Skip the cheap filing vises. Get the Granberg bar-mount.

The Granberg bar-mount is the only portable chainsaw filing vise worth your money. It clamps right onto the bar, holds the saw steady, and guides the file at the correct angle. Everything else is either a bench vise in disguise or a plastic toy that will let you down in the middle of a cut.

The whole thing folds flat, weighs almost nothing, and works on any bar. You’re not hauling a stump or a workbench into the woods. It just grabs the bar, you set the depth and angle, and you’re filing in under a minute. That’s what “portable” actually means.

The alternatives mostly miss the point. Some are “portable” in the sense that they can be carried, but still need a rigid anchor like a bench or a tailgate to clamp onto. Others are the cheap plastic clamp-and-guide combos that flex under pressure and wear out fast. The Granberg is steel, it clamps to the thing you already have—the saw itself—and it does the job.

For quick field sharpening, plenty of pros skip the vise entirely and just use a good file guide on a stump. But if you want a vise, want it to actually work, and want it to last, get the Granberg. A sharp chain is a safe chain. This is not where you save twenty bucks.