diff --git a/inst/include/TreeTools/SplitList.h b/inst/include/TreeTools/SplitList.h
index e827d8d9..067f069b 100644
--- a/inst/include/TreeTools/SplitList.h
+++ b/inst/include/TreeTools/SplitList.h
@@ -13,15 +13,19 @@ using splitbit = uint_fast64_t;
 
 #define R_BIN_SIZE int16(8)
 #define SL_BIN_SIZE int16(64)
-#define SL_MAX_BINS int16(32)
+#define SL_MAX_BINS int16(512)
 
-/* * Stack allocation limits (Legacy support for speed)
- * Trees smaller than this will use stack arrays.
- * Trees larger will trigger heap allocation.
- */
-#define SL_MAX_TIPS (SL_BIN_SIZE * SL_MAX_BINS) // 2048
+#define SL_MAX_TIPS (SL_BIN_SIZE * SL_MAX_BINS) // 32768
 #define SL_MAX_SPLITS (SL_MAX_TIPS - 3) 
 
+/* Stack allocation thresholds.
+ * Trees with n_splits <= SL_STACK_SPLITS AND n_bins <= SL_STACK_BINS
+ * use fast stack arrays; larger trees fall back to heap allocation.
+ * Kept at the pre-v1.16 values to avoid bloating SplitList objects.
+ */
+#define SL_STACK_BINS int16(32)
+#define SL_STACK_SPLITS int16(SL_BIN_SIZE * SL_STACK_BINS - 3) // 2045
+
 #define INLASTBIN(n, size) int16((size) - int16((size) - int16((n) % (size))) % (size))
 #define INSUBBIN(bin, offset)                                  \
   splitbit(x(split, ((bin) * input_bins_per_bin) + (offset)))
@@ -75,10 +79,10 @@ namespace TreeTools {
     splitbit** state;
   
   private:
-    /* STACK STORAGE (Fast path for small trees) */
-    int32 stack_in_split[SL_MAX_SPLITS];
-    splitbit stack_state[SL_MAX_SPLITS][SL_MAX_BINS];
-    splitbit* stack_rows[SL_MAX_SPLITS];
+    /* STACK STORAGE (Fast path for small trees ≤ SL_STACK_SPLITS splits) */
+    int32 stack_in_split[SL_STACK_SPLITS];
+    splitbit stack_state[SL_STACK_SPLITS][SL_STACK_BINS];
+    splitbit* stack_rows[SL_STACK_SPLITS];
     
     /* HEAP STORAGE (Large trees) */
     std::vector<int32> heap_in_split;
@@ -102,7 +106,7 @@ namespace TreeTools {
       ASSERT(n_input_bins > 0);
       n_bins = int32(n_input_bins + R_BIN_SIZE - 1) / input_bins_per_bin;
       
-      bool use_heap = (n_splits > SL_MAX_SPLITS) || (n_bins > SL_MAX_BINS);
+      bool use_heap = (n_splits > SL_STACK_SPLITS) || (n_bins > SL_STACK_BINS);
       
       if (use_heap) {
         heap_in_split.resize(n_splits, 0);
diff --git a/src/splits_to_tree.cpp b/src/splits_to_tree.cpp
index 11ed9eab..b7b518cd 100644
--- a/src/splits_to_tree.cpp
+++ b/src/splits_to_tree.cpp
@@ -31,11 +31,13 @@ IntegerMatrix splits_to_edge(const RawMatrix splits, const IntegerVector nTip) {
   const SplitList x(splits);
   
   // Decide whether to use stack or heap allocation based on tree size
-  const bool use_heap = (n_tip > SL_MAX_TIPS) || (x.n_splits > SL_MAX_SPLITS);
+  // Use stack arrays for small trees, heap for large
+  constexpr int32 stack_tip_lim = SL_BIN_SIZE * SL_STACK_BINS;
+  const bool use_heap = (n_tip > stack_tip_lim) || (x.n_splits > SL_STACK_SPLITS);
   
   // Stack allocation for small trees (fast path)
-  alignas(64) std::array<int32, SL_MAX_TIPS + SL_MAX_SPLITS> stack_parent{};
-  alignas(64) std::array<int32, SL_MAX_TIPS> stack_patriarch{};
+  alignas(64) std::array<int32, stack_tip_lim + SL_STACK_SPLITS> stack_parent{};
+  alignas(64) std::array<int32, stack_tip_lim> stack_patriarch{};
   
   // Heap allocation for large trees
   std::vector<int32> heap_parent;