Best Backpacking Axe

[Anonymous]

Hey Guys, I'm looking at grabbing a lightweight(somewhat) smaller hatchet for limbing trees while backpacking. I think the Gransfors #425 Outdoor looks like a great option all the way around. Any other suggestions or thoughts?

[Gator Paddler]

I love my Gransfor Bruk wildlife hatchet, but I have never backpacked with it (and probably never will). I believe the outdoor axe is a fairly new hatchet, as it wasn't available when I got mine. I did hold one earlier this year and thought it felt good, though. They also have the small hatchet that weighs 300 grams. You can't really go wrong with the brand, but there are other options. Husqvarna makes good hatchets at a lower price. I guess the choice really depends on what you plan to do with and your budget.

[Tony Campana]

I have my small Wetterlings camp hatchet from my bushcraft days. It worked well for short trips. But now I carry my Balco saw and it does everything I need to have wood for my Element stove saving a bunch of ounces.

[Derrick White]

I have both the GB Wildlife(23oz) and the GB Mini Hatchet(13oz). The former I have used extensively and love, but the latter I just purchased and like its size, weight and feel, but haven't put it to use yet, so can't really comment adequately. The function of an axe requires weight to work, and I am curious how a mere 13 oz performs. I read that GB bought Wetterlings, and while Wetterlings make good axes, their quality control is spotty, and their best axes would be inferior to GB. But who knows until you use both. It may be marketing hype. I do know that GB is unreasonably expensive. Derrick

[Andy F]

I really like the look and feel of traditional wood handles, but I'm learning toward the Fiskars X7 hatchet: http://rockymountainbushcraft.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-new-fiskars-x7-hatchetbudget.html

[Justin Baker]

Go for a hatchet with a light head relative to it's handle length. You get more capability for the weight that way than with a heavy head relative to the handle length. The granfors bruks wildlife hatchet is a good balance. The mini hatchet is good too. Just depends on what you want and are willing to carry. Now get ready for the flood of people questioning why you would carry a hatchet backpacking.

[Justin Baker]

The Fiskars axes are nice and light. Not a fan of the full flat wedge grind. It can chip easily. But still a good option.

[Mike M]

not sure what you're needing to limb trees for, but a saw for about a third of the weight should take care of any limbing needs pretty handily I'll sometimes bring a small hatchet (Wetterlings) when I plan on cooking over fires, but my saw still does the yoeman's share of the work processing wood

[Dean F.]

Everyone likes axes- they are much more aesthetic- but a Bahco Laplander is more practical. And a hell of a lot lighter.

[Anonymous]

What I really meant was a hatchet(not axe). Hiking in the Northern Part of the country during the shoulder months can be quite chilly and honestly, I enjoy a fire at night once the sun goes down(and sometimes cook on it). In the event of wet wood, the best way to get dry fuel is to cut down a standing, but completely dry tree. In an effort to not make a gigantic fire, I like cutting the limbs off the main trunk and utilizing them as the kindling, etc. I have an Estwing hatchet now, which I love, but it's quite heavy at over 2 lbs. I appreciate the feedback on everything.

[Mike M]

For what you describe I would also consider looking at a fixed blade knife w/ 4-5" blade in combination with a light saw. My Aurora LT w/ a 5" blade weighs just over 5 oz and can baton wood all day, combined with a 4-6 oz saw you can easily and efficiently process dead wood. The two would weigh less and a knife is a much better cutting instrument than an axe/hatchets

[Dave @ Oware]

The air force survival instructors like the swedish axes, but are moving away from hatchets to saws. I find machetes and saws faster and lighter. And then bring them only during snow season, and where there is an overabundance of downed wood left from forest fires etc.

[CARLOS C.]

Don't get me wrong. I love axes of all sizes and they have their uses but I have found myself moving away to a stout knife and folding saw combo myself also. I find that with my more bushcraft and Silky gomboy I can tackle a wide variety of jobs efficiently and with little weight penalty.

[Justin Baker]

If your goal is to limb trees, dead or alive (hopefully not alive), a chopping tool works better than a saw in my experience. You can just hack them off quickly and efficiently. With a saw, you need to place the blade on the wood and give a couple of strokes. A chopping tool is several times faster. Often you will have small fallen trees with lots of branches that you want to knock off so you can place it neatly into the fire. A chopping tool is easier to knock off those branches with one hand while the other hand is lifting the fallen tree. I would probably just use a saw for that because its lighter but a chopping tool is def easier. A large knife or small machete is easier than a hatchet because of the wide blade, don't have to aim as accurately, but for thicker dead branches the extra weight of the hatchet is needed.

[Scott Kilcoyne]

I use the friskars x7. Have yet to take it out with me but I use it for car camping and it does great.

[Derrick White]

Everyone's experience is different of course. I come from a land where freezing temps and dead spruce are the norm and to save weight I don't bring fuel. I harvest dead wood for cooking, drying clothes and staying warm between when I stop and when I go to bed. I light a fire for supper and maintain it til bedtime to stay warm and to enjoy it of course. In the morning there are usually sufficient embers to restart it for breakfast and a coffee. If not, I start one anew. Feeding and maintaining a fire is invariably the most time consuming camp activity of a trip, other than walking and sleeping of course. I have tried every combination of saw, axe and knife mentioned here. For me, a properly honed hatchet, properly used, is the most efficient tool for limbing, splitting and yes, cutting the tree stem into logs. 3 or 4 well placed strikes will take care of a 3 inch tree stem. I have tried the cheap and the expensive in saws, and there is no comparison. Nothing is as fast or as efficient as a hatchet. I do like the advice above regarding handle length versus head weight. I love my GB Wildlife but at 23 oz, its just too damn heavy. I have my doubts about the new GB Mini. If it doesn't do the job, I think I may give the new sexy looking GB Outdoor Hatchet a try. Derrick Edit – One point I forgot to mention. A saw is much safer than a hatchet. Mistakes with a hatchet carry bigger consequences.

[Dave @ Oware]

Just weighed my machetes. Old military surplus 18" blade with canvas sheath 21.5 oz Cheap Tramontia 12" blade, no sheath 11 oz. (not nearly as effective as the longer one) The machete works better than a boys axe or hatchet for limbing overhead, arguably down lower too. It also makes a passable snow saw for shelter building. That said, unless I am doing trail maintenance, a folding saw is lighter, fits in a pocket. Saw hazard— cutting the tendons in the back of your limb holding hand. They can't be reattached I am told.

[Russell Lawson]

I us a roofing hammer axe. Takes some time and an electric grinder but by xutting off the hammer head, curcing the grind on the blade and reducing the plastic grip to fit better, I got mine down to 12ounces. Best part about it is the all steel stem can be used to twist off chunks, I would never try that with a wood or plastic handle.

[Dean F.]

If you're set on a hatchet, Wetterlings makes a copact one as well. Gransfors of course is excellent, though. I don't believe for a second that it's faster to log a tree with a hatchet, unless you're attacking seasoned soft wood with one of those specialized lumberjack Olympics axes. A saw is much faster. The hatchet would definitely be faster for limbing, though. It'd have to be a heck of a lot faster to overcome the weight difference, for me. I guess, in short, I'm just proposing that people's hatchet preference is aesthetic, again. Which is ok. HYOH. I'm not a UL perfectionist, either. :)

[David Thomas]

Nice hack, Russell. Your post caused me to do a little googling. There's a titanium option, 10-ounce head weight, 1-pound total weight, some potential to trim weight by removing the hammerhead, $89: http://www.cpomilwaukee.com/stiletto-lathaxe10f-10-oz–titanium-lather-s-axe-with-poly-fiberglass-handle/sttnlathaxe10f,default,pd.html?ref=pla&zmam=31282435&zmas=47&zmac=731&zmap=sttnlathaxe10f&gclid=CM_ZnpKYwcgCFYpufgodr7cNrg

[David K]

Look up Ted Ferringer at Seven Pines Forge and ask him to make you a custom piece in the weight you want and hang it on the size handle that works for you.  I have small axe from him (2.75 lbs) and while it’s not light, it’s also not for UL backpacking but for processing wood and carving it’s wonderful.  I told him the weight I wanted and he made it happen.  http://www.sevenpinesforge.com

[David Thomas]

I’m surprised I didn’t respond to Peter’s thought, “I like cutting the limbs off the main trunk and utilizing them as the kindling, etc” 5 years ago because that’s mostly what I do.

I really like a pull saw for that.  It leaves a neater cut and feels a lot safer than swinging an axe at something off the ground.  If I was doing a lot of it, I’ve got various nice Swedish and Japanese pull saws made for gardening/pruning (many of which I found from BPLer’s recommendations).

If I was being SUL, I’ve ground finger grooves into band-saw blades and reciprocating saw blades and then dipped the new handle area in Plasti-dip to give a bit of padding and a better grip.  15-ish grams.  I wrote that up at the time and PIF’ed a bunch out to people.

But a really quick, cheap, light answer?  The Coghlan’s “Pocket Sierra Saw”.  Folds up small.  Weighs only 42 grams.  Nice sharp teeth.  Blade locks in place.  Great for 1″ diameter branches.  Would work on a 2″ or 3″ branch. $9-10 at Walmart or on Amazon.

I’ve got a cabin-to-cabin 60-mile trip next month and will bring it along to gather branches to load in the wood stoves to take the chill off the cabins each morning.

[Paul Wagner]

On the trail crews I join, we use those folding pocket saws or a silky.  No hatchets or axes, thank you.  The saws are lighter, more efficient and quicker.

[Garrett]

+1 my Silky Saw F180 weighs only 5.2 oz

[Garrett]

Also own the Corona Razortooth 10” saw, which is quite the upgrade in comparison. That said, it’s double the weight and bulkier. It has cut down 6” diameter trees with ease. Unlikely that you’ll need something so heavy duty, but it is a much better option than a 2lb hatch.

My recommendation is pairing the silky saw (5.2 oz) with a mora knife (4.1 oz)

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