Gear Review: Coleman Camp Axe

Coleman Camp Axe

 (Pic from upcoming post)

This one of the many "budget" (camping, survival, prepper, etc.) tools that I own.

Where to buy: Wal-mart, almost any sporting goods store.

Typical Price: Less than $10

Pros:  This is a very solid axe for the money.  I can beat the crap out of this thing and it just keeps on hacking with me.  It has a decent weight to it which is a plus in this case.  Normally, I would follow the "lighter is better" rule.  At only 13 inches long, you don't have a very good amount of leverage.  The heft of this axe plays into it's favor hear, at nearly two pounds of weight (1.9lbs) it makes up for the loss in force you can create through leverage.

Cons:  There is a weird "nut" on this axe where the head meets the hilt.  To me, it appears to be a weak point in the overall design.  I'm assuming the head is made separately from the hilt and then it is bolted together.  I haven't been able to find any information on the construction of this axe.  Hopefully it won't prove to be a weak point, but I guess time will tell.  Regardless of the fact that I listed the weight earlier as a pro, it is still a very heavy axe for how small it is.  Finally, the edge on this sucks.  You are going to have to sharpen this right out of the package.

I used it a couple days ago to help collect some fire wood and it was easily up to the task.  It still really needs to be sharpened, but the task of fire wood collection did not appear to distress the axe at all.  I can't find any information on the Rockwell Hardness of this axe either, however, most reviews I have read talk about it losing it's edge quickly, so keep that in mind.

Overall, not a bad choice for a budget axe to help you when you get out there, get D.E.E.P., F.A.S.T. and who knows, it might even help you do the most important thing, SURVIVE.