Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

Hand log tongs or a tractor grapple

Updated: October 2026

The same search can return an 800 g scissor you walk to the stove or a 22 kg claw that belongs on a chain. Hand log tongs or a tractor grapple is that split. If you lift the log yourself, buy the hand tong. If a machine lifts it, buy a grapple and still plan for someone on the ground. A cant hook, which only rolls a stem, stays an exclusion on the [log lifting tongs comparison](/hub/pliers/log-lifting-tongs). The Products Compared editorial team used stored amazon.co.uk listings on 16 October 2026 and did not hitch a claw. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The same search can return an 800 g scissor you walk to the stove or a 22 kg claw that belongs on a chain. Hand log tongs or a tractor grapple is that split. If you lift the log yourself, buy the hand tong.

Our top picks

TOPWAY TOPWAY 300 mm log tongs

Best overall

TOPWAY TOPWAY 300 mm log tongs
7.6/10about £18.99
View offer
FITOOL FITOOL 300 mm log tongs

Rank 2

FITOOL FITOOL 300 mm log tongs
8.2/10about £21.99
View offer
Insaga Insaga 81 cm 4-claw tong

Alternative

Insaga Insaga 81 cm 4-claw tong
6.2/10about £111.45
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.When the hand tong is the tool
  2. 2.When the grapple is the tool
  3. 3.Dragging is not the same job
  4. 4.The condition

When the hand tong is the tool

You are the crane when the round fits one person’s hands and a jaw you have measured. In this set that tool weighs 750 g to 1.46 kg and costs £18.99 to £21.99. FITOOL is £21.99 at 4.4 from 598 reviews, with a 300 mm claim. Several notes call it a back saver on rounds the jaw will span. More than one says the arms bend or buckle, including one that names 10 kg logs. You can grip the near end of a length and let the far end slide. The hand stroke is how to use log tongs.

When the grapple is the tool

A 4-claw here weighs 16.2 kg to 22.5 kg. Garvee is £65.99 and 22.5 kg, with a 360° swivel and a 3.6 ton bullet, and with no review line. The Insaga swivel, B0DRFWDRN6, is £94.58 and 16.2 kg. The Insaga 81 cm tong, B0D3TY975J, is £111.45 and 16.3 kg, and its bullets do not list a swivel. You set the claw around the log, the chain takes the strain, and the jaws close. A review on B0D3TY975J says you get off the tractor to set and release it. A review on the swivel ASIN describes one person on the tractor and others at each end. Chris Forestry’s 42 cm tong, at £68 and 4 kg with a stated 1.5 tonne, is not a rating of these Insaga ASINs. Jaw claims are on the log tongs buying guide.
TOPWAY TOPWAY 300 mm log tongs

Testsieger

TOPWAY TOPWAY 300 mm log tongs
7.6/10about £18.99
View offer

Dragging is not the same job

Hand tongs are the drag-and-carry tool. You bite, you slide the round, you put it down, you release. Two reviews of B0D3TY975J say dragging twists or bends the claw, while the title still says dragging. Lifting, with the chain going up, is what they say the claw holds for. The person on the ground should set and release, not use the claw as a skid back to the yard. Garvee’s title lists a tractor, skidder, forklift, truck, and ATV, and it names no hitch standard. At 22.5 kg you are shifting the frame before it has lifted anything.

The condition

Choose the hand tong when you carry or drag stove rounds that fit a jaw you have checked, and you accept the FITOOL bend reports or TOPWAY’s file of 21 reviews. Choose a grapple when a machine lifts and someone is already planned on the ground. Do not treat Garvee’s 3.6 ton as settled while the file has no reviews. Skip the £94.58 swivel when two UK reviews say a weld failed on the first use or the second lift. A hanging log at work is on log tongs lifting or skidding. Orange paint is not a capacity.

Common questions

Can I carry the 4-claw in my hands?
Not as a woodpile tool. The Insaga 81 cm claw is 16.3 kg and Garvee is 22.5 kg. A review on B0D3TY975J says it is too heavy to use by hand and that you dismount to set it. The hand tongs here weigh 750 g to 1.46 kg.
Will the hand tong drag a long length?
It can hold the near end while the far end stays on the ground. That is a drag, not a lift of the whole length. FITOOL’s 300 mm jaw still has to fit the diameter, and reviews include bent arms on modest logs. A butt that must leave the ground belongs on a machine, not on a harder pull.
Do I stay on the tractor?
No. Reviews of these 4-claws say you get off to set and release the jaws. One note on the swivel Insaga describes one person on the tractor and others at the ends. The swivel stops the hook winding up. It does not remove the person standing at the log.
What is the swivel for?
It lets the hook turn as the log swings. B0DRFWDRN6 and the Garvee listing advertise a 360° hook. The £111.45 Insaga does not list a swivel in the bullets, and a review wanted one. A swivel is not a load rating. On B0DRFWDRN6 it sits beside UK reviews of welds that failed on the first lifts.
Why do reviews say dragging bends the grapple?
Two reviews of the Insaga 81 cm claw say it is for lifting and that a sideways drag twists or bends it. The title still says dragging. Those notes describe a pull along the ground, not a chain going up. Use a hand tong for that drag, and do not keep pulling on a bent arm.
Is a 22 kg tool a problem before it lifts anything?
Yes. Garvee’s 22.5 kg is the weight you shift on the ground to place the claw, before a log is in it. Insaga is about 16 kg, which a review already calls too heavy for hand use. Chris Forestry’s 4 kg listing at £68 does not transfer its stated 1.5 tonne to Garvee.

Related pages

Best log lifting tongs

Log lifting tongs

Log tongs buying guide for a UK woodpile or tractor

How to use log tongs: bite, drag, and then release

Log tongs lifting or skidding: yard drag or a lift

Sources

Public UK sources and the stored amazon.co.uk listings, checked on 16 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the UK figures in the display file.

  1. HSE INDG318: Manual handling solutions in woodworking (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. HSE INDG143: Manual handling at work (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. HSE: Lifting equipment in forestry (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. LOLER 1998, regulation 9 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. PUWER 1998, regulation 4 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK: Product marking, UKCA and CE (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. Chris Forestry: 42 cm timber tongs, 1.5 tonne (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. Woodsmith: Bahco lifting tongs (retrieved 16 October 2026)