Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Which Axe, again?

Exactly. And that's why I'm going nude, next time I go. I'm also pimping nude backpacking gear at:

www.takenogear.com

Well, I guess that clears up how you got "smokepole".

Not sure what a backpacker "in the classic sense" is. If it means month long trips and long through hikes like the AT, PCT or CDT, then no, that's not me. It would be great to have the time to do something like that.

I did my first solo backpack trip into the Scapegoat Wilderness when I was 12.

I generally spend between 40 & 50 nights a year sleeping out where I have carried my shelter, sleep system, food etc. The vast majority of those are one or two night outings. Some of them extended "Dawn Patrol's" where I leave after work, hike or run in a ways, spend the night and am back for work the next day. I'd like to have longer periods out but time constraints don't allow it.

So I might not be a backpacker in the classic sense and that's fine with me.

We should all just admit that Brad has the biggest pens and be done with it.

Maybe so, but I have the biggest pencil, and that's what counts.

So what, my keyboard has more gizmos...and is lighter!

Wrap around belts are stupid (although they work great for a lot of people)

Hatchets are stupid (although they can be handy)

Any pack based on the NICE frame is stupid.

Montana's are stupid unless Brad currently owns one.

Don't bother trying to convince me otherwise unless you have hiked the entire PCT. Please include backpacking resume with your response.

Rayn Jordan is the FOUNDER of Backpackinglight.com, which as a forum/business has been around as long as 24HRC.com. He is also a registered guide in the state of Montana.

He's got more stature worldwide as a backpacker than you'll EVER have on this forum.

We all indulge ourselves on simple overnights, where packs are lighter. Even a couple-days trip where weight still isn't that great, or where it's a hike in to a basecamp and dayhkes are the goal. Books, radio's, saws, camp chairs, bourbon, fishing gear, pistols, and yes even 22 oz hatchets. I've carried all of it (well, not the hatchet though I can stretch a bit to kind of get it - kind of).

But on a "classic backpack" (ie, one's hiking 5-25 miles per day for 5, 10, 15 days, everyday, self supported - like across the Bob Marshall), stuff starts to get winnowed out. Not talking goat/llama packing or pulk pulling.

Given the awesome amount of dead conifer in Montana, and given a very light saw will see one through, packing a hatchet across the Bob falls into the category of what I'd call stupid/funny chit (which is where this all started).

But if you're going to be dumb, it's good to be tough too.

19.3 ounces... That's what a GB Outdoors Axe weighs.

What's your "very light saw" weigh? 6 ounces?

So for an increase in weight of a can of beer, I can pack a real tool that does 5 times as much [bleep]?



I also pack a 320 weight merino wool quarter zip instead of a fleece in the summer... Because it still insulates when wet, and it won't meltdown if a spark from the campfire hits it.


Truthfully, I think it's you, Brad, whose showing his inexperience in Montana Backcountry. I've seen it snow 4" or more in EVERY month of the year. I know that on the west side of the divide, Search and Rescue deals with more hypothermic people in late August than in January.

Let the group decide.....


Out of the two of us, which one is more likely to be a "statistic"



The yuppy from Bozeman with the fine arts degree that is blinded by his ego?

Or the career Millbilly who works in 120 degree heat 10 months out of the year that always has an axe and knife in his pack?

Neither, in my neck of the woods the survivor will be the lazy bugger that stays in the air-conditioned Toyota with the esky of beer and the sandwiches.

I remember, not so long ago, when one could come to the backpack hunting forum to AVOID the pissing matches. Even those who enjoy such "sport" usually put that aside and enjoyed civil discussion and conversation typically reserved for this forum.

To be honest I am not sure why the catfight started, there must be some history there I am not aware of.

Exactly! Not one mention about marathon hikes in the Montana summer...the weight of a pack, is the weight of the pack...who gives a flying flip over how a person gets to the weight they want to carry? I know I don't have the backpacking experience of many on here but I like the utility of the Trail Hawk I carry with me. Not to mention the extra "weight" of the camera gear I pack in the summer months.....the Horrors of it all.

The cool thing about threads is you can jump out anytime if you find they are not what YOU like to discuss or what YOU think is relevant.

The real Dumbphucks are the guys who take the original thread and spins it into something to meet their own version of "opinion".

Not to interrupt all of the friendly banter, but has anybody used the CONDOR axes? Are they any good?

Back to the original question for a decent budget you can't go wrong with a fiskars x7 or any fiskars is a great product for the money. Here is a nice right up. link

I don't have any experience with their axes, but do own a few of their knives. "Value" sums them up, but but they're cranked out rapido by some hard working ElSalvadorans, so craftsmanship, and attention to detail probably aren't additional words I'd use. I've considered their axes and done some reading on them. From what I've gathered, they definitely fall short of the Euro axes in fit and finish, but use good steel in their heads. So if you're willing do the finish work (sharpening/handle shaping) AND you win the axe lottery (head hung straight and correct handle grain) then you should have a very workable tool. IIRC, Sportsmans carries one or two models, and I'd definitely buy one in person if possible, and eliminate the axe lottery.

Condor has been making all sorts cutting tools for centuries, and definitely shouldn't be viewed in the vein as the stuff coming from China.