ESTWING Camper's Axe - 16" Hatchet with Forged Steel Construction & Shock Reduction Grip - E44A

This one surprised me with quality lol it's actually made in USA and they overdid their selves with this beast. I haven't used it yet but I'm sure this will do the job of any axe. It's very well made and has sharp edge and hammer on back that will work great for your tent stakes. It's perfectly balanced and has a nice handle. My only complaint is the paint rubbed off already just touching it, and where barcode was it peeled off completely. They didn't do paint well at all, in fact I'm gonna sand blast it off and give it the right coat. Not that paint matters but they could have done way better job for what it costs. I love this thing and can't wait to try it out. 100% recommend this one but not the paint.

This axe (which is more of a hatchet, really) is an excellent tool for camping. It is relatively small and compact, which is great for any gear. Despite its small size, it has pretty good head weight and can chop pretty well through anything you might use for firewood or shelter. It is too small for cutting any large timber, but will get through logs a foot in diameter (and probably bigger) without wasting too much valuable energy. Obviously, as a camper, you will rarely if ever cut through logs of that diameter. This is a great tool for acquiring firewood and for cutting and prepping wood for making shelter.The full steel construction is a great feature on this product. The axe will not break and is a very reliable tool. Under heavy load, the shaft has some flex between the head and the handle. You probably won't be using this tool for prying, but it's good to have some flex in a steel handle to prevent breakage. For any throwers out there, this axe is a little harder to throw than a lighter hatchet or one that is more head-heavy; the steel handle on this axe shifts the balance away from the head slightly compared to a wooden-handled axe. It is still fun to throw and not too hard to stick, and will do a lot more damage than a smaller axe or hatchet because of the weight (not that you should be assaulting anyone with an axe).The steel is pretty good as well. The problem that the manufacturers of chopping and heavy-duty cutting tools face is that the tool must be very strong and rigid, hold up well to the elements and a lot of abuse, and hold an edge well all at the same time. The steel is some sort of stainless, though I'm not really sure what kind. It holds a decent edge; there are tiny chips in the edge after about a month of moderately heavy use but that is to be expected of a chopping tool. The blade is pretty easy to sharpen. The axe is very rigid and strong, and has light flex in the shaft as mentioned earlier.The handle is made of some sort of rubber compound. The grip is great, and it fits in the hands very well. The rubber held up well to impact; it took some practice throwing and getting this thing to stick into the target, so the rubber experienced plenty of hard hits on solid wood and ground. So far, no missing chunks of rubber and no ripping or tearing.Overall, I would say that this tool is a great blend of size, weight, durability, and usefulness for the camping enthusiast. I have camped with it, but I haven't used it for backpacking yet; I will probably take it along next time because I am confident that the extra weight of this axe compared to a small hatchet will be made up by the energy saved by its chopping abilities. 5/5

Nice axe. It's probably too big and heavy for a backpacking axe, but for car camping and motorcycle camping (why I bought it), it is far better than the cheap camping hatchets you've seen. This thing is solidly built, well-balanced, and comes with a sharp edge. Note that the head design doesn't flare quickly like a true splitting axe. The blade stays thin for a bit before widening. Smarter axe purists can probably explain better, but from what I've read, this head design enables better/deeper chopping. NOTE: this axe comes with a blue nylon sheath and NOT a leather sheath, despite the item description. There is a customer picture of what it looks like. It isn't terrible, will do the job of protecting the axe blade/protecting contents it is packed with/etc. But it is not a leather sheath. I was a little disappointed, but the axe was so nice, I'm not going to return it for the sheath. Amazon should update the title so people won't feel misled. Amazon does sell a leather sheath for this axe:http://www.amazon.com/Estwing-Campers-Axe-Sheath-5/dp/B00261DZ6WBased on pictures I've seen that looks like the leather sheath this axe used to come with. Item description should accurately reflect what you are getting. 5-star axe, 3-star nylon sheath, 2-star inventory labeling and management by Amazon.*UPDATE* - I contacted Amazon Help (Chat) and spoke to a very helpful Customer Service rep, Graciela. Told her about issue with item title and receiving nylon sheath, that I didn't really want to return the axe just for the upgraded sheath. Pointed her toward the leather sheath for sale on Amazon and she gave me a credit for that amount. So the leather sheath linked above is now on it's way. Pretty remarkable customer service. I would have been satisfied with simply correcting the product title. Updated to 5 stars.

I had a little hatchet from a big box store. It dulled very easily. This one is light weight, made out of high quality material and cuts firewood very easily. I'm an older women and really like they way it looks and handles. I've used it on a few camping trips this year and can't wait to use it more. The handle grip is great, doesn't feel like it will fall apart.

Great quality