Hi everyone! I was wondering what could be the best hatchet to bring with me during hikes/camps, that could help me easily with all the activities that needs to be done in a mountain scenario (chopping fire wood, create tools, build structures...) and that could also be brought around attached to my belt without being too much of a trouble to carry. I bumped in the hultafors brand and I'm impressed by the manifacture's quality, as well as I am about the looks of those tools... What do you think can be the best option between these two models? One is about 44 cm and the other around 37.5 cm, the main difference is the head.
Hultafors hatchets: Dvardala or Hultan?
Gear Recommendation WantedOne 1150 grams and the other 800, the winner is already set... I was conflicted mostly because of the shape of the head.
15" vs 17" handle. Are you doing just trim and splitting or are you felling trees?
Just trimming and splitting already fallen ones, where I live I do not have the permission required to fell trees.
If you are chopping downed logs, you probably want something 2 handed, closer to a 24" length handle. If it's just limbing branches and small tree tops, the 15" is probably plenty for 1 handed swinging.
Big axe can do small axe jobs, but small axe cannot (easily) do big jobs. 1 handed vs 2 handed size is really the threshold.
Thank you very much for the advices!! Do you think the different shape of the head can be a game changer too? I've worked only with canadian axes before.
Read the descriptions on them. The one with the bigger head is added weight, but allows the active edge to be lower when you choke up on the handle.
The edge profiles are close to the same, so it's not like a felling edge vs carpenters edge difference.
They're both gonna do well, it's a style preference at this point.
Thank you!!!
👍
I have a Hultafors Aby axe, which is the longer handled version of the Dvardala. It's a hybrid axe, so good for carpentry or light forestry work, and even good for splitting large logs. It's a great axe, and very versatile. The head is the same as what you get on the Dvardala.
Are these your use cases for the hatchet?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgObfTX-rSs
The Hultan is more of an actual hatchet, as it's smaller and lighter than the Dvardala.
You need to consider the weight first, seeing as you mentioned hiking. Secondly, the functionality. Which head and handle length would suit you best.
If you can go to a store and handle both of them, this is your best bet to make a more informed decision.
Yes!! Definitely. The trailer shows perfectly what activities I do when I go out camping... So I'm more confident choosing for the Dvardala one. The only negative points of it consist in the heavier head and length of the tool that, despite all the efficiency, could become hard to carry on a belt. What do you think? I know that I can attach it to my backpack, but when I go around the woods I prefer to rely only on my duty belt, without extras on my back.
It is really up to you how you want to use it, which is why I recommend you go see them in store and hold them.
I carry my Åby on my pack, but if the brush is thick, then its in my hand, and then back onto the pack again.
I am looking at buying the Hultan for longer multi day hikes where I need to reduce weight as much as I can. I need to try the Hultan and now the Dvardala, as its still new here, in store to see which length I prefer for this. I already have the Åby, so it might make sense for me to go with the Hultan.
If you can only buy one, perhaps go with the Dvadala, as I know and trust the head of the Åby, the design is incredibly versatile! Its the same head you get on the Dvardala.
There are some reviews of the Åby that you can check out to get an idea of the head design, here's a good one:
Thank you very much!!
what could be the best hatchet to bring with me during hikes/camps
I saw in other comments, that you consider chopping down some bigger trees, or logs. If you want to do some hiking and rely on a campfire, I'd recommend going for a smaller and lighter hatchet in combination with a folding saw like the ones from Silky.
Thank you! I'll definitely get a silky saw!
They are great, but remember not to apply any force when pushing the saw. Only cut while pulling. If the teeth of the blade get stuck in the wood in a forward motion, the blade will bend and can easily break.
either is an excellent choice, lighter is likely preferred for hiking You would Really win at the wood gathering game to get the lightest one, and use the weight savings toward adding a folding Silky Saw to your kit. Even the smallest Silky is capable of felling a one foot diameter tree, or bucking deadfall logs of the same size. They are a HUGE time/energy saver for wood processing. If I could only have one tool, either a hatchet or a Silky, I would be very hard pressed to choose the axe.
What size Silky do you recommend?
I've been on a woodland SAR team for many years, and I ALWAYS carry a 4in. fixed blade belt knife and a 170mm folding Silky on my belt. Although I do have a Hultafors hatchet on my 24 hour pack, I don't often need the bigger pack; I usually just have my Hasty pack.
With a good, solid knife (The one I usually carry is a 4in. blade Strider) and that little Silky, I can gather firewood, buck it down and split it, using a sturdy branch and my knife as a froe. I can build a survival shelter with 4-6in. trees, using the saw, in less than 30 min.
Silkys are really fast cutting, with aggressive teeth on the blade. It will drop a 6" tree in 8 to 10 strokes; considerably faster than even a sharp axe, and with less effort. A two inch branch or sapling can be cut with two or three strokes. They're very easy to manipulate, better than even a small hatchet. Obviously there are things you can't do with a saw, that you can with an axe. But, there are many things a saw will do quicker, and with less energy expenditure, than an axe. That is important when you are in a survival situation & unsure of your food availability.
We've been caught in unexpected storms a number of times during searches. Being able to erect a small shelter, quickly, can be the difference between a quick, positive outcome, and a longer more difficult search
Super helpful! Thank you.
Thank you! I'll consider adding a saw too!
lol
I mean if you are foolish enough to spend over 100 bucks on a hatchet, why not Gransfors Bruks.
I mean you're just buying for status, Hultafors really doesn't cut it.
For what I've read, those hatchets are highly priced because of the procedure used to crafts them and because the heads are all hand made... I'm not a blacksmith but I imagine the whole activity can be really expensive in terms of manpower, materials and international shipping... I confess that this time I wanted to gift myself with a tool that wasn't just functional.
Cut the name dropping brand name yuppie crap and go buy one that's ALL METAL and won't break like a crappy ole Eastwing from Canadian Tire.
You think you are going to build structures with a hatchet? have you ever use a hatchet or built anything?
Yes I did. I'm not talking about whole wooden houses made of logs, just structures based on tripods, already fallen small trees I can chop and still standing trees.
You should buy a hatchet...and spend a couple of weeks making things....Then Buy a bow saw and spend a couple weeks making things...then report back...
Whichever is lighter.