Best Hatchet Buyers Guide For Camping

Buying a hatchet is a great piece of camping equipment to bring with you if you are planning on camping in the woods and need to have some protection, but also need to have some way to cut firewood. With that being the case, you will notice a large selection of hatchets on the market and each one will have a different feature you may need to check out, but also have different handles even. So what is going to make the difference in the hatchets and which one should you buy? Well, that is why we have come out with the best hatchet buyers guide for camping and this will make it easier for you to buy the best hatchet.

Why A Hatchet And Not An Ax? 

This is a great question and the main reason for the answer is the size of the ax versus a hatchet, but also the weight as well. Since we have a lot of hikers that read the blog anything that you have weight wise will be a pain to use. The hatchets tend to be a fraction of the weight and this makes it easier for almost anyone to carry the hatchet and be able to use it rather easily, but also the hatchet is versatile compared to an ax that is usually only used for cutting firewood.

Blade Size And Material 

The blades on a hatchet is generally made from metal, but some of the hatchets will be using a combination of materials to make the blade. However, what you will find is the size of the blades will really depend on what you are planning on doing with the hatchet. The good news is this is a fairly versatile and even if you do not have the proper sized blade you will typically be able to make it work.

A key thing to consider is if you will have a flat back on the hatchet or if you are going to have a spike. The flat back is what is commonly found with these hatchets as they are not going to stab you in the leg when you are walking, but also do not have to worry about the spike going through the tent or other pieces of your camping equipment.

Material The Handles Are Made From

Looking at some of the hatchets for sale, you will notice some have a composite handle, a wood handle, and in rare cases even find some with a metal handle. All of these will have their own positives and negatives, but it is important when you are looking at what some people would consider a camping axe is to know what the handle is made from.

Our personal favorite that I love is the old stand by wooden handles because I find them to be a little bit more durable. However, at the same time, I have found these handles to be a lot more resistant to shattering when it gets cold or has a lot moisture in the air. When you do get a wooden handle, you will want to make sure you consider the fill of the handle and make sure it has a solid wood core.

With the metal handles, which I rarely see, I find them to be very difficult to handle and if the metal starts to get wet it get slick. This makes it very difficult to hold onto and it can slip out of your hand when you are trying to use this in the rain or even in the winter months.

The composite handles are okay, but they tend to be more of the plastic style. This is almost like the same as a hammer handle and it will splinter if you are using it to much. What else you will find is these handles can start to have some flexion as well and this can cause them to shatter when you hit the piece of wood you are cutting and you are coming down with force on it.

Job You Plan On Using The Hatchet For 

When you start to pack for the camping trip you may have a printable camping checklist, you will want to have a shortlist of jobs you would be using the camping hatchet for. This can include protection, remember in the woods a hatchet would be better than nothing at all. So you will want to consider the job you are planning on using this for and make sure it will allow you to have a great cutting edge and be ready to use it for the job that you are planning on using it for and in some of the hatchets you will even find a bottle opener tab as well to help provide more versatility to the hatchet.

Weight Of The Hatchet

With the weight, you will find it can help you determine more about what you can use the hatchet for, but also let you know more about the job the hatchets can do for you. With some of the lighter weight hatchets you will notice they are going to be meant for limbs and some of the other items that are smaller. However, if you have a heavier hatchet you will notice it can start to be used for some of the other jobs you may have around the camp site.

How To Decide On The Camping Hatchets 

When you are looking at the hatchet you will want to consider several different factors. Each of these factors are outlined here and will definitely help you in making the pick of camping hatchets you should be getting. The key thing that you need to think about is the job you are going to be doing with the hatcher as this will make a difference in all of these factors and allow you to get additional weight by reading the hatchets buyers guide for camping equipment.