The Top 5 Hatchets for Camping & Wilderness Survival
Any time we can discuss preparedness here at Rugged Man you can bet we’re enjoying ourselves.
When that preparedness discussion involves the wilderness and the great outdoors, along with the tools and toys that go along with those adventures, we’re right in our element!
Today we’re going to talk about the hatchet and take a look at a few questions and some considerations around this valuable tool.
It’s hard to say when the hatchet first came into use. Some say it was almost 50,000 years ago in Australia. Seems like there are a lot of things not being considered here and we believe it to be much, much older. But, that’s as far as we’ll take that today.
What is the Difference Between an Axe and a Hatchet?
A hatchet is basically a small axe with a short handle intended for use with a single hand. They can be quite small or up to close to the size of a mid-sized axe. Most axes are used with two hands to be most effective in their use.
Hatchets are most useful for smaller jobs, and for those who are looking to spend some time in the great outdoors, they are much more lightweight and packable than a mid to full-sized axe.
How Do I Choose a Hatchet?
The most important considerations when picking out a high quality hatchet are a good carbon-steel head, an ergonomic sturdy handle (wood or fiberglass), the right balance & length.
HEAD - A high-carbon steel head will keep an edge longer and resist chipping and damage better, but will be a bit more difficult to sharpen. We want the head to cut very well.
HANDLE- Fiberglass handles are nice in that they are lightweight and tough. For us, a good quality hickory not only feels good in the hand, but also develops a bit more character. Also, if it breaks, you can carve out a new one to your length and liking, even in the backcountry with a solid piece of timber you find in the woods.
BALANCE/LENGTH - This is going to be important if you actually get into using a hatchet on a regular basement. Choosing a mid-length hatchet with enough to it to take down a small tree, yet perform small and delicate jobs with precision is what we’re looking for here at Rugged Man
Quality is something that shouldn’t be skimped on when it comes to choosing the right hatchet for your camping and wilderness survival purposes. However, this does not mean that you have to break the bank.
A good idea may be to get started with a more inexpensive hatchet like the Husqvarna 13” Wooden Handle Hatchet or the Estwing 14" Camper's Hatchet. When we say inexpensive, we don’t mean cheap.
Cheap hatchets make beginners stop believing in the usefulness of a good hatchet before they hardly get started.
A cheap hatchet can be dangerous and at a minimum will leave you frustrated when it doesn’t hold an edge or starts to bend at the belly or break. The aforementioned hatchets are a decent enough quality hatchets to get your feet wet and you may even find a nice fit with one of them.
What Can a Hatchet Be Used for in the Wilderness?
Two of the most common uses of the hatchet in the wilderness is involved in the processes of fire-making and shelter-building.
When it comes to shelter-building, we can see that a hatchet would be useful in cutting down small trees, turning them into poles by cutting of the twigs and limbs, and driving small stakes and poles into the ground for supports to the structure, by using the butt end of the hatchet as a hammer.
Fire-making just got easier, as we have taken some small trees already and cleaned them up for shelter-building. This has now produced small sticks and even smaller twigs that we can now use for tender and kindling.
Of course if we have logs laying around and we’re not building a shelter, the hatchet can be used to shave of some tender and split out some kindling.
Although a small knife would be the safer tool for striking a spark, a hatchet will work just fine in a “flint & steel” type of situation if that’s all you have. Just take extra precautions as a hatchet is going to be slightly more awkward and bulky than a small to mid-size knife.
Field dressing and processing wild game is another great use for a hatchet, especially if your hunting larger game with a bigger bone structure.
Other uses of a hatchet include breaking up ice, driving just about anything you use a hammer for, and it can be a very effective weapon if you have no other. It can fend off predators, both four and two-legged.
It’s hard to put a definitive end to the uses of a tool like the hatchet. When you’re working in the great outdoors, whether backwoods or in the wood shed, improvisation puts very few limits on most rugged tools like this one.
Why is a Hatchet Important for Survival in the Wilderness?
In the survival and bushcraft communities, there is a lot of talk about which is more useful and important to pack, the knife or the hatchet. Most would say the knife. We’re going to cut to the chase here and just say that you should be carrying both.
Use one in addition to the other in a complimentary fashion. There are too many small packable hatchets to not do this. Where you will use one, you will save life on the other. They both are capable of performing a lot of the same duties and you know in our world, “two is one and one is none…”
Some instances where a hatchet can be an important substitute for just having a knife is for bigger, more bang-up type jobs, like taking down small trees and splitting logs.
Last, but not least here, with good practice, a hatchet can be thrown with force and ferocity!
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The Top 5 Hatchets for Camping & Wilderness Survival IN 2022
Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet
The Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet is a traditional scouting and camping hatchet with the same head as the Hand Hatchet but on a longer handle.
Practical for carrying in your rucksack when you need a small axe with plenty of power, the Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet is capable of lopping off quite large branches or splitting small logs for the campfire.
This hatchet, like most, comes with a leather sheath. Gransfors also sells a good line of accessory care products to accompany their hatchets and axes. Check out the Gransfors Bruks Axe Sharpening Diamond and the Gransfors Bruks Ceramic Grinding/ Sharpening Stone for starters.
FEATURES & SPECS:
Length with handle: 13.50 inch
Weight: 1.3 lbs
Sheath in vegetable-tanned leather
Traditional scouting and camping axe
The Axe Book comes with every axe purchased from Gransfors Bruk, Made in Sweden.
The Hultafors Agelsjon Mini Hatchet is Hultafors’ smallest hatchet, and is a great high quality little pack hatchet.
With its short handle and light weight, it is a perfect hatchet for backcountry excursions, either in the pack or on the belt.
The Hultafors Agelsjon Mini Hatchet is hand forged and made from high quality Swedish steel in the forges of Hults Bruk. Their forging tradition goes as far back as 1697. This hatchet is named after the nearby lake Agelsjon, where the water to run the waterwheel for the forge was once taken. Take care of your hatchet and it will stay a faithful companion for many years to come.
Because of the quality and craftsmanship that comes out of the forges of Hults Bruk, Hultafors offer a full lifetime warranty on the hatchet head.
FEATURES & SPECS:
Wooden handle from American hickory, treated with linseed oil
Convex grind edge
The edge is sharpened, polished and ready to use
Leather axe sheath included
Head is hand-forged and made from Swedish axe steel in a foundry that has been in operation since 1697.
Head Weight: 500g (approx. 1.1lbs)
Total Weight 775g (1.7lbs)
Handle Length: 235mm/9.5"
Each axe comes with a traditional leather protective sheath. The axe is shipped in its own storage box.
Lifetime Warranty on their premium axes and hatchets
Handmade in Wuppertal, Germany, the Rheinland pattern, a traditional German wide-bit blade, is exceptionally well suited for cutting work.
The 1844 Helko Werk Rheinland Hatchet is named after the region’s famous Rhein River Valley. The Rhein was a historically significant source of trade and growth for settlements in the region throughout the medieval period.
Cutting axes like these were a daily necessity for people carving out towns and villages in heavily forested regions along the river.
These hatchets perform well at limbing branches, making kindling, carving, and other light and fine cutting work.
FEATURES & SPECS:
Head Weight: 1 ¼ lbs
Total Weight: 1 ¾ lbs
Bit Length: 4”
Handle Length: 14”
Head is hand forged using a drop hammer on open dies and made of premium grade C50 high carbon steel w/ a 53-56 HRC (Rockwell Hardness)
Handle is sustainably sourced grade A American hickory, individually selected for grain orientation and density with a boiled linseed oil finish and 150 grit smooth sanded
Hung with hardwood wedge and steel ring wedge
1 oz. bottle of Axe Guard protective oil and a vegetable tanned leather sheath included
A timeless Swedish hatchet made for precision and mobility, the Hults Bruk Almike quickly clears a campsite, processes kindling, and drives tent pegs, so you can spend more time enjoying the outdoors.
An all-purpose tool for the garden, camp or wilderness survival, the Hults Bruk Almike classic turpentine pattern has a finger notch near the neck for precision carving. Weighing just 1.75 lbs, the Almike is a premium hatchet that fits perfectly in the pack or can be worn on a belt.
The Hults Bruk Almike is a small all-purpose hatchet. A perfect sized hatchet for camping, cutting small firewood, fine carving, and wilderness survival.
All Hults Bruk axes are hand forged, so there may be slight variations from axe to axe.
FEATURES & SPECS:
The axe head is hand forged at the historic Hults Bruk, a forge that has been in operation since 1697.
Each axe is made from high-quality Swedish axe steel, expertly tempered to hold a very sharp edge even after repeated sharpening.
Blackened, hand-finished, razor-sharp with a polished edge.
Curved American hickory handle, sanded, protected with linseed oil and engraved with the HB logo.
Each axe comes with a premium leather sheath with a loop or holster for hanging the axe on your belt, shipped with a storage box and detailed user’s manual.
Overall Weight: 1. 75 pounds
Head Weight: 1 pound
Handle Length: 16 inches
Designed for precision and mobility, the Hults Bruk Jonaker Hatchet excels at woodworking, carving, and light splitting tasks while backpacking, camping, hunting, working on the trail or in the backcountry.
With a curved 9.4-inch handle, this hatchet fills the niche between a larger carpenter’s axe and a carving knife.
Weighing just 1.5 lbs, the Hults Bruk Jonaker Hatchet is a capable hatchet that’s easily packable and can also be worn on a belt.
All Hults Bruk axes are hand forged, so there may be slight variations from axe to axe.
FEATURES & SPECS:
The axe head is hand forged at the historic Hults Bruk, a forge that has been in operation since 1697.
Each axe is made from high-quality Swedish axe steel, expertly tempered to hold a very sharp edge even after repeated sharpening.
Blackened, hand-finished, razor-sharp with a polished edge.
American hickory handle, sanded, protected with linseed oil and engraved with the HB logo.
Each axe comes with a premium leather sheath with a loop or holster for hanging the axe on your belt, shipped with a storage box and detailed user’s manual.
Overall Weight: 1. 5 pounds
Head Weight: 1 pound
Handle Length: 9. 4 inches
“And many strokes, though with a little axe, hew down and fell the hardest-timbered oak.”
— William Shakespeare
The hatchet is one of the most important bushcraft and survival tool that you can have if you’re going to spend a good deal of time and overnighters in the wilderness.
Combined with a good knife, there’s not a whole lot that you can’t do out there.
On our post today, we chose the best of the best. You don’t have to spend that much money on a hatchet to get one that will work hard and last a long time for you if you know how to take care of it.
Refer to the introduction for a couple of hatchet ideas to get you started in the right direction.
Until next time, optimize your time in the wilderness by choosing the right gear that will make your visit as enjoyable as possible.
Just get out there. Stay Rugged!
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