Coleman Camp Axe
List Price :
Price : $11.96
You Save : $1.03 (8%)
Product Description
Perfect for the campsite, wooded terrain or the backyard, the Coleman Camp Axe is durable and high-quality, with a drop-forged carbon steel axe head, a forged steel handle, and an ergonomic nonslip grip.
Product Details
- Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 14.5 inches ; 1.8 pounds
- Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
- ASIN: B00168XMDM
- Item model number: 836B331T
Product Features
- Drop-forged carbon steel axe head
- Forged steel handle
- Ergonomic nonslip grip
- Chop wood at the campsite or in the back country
Coleman Camp Axe
Customer Reviews
Got this axe sometime in the late 80's and beat it to death. The butt is flattened out and the edge has shrunk back from years of use and sharpening. The head is bent back a bit and the plastic handle has a split in it. It has a few minor rust spots, gouges and discoloration but still responds to sharpening. It hangs in the front of the garage, gets thrown in the back of the truck and sometimes spends the night outside with its blade nestled deep into the rings of a tree stump.
Yes, they come with no edge and require a few minutes with a file... what else would you expect at this price point? Military exchanges (AAFES, NEX) still sell these for 6 bucks. You can drop 120 bucks on a Gransfors Bruks hatchet and it will stay sharper a bit longer or buy 20 of these. Are there any outstanding features? Yes... it's the most inexpensive axe that chops and hammers. Why pay more? Nuff said.
As I get older I'm increasingly drawn to getting out into the wilderness and relying on my own ingenuity and a backpack full of equipment in order to traverse the distance between where I am and where I want to be, in a manner that is reasonably safe and comfortable. After trying to cut through branches with a sharp hunting knife and a stone (use the stone to drive the knife blade through the branch) I decided to buy a small hand-axe.
The good news: it is definitely easier to chop things with than the knife-and-stone approach. The rubber handle offers some protection to the hand if you're going to be chopping for a while.
The bad news: of course it's a small axe, you need to keep sharpening it with a wetstone or equivalent tool because it loses its edge pretty quickly, and... it weighs a lot. It is, in fact, the heaviest single item in my pack.
So of course it is a trade-off, like many things in life. Is it worth carrying the extra weight in order to have the convenience of a small axe? It's useless for chopping down a mature tree, of course, but it is useful for taking off branches and splitting a dead log for tinder. If you need to make shelter from branches before the sun sets, this axe can save over an hour in comparison to the knife-and-stone approach - which is an hour that can be spent making a fire, boiling water, or maybe (if you are lucky) catching a fish for dinner.
UPDATE: Now that I find myself carrying my companions' supplies in addition to my own, I'm more concerned about weight than formerly. 65 pounds is enough to convince me that I'm doing enough for my cardiovascular fitness. Consequently, I now carry a wire saw rather than the axe featured in this review. I can do pretty much anything with the saw that I could do with the axe, but it weighs only a handful of grams, thus cutting down usefully on the total weight of my pack. The axe is now relegated to the trunk of my car for "just in case" moments.
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