ESTWING Fireside Friend Axe - 14 Wood Splitting Maul with Forged Steel Construction & Shock Reduction Grip - E3-FF4 and E-5 5 Lb Sure Split Wedge , Blue

This thing is great for general camping. Its a heavy Maul with a hatchet on the back side. The weight of the thing really helps the aids the effectiveness of the hatchet. Now if youre a super ninja camper, youll probably have a lot of other options available to you. That being said, those options are going to cost you. This is relatively inexpensive and works great as a hatchet and a camp hammer, Also this would make a fairly effective zombie defense weapon, although the length of the handle isnt ideal. All in all, of you can get this at a decent price (all hail the Tri-Camel), Id grab it up.

For splinting firewood and farm chores

This is a heavy duty tool which should be in every collection of tools if you split firewood. My Scout troop tends to abuse axes by misusing them for splitting wedges. So I introduced them to this tool. Use it along with a short handled 5 pound hammer and you can split a lot of wood. This is a one piece construction so it will stand up to very heavy usage. It is not really a splitting wedge, but it works very well as one. I am not sure why I was asked to give it stars based on light weight. This is not a flimsy, lightweight tool. It is relatively heavy which is why it will stand up to even the heaviest usage.

I give this three stars for the following reasons. 1. the sheath is small and does not have a belt loop, i was disappointed by this. 2. I cant actually verify that it has a leather handle, At best its wrapped with thin leather strips that have then been laquered. 3. its not lightweight, but its a 4 lbs. maul, if you want lightweight, get a hatchet. I have not yet put this to use, but i am certain it will do the job. I cant attest to its durability yet but i have a few other estwing tools and they have been quite durable so i can almost garantee that this will also, unless they have gotten cheap on their products like many other companies have. If that is the case i will be sure to update my review.

Outdoor activities in scouting

What a gorgeous Axe! Made so well. Nice looking. Very strong for a 14 axe, I am very impressed. LOVE and highly recommend. What a great gift!!

This thing splits firewood like no other tool I have. Very satisfied. its saving me a lot of time.

I like this tool for having around the fire pit. Just the right size for splitting up a few logs on an evening, especially when you don’t have a lot of room to swing a fill-sized maul.

My son loves it. Great quality. Would recommend.

I use this maul to split wood for cooking fires after I have cut the wood to size with a bowsaw. It makes very quick work of 5-8 logs and you are left with pieces that are easy to burn. Be careful with it however. If you put the maul on top of the piece of wood and lift the wood up and down to tap it on something and get the maul started, the heavy head can suddenly break through. You may want to do this if the piece of wood wont stand up or something. Just be sure to hold the wood near the top so the edge doesnt fall quickly through the wood and hit your fingers. For a small cooking style fire you dont need any larger splitting maul than this. It is sturdy and comfortable to use. It comes with a nice sheath that will keep the edge covered. It can be used to chop a smaller tree down but it get tiring. Best to stay with a good ax or hatchet or saw for that. But in an emergency it can do the trick.