Plastic felling wedges: what to decide first
Updated: 22 October 2026
You already know you need something plastic in the back cut, not a hardened steel wedge from the firewood aisle. What the amazon.co.uk listings will not put in one place is the order of decisions: job first, then material beside the chain, then length and count, then grip and colour, and only then which pack in the [felling wedge comparison](/hub/forestry-tools/felling-wedge) matches your kit. This guide is that sequence. It does not crown a single ASIN. Peter F. read the kept listings and the public UK sources below, and did not lab-test the wedges. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You already know you need something plastic in the back cut, not a hardened steel wedge from the firewood aisle.
You already know you need something plastic in the back cut, not a hardened steel wedge from the firewood aisle. What the amazon.co.uk listings will not put in one place is the order of decisions: job first, then material beside the chain, then length and count, then grip and colour, and only then which pack in the felling wedge comparison matches your kit. This guide is that sequence. It does not crown a single ASIN. Peter F. read the kept listings and the public UK sources below, and did not lab-test the wedges. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Material | Lengths | Grip | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  LDXDRU LDXDRU 6, 8 and 10 inch | ABS plastic | 6, 8 and 10 inch | Barbed scales | 10.0 | about £17.99 | View offer |
 AR-PRO AR-PRO 8 and 5.5 inch | ABS; spec says Metal | 8 and 5.5 inch | Spikes | 9.2 | about £14.22 | View offer | |
| Best value |  kuzuryu kuzuryu 5.5 inch 6-pack | ABS plastic | 5.5 inch only | Angled anti-slip teeth | 9.0 | about £10.37 | View offer |
On this page
What you are buying
A felling wedge is driven into an unfinished back cut so the kerf stays open, the bar is less likely to pinch, and the stem can lift toward a notch you have already made. Husqvarna's UK chainsaw academy describes plastic or aluminium wedges used while the saw is still in the operation, with a textured face so wet or frozen wood does not spit the wedge back out. The kept packs are mostly ABS, about 5.5 inch to 10 inch, from one wedge to six pieces. None replaces training, a planned hinge, an escape route, or the PPE in HSE's INDG317 leaflet.
Material and grip
Beside a chain, ask whether a glancing contact is less catastrophic than hardened steel. Husqvarna UK groups high-impact plastic and aluminium as felling materials. STIHL's UK shop sells polyamide wedges from about £11, and aluminium felling-and-cleaving wedges at a higher price. Neither is one of these ASINs. Bullets for QWORK, Poweka, kuzuryu, LDXDRU and AR-PRO say ABS. One AR-PRO listing also has a technical field that says Metal.
A wedge that slides on the first strike tempts harder hammering. Bullets say anti-slip teeth, barbed scales, spikes, a feed groove, or felling dogs. A smooth face on the Poweka pair lets a second wedge overlap. The shared QWORK pool includes a slip complaint, while UK lines in the same pool call them strong. Orange or yellow is easier to find in brash. The frost-resistant bullets on QWORK and LDXDRU print no Celsius number.
How many, and what else is in the box
Husqvarna's UK guidance is to carry more than one length, and to expect one, two or three wedges on a single fell. For occasional garden timber, pocket a short wedge plus one longer spare, or buy a mix that already pairs 5.5 inch with 8 inch, or 6 inch with 8 inch. A large, dead, hung-up or wrong-leaning tree is not made safe by the count on the label.
The title count is not always what arrives. Shared AR-PRO reviews describe five wedges in a six-pack, or mismatched large and small counts. A Poweka UK review says only one wedge arrived against a two-pack title. Check at unboxing. That is a shipment theme, not a measured defect rate. LDXDRU's title says six wedges, the part number contains 8pcs, and the bullets do not split the lengths. LDXDRU and kuzuryu state gloves or a mesh bag. Several QWORK bullets do not promise a bag. A mesh bag lives in the van. It is not a belt pouch.
What the price bands actually buy
Prices here cluster. About £10 to £13 buys a single length or a lone wedge: kuzuryu six 5.5 inch pieces at about £10.37, ORETG45 at about £10.34, QWORK four 6 inch wedges at about £10.99, and Poweka two 10 inch wedges at about £12.99. About £14 to £18 buys mixed packs, including QWORK's 6 and 8 inch five-pack at about £16.45 and LDXDRU at about £17.99. The AR-PRO pack with two each of 10, 8 and 5.5 inch is about £21.49.
Length mix and count move the price. A six-pack under £15 is economy kit next to one branded STIHL polyamide wedge. Three AR-PRO ASINs share 4.6 from 5,561, and two QWORK ASINs share 4.5 from 68. The best felling wedges page then names the listing for thin stems, a mixed bag, or a 10 inch pair.
Common questions
Plastic or aluminium for a saw that is still in the cut?
Use plastic or aluminium felling wedges made for the back cut, not a hardened steel splitter. Husqvarna UK puts plastic and aluminium in the felling group because they are less likely to wreck the chain than steel. Aluminium wedges on STIHL's UK site are sold for felling and cleaving, with a smooth side for stacking. They are still not the drop-forged steel splitter left out of this table.
Do spikes matter, or is a groove enough?
Texture on the faces that sit in the wood matters more than the adjective on the bullet. Spikes, barbs or scales bite on the first strike. A feed groove helps the wedge travel. If a shared review pool mentions slip, strike squarely and pick a brighter colour you can find in brash. A second hammer does not fix a smooth face.
How many wedges should a householder carry?
At least two useful lengths, or two wedges of the same length if you stack them, plus the expectation that plastic tips chip and need replacing. Husqvarna's line of one to three wedges is for real leans, not for every garden sapling. A large, dead or hung-up tree is a stop, whatever the label count says.
Does frost resistant on an ABS bullet mean a tested temperature?
No Celsius figure is printed on the QWORK or LDXDRU listings. Treat frost resistant as seller copy unless the product you bought is a branded wedge whose dealer page names a temperature. A -25 °C impact figure on an Oregon or Notch dealer page does not transfer to these bullets.
Why do three AR-PRO listings share one star line?
Amazon often copies review blocks across pack variants. The 4.6 from 5,561 count is shared across B087CR2TG8, B08PP2933Y and B08PNQRCCM. It is not proof that each length mix was tested on its own. Treat that star line as one pool.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources from the research digest, retrieved on 22 October 2026. amazon.co.uk listing fields are cited on the product cards.
- Husqvarna UK, Felling wedges (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- HSE, Working with chainsaws (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- GOV.UK, When a felling licence is needed (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Forestry Act 1967, section 9 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- GOV.UK, Tree felling: getting permission (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- HSE INDG317 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- STIHL UK plastic wedges (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Forestry Commission eAlert, 28 June 2018 (retrieved 22 October 2026)