Lynne and Austin Roberts. Vermont.
You know the feeling. The deep stiffness the morning after a full day of bucking, hauling, and splitting firewood. The way your lower back locks up when you swing your legs out of bed. Two ibuprofen before coffee, and you're still wincing when you bend down to re-tie your boots at noon.
It didn't used to linger. Now it does. You push through it, ice your back on Sunday night, and show up the next weekend to do it again.
But what if there was a way to help avoid that ever happening?
The Part That's Breaking You Down
Analyze your body position the next time you pick up a round of firewood. Doesn't matter how you do it. Bare hands. Log tongs. Pulp hook. Every single method forces the same motion:bend at the waist, reach down, and muscle the round up off the ground. Your lower back takes the full weight of the load every time.
The motion every other method forces on you.
When you bend at the waist, your lower back isn't just lifting the wood. It's lifting everything above your belt at the same time, including the weight of your head and torso. So a 30-pound round hits your spine a lot harder than just 30 pounds, especially if you round your spine at all while bending over.
Even when you start with proper form, 'lift with your legs, not your back' playing on repeat in your head, the repetitive nature of lifting hundreds of rounds in a day makes that form break down.
But even if you could maintain perfect form all day, squatting down and standing back up for every single round wastes energy and wears you out long before the work is done.
Compound that over decades of work and your lower back doesn't recover between sessions anymore. The soreness from last weekend is still there when you start the next one.
The weight of the rounds was never the problem. The way you've been picking them up is.
Same Bend. Same Pain. Until Someone Finally Figured It Out.
Jon Roberts was a chemical engineer by trade and heated his Vermont home with wood for more than forty years. Every cord, every season, by hand.
He knew the soreness wasn't random. The same motion caused it every time. Bend down, grab the log round, lift upward. Pulp hook, bare hands, didn't matter. Whether he was lifting and carrying log rounds or loading his log splitter, the weight always ran straight through his lower back. And nothing on the market offered a better way.
So he did what engineers do and went looking for a solution. He started with a simple concept: an old school wooden cant hook modified with a grip that extended his reach and allowed him to lift from an upright position.
Jon Roberts with an early prototype and the finished MultiTool.
Over time, the prototype evolved until the grip sat horizontal instead of vertical, which helped put the load on the quads and glutes instead of the lower back. The design also created a pincer effect between the hook and toe, locking into the round securely in any weather conditions, which allowed him to engage and lift it without the strain caused by bending over.
Instead of stooping over to grab a log round by hand, or having to grab it just right with a set of finicky log hand tongs, you stand next to it, bend slightly at the knees, drop the hook, and stand straight up. The LogOX Hauler's patented design holds the round securely until you're ready to easily release it, and positions your body more ergonomically, so your back, arms and quads require less muscle exertion, reducing strain and fatigue, for better productivity and recovery.
Hauler loading a log splitter.
He patented the design. But getting it to market would prove harder than building it.
They Bet Their Retirement On It
Jon had the patent, but he was still working his day job running a manufacturing division. In June of 2016, his company was acquired, restructured, and Jon, along with 17 of his colleagues, were let go overnight.
At 61 and unemployed for the first time since graduating college, he spent months searching. Headhunters, job boards, cold applications. No luck. The delay was becoming more uncomfortable by the day.
His wife Lynne saw it differently. She'd spent years watching him drive ninety minutes each way to manage six plants, come home at 7:30, eat dinner, and do it again the next morning. When the layoff hit, she called it a blessing in disguise.
"Jon, this is a fantastic tool. We just need to get it out there"
Lynne Roberts
So they pulled from their retirement savings and funded the first production run.
Around the same time, their son Austin was finishing eight years of active duty in the US Army, including a combat deployment to Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division. After leaving the Army in 2016, he too went all in on the family business.
They partnered with a manufacturer in Missouri for the steel sourcing and fabrication, and sourced hardwood handles from Maine. Then they loaded up the family car and started selling them out of the back of it at logging shows and fairs across New England.
LogOX remains committed to supporting American jobs. All LogOX brand and other products sold on thelogox.com are proudly made in the USA.
The Hauler Fixed the Lift. Then They Solved Two More Problems.
The Hauler fixed the lifting problem. But as the Roberts family continued building the business and processing their own wood, they noticed something else. Every downed tree they processed followed the same sequence:
- 1
You remove branches from the crown of the tree and buck up the smaller diameter wood, while trying to avoid striking the ground.
- 2
You buck up the main section of the tree, rolling it over to avoid pinching your bar.
- 3
You lift each log round and move them to a central pile or load them into a wagon.
Three separate jobs that used to require buying and lugging multiple hand tools around the woods with you. So they added two attachments, a cant handle extension and timberjack, to the LogOX Hauler and turned it into the modular 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool.
The whole system is dead simple:
- 1
The Timberjack
The initial timberjack “T” design looked like every other timberjack on the market did back then and still does now, but like those designs it was prone to sinking into the soft Vermont forest soil. That is why in 2022 the Roberts designed and patented the BigFoot Timberjack, along with four other improvements to the MultiTool. It has 3X more ground connection for better stability while bucking with a chainsaw.
The BigFoot Timberjack and cant handle extension attach to the Hauler with Swing-Lock Pins, creating the leverage to lift and buck up the smaller diameter portion of the tree off the ground, keeping your chain out of the dirt and sharp.
- 2
The Cant Hook
With 40 inches of leverage, using the LogOX as a cant hook helps you easily reposition a log or free a pinched bar. It's the perfect companion for your chainsaw and portable sawmill.
- 3
The Hauler
Once the rounds are cut, remove both attachments and use the Hauler to consolidate them into a pile while standing upright. Your legs carry the load, and your back does far less.
One tool handles the bucking, rolling, and lifting of log rounds. Nothing to swap between the truck bed and the stump.
But the part that sticks with you is the end of the day. You processed the full pile instead of half of it. You're tired the way you should be after a day in the woods, but not hurt.
And the next morning, your back doesn't get a veto on whether you go again.
What One Multi-Use Tool Replaces
Count the tools in your truck bed or toolshed right now. A cant hook. A timberjack. Tongs or a pickaroon. Maybe a peavey you inherited that's seen better days. Each one does a single job, and together they cost more than the one tool that replaces all of them.
Most people who opt for quality versions of those tools individually land somewhere north of $500. The 3-in-1 does every one of those jobs, just as well if not better, for $289, fits in a single carry bag, and ships with a lifetime warranty.
There's no shortage of $40 cant hooks online. Read the reviews before you buy one. Bent handles on the first use. Joints that rattle loose after a season. Hardware that rusts through before spring.
Cheap tools don't save you money. They just spread the cost you'll eventually pay over more trips to the checkout.
LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool
$289
- Ergonomic - Designed to lift logs without bending and save your back.
- Work faster - Move, lift, and roll logs with less effort.
- Built to last - Made in the USA and guaranteed for life.
See the MultiTool in Action
Hear From LogOX Customers
4.9 stars across 800+ verified customer reviews. Here's what owners are saying.
Keeps me in the game
“After two back surgeries this keeps me in the game.”
Made in the USA, built to last
“I got the entire 'system.' It saves my back while bucking and pop a couple pins out, and it saves my back hauling. Pricier than the cheap stuff, but this is made in the USA and Veteran owned. Solid, heavy duty construction and will last a lifetime. You won't be disappointed.”
Unbelievably impressive
“I will turn 69 years old soon, been cutting wood since I was a young teenager. I admit I was a bit skeptical, but the first time I used the LogOx I knew I would never head to woods without it. So much easier to pickup chunks without bending over. Less tired after a weekend of using LogOx. Very happy customer!”
85 pounds and moved a telephone pole
“I weigh 85 pounds and use it to move logs with ease. Recently I moved/rolled a telephone pole without any other assistance.”
Bought my own after the first day
“A friend lent me his Log Ox and I wound up buying my own after the first day. The cant hook configuration is great for rolling large diameter rounds over to the splitting stump. The hauler configuration is great for carrying the medium and small rounds.”
Worth the cost alone
““The ability to buck up a log so I can cut completely through without pinching my saw blade is worth the cost alone.””
Frequently Asked Questions
Why choose the LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool over other cant hooks or timberjacks?
The LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool was engineered with woodsmen and women in mind. Unlike other cant hooks or timberjacks that are built with cheap materials or only serve one purpose, the LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool is an all-in-one tool that gives you everything you need when working with heavy logs. You'll only need this tool and a trusty chainsaw to become a one-person team in the forest.
Is it a hassle switching between the three modes in the field?
Not at all. The Swing-Lock pins snap in and out by hand in seconds without the need for a wrench or loose bolts.
Where is the LogOX Forestry MultiTool made?
Everything sold on the LogOX website is made in the USA, with as many domestically sourced components as possible. The LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool uses American steel and hardwood, and is manufactured in Lugoff, SC. The LogOX company is headquartered in Arlington, VT, where products are developed and extensively field-tested. LogOX is an independently owned and SBA-certified WOSB.
Who is the LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool for?
It is for woodsmen and women around the world who want to enjoy tree work and heating with firewood again, with less strain, fatigue and far fewer injuries. If you work with a chainsaw, log splitter or portable sawmill, the 3-in-1 is a must-have tool that can go anywhere that you do.
Is this overkill for a casual property owner?
Not at all. In fact, casual landowners benefit most. The Forestry MultiTool makes heavy jobs feel lighter, so you don't burn yourself out. Most landowners say it's the tool they didn't realize they needed, until they used it.
What if it is not for me?
You have 90 days to send it back for your money. If it ever fails after that, the lifetime warranty covers it.
