Gerber Freescape 17.5-Inch Hatchet - 31-002536 - Versatile Outdoor Tool

trevor: Sharp, light weight , contrast in handle is helpful.

United States on Nov 26, 2023

K. Schmitt: The axe feels good and the balance is fine. I use it to split small diameter, short (less than 6" and no more than 12" long) pieces of wood. The blade is sharp but it does not split the wood that easily. Takes quite a bit of effort to split the wood, requiring 4 to 5 blows. Even the driest wood had the same issues.

United States on Sep 21, 2023

Courtney: We got this to split wood while camping. It’s the perfect size and works very well! No complaints so far. Have used it 4-5 times now.

United States on Sep 18, 2023

Joan Alba MaldonadoJoan Alba Maldonado: Descripción errónea: no pesa 480 gramos como pone aquí en Amazon (en la web del fabricante pone 479,1 gramos que también es erróneo).

Sin la funda, pesa 565,6 gramos. Con la funda, pesa 611,7 gramos.

Si es para llevar de acampada, senderismo, etc. donde el peso importa, por este rango de precio y de las mismas medidas, recomiendo una Lexivon V9 que pesa sólo 557,8 gramos sin funda y 567,7 gramos con la funda compacta (la cual ni la Gerber ni la Fiskars traen). Incluso se puede considerar una Lexivon V10 que pesa un poco más pero es algo más larga.

Por cierto, por si alguien siente curiosidad, las fundas compacta de la Lexivon V9 y de la V10 no encajan ni en la Gerber ni en las Fiskar X5, X7, X10, etc.

Al final voy a tener que hacerme con una Gränsfors Small Hatchet #410 ("Mini hatchet"), que pesa menos (unos 350 gramos) y mide más (unos 26 centímetros). Pero es mucho más cara.

Spain on Aug 09, 2022

aCuriousEngineer: Awesome little hatchet. The steel is quite soft, but easy to file sharpen. Nice little carrying sheath as well. Recommended when on sale. Made in Finland.

Canada on Apr 19, 2022

MJC: I bought one of these over 20 years ago for limbing trees and backpack camping in the Boundary Waters. Super light weight, sharp, and durable. I've never had to sharpen it, and it's cut thousands of pieces. (I did have to dress a nick from hitting a hidden nail once). I found this same axe at Christmas 2021, which made a great camping gift for son-in-law. Back then, mine came with a stiff canvas blade cover with tight snap. Only issue I have is this one came with cheap plastic belt clip/cover. I'd throw it away and just keep the best little axe you'll ever own.

United States on Jan 28, 2022

Jeff Kazmierski Jr: I bought this leading into a week long bike/canoe trip that I did and as such packing size and weight were my biggest determining factors when comparing to other hatchets. I was slightly teased by my group initially for feeling the need to bring a hatchet...knives were plenty enough....blah blah blah. Come time to actually make the fires for the night however this hatchet was used every night primarily to create shavings/fire starter sized wood. Most seemed to enjoy having this around and I believe one may have bought this once the trip was over.

Since that trip I have taken it on a handful of other backpack related trips and have enjoyed having it each time. The blade itself whether it is the coating or shape sticks less than other hatchets I've used so that was definitely a plus. The arm does feel a little short, which really aided in working with the wood close up...on 1 knee or sitting in a camp chair, you didn't need a large swing. It also worked well to flip around and hammer tent posts into tough ground. It did feel a little short to do larger swings however.

The arm is hollow and light but has held up well. If I had a car or something with a lot of storage...

United States on Jun 22, 2021

Colin: Light and durable enough for canoe trips, it's great for splitting kindling or making wood shavings. Just be wary of the small handle, as both my brother and I put the axe into our index fingers on separate occasions, so safety first! Besides that, I highly recommend it!

Canada on Oct 03, 2020

Devan Francom: The 17” is the perfect length I found for backpacking, long enough to cut through a smaller dead tree for wood, and great for splitting. This came very sharp, and is super light. It did come with a cover for the head so it protects the blade. Metal is by fiskar which is great. The only thing I didn’t like is the handle is hollow and uncovered so dirt easily got up in the handle.. but that’s just not picking at this point. Worth the money for sure. Get a sharpening puck or something as it doesn’t come with one

Canada on Aug 21, 2019

Tony B.: I own multiple wood handle chopping axes that aren't going to see much use with this axe around. Its compact and not too heavy but chops with serious authority. The specs seem to match the now discontinued Fiskars X15 but with a green handle and sheath. Comes with a good sharp edge from the factory. It also does well splitting. It handled twisted, knotted 14" rounds quite well for what it is. When I only have room to bring one axe, this is it. So long as you're not splitting really big or tough rounds you won't need a splitting axe. The teflon is wearing right away and probably won't last very long but I don't think any coating will hold up on an axe head. Overall I'm very happy with this axe.

Canada on Jan 03, 2019