Gerber Gear Freescape Hatchet, 17.5" Forged Steel Blade Axe with Sheath for Survival, Bushcraft and Camping Gear, Lightweight and Durable

Very well designed. Lightweight, I've put this thing through a lot of abuse and the handle hasn't cracked or broken anywhere. Good for splitting small firewood like 3.5" or less in diameter. Very sharp blade, can be used as a knife if you're careful. Not too thrilled about the blade cover, it's bulky. I'll probably replace it with a leather cover.

Dude this hatchet is my favorite piece to my gear ! I went from the fiskars x7 to the gerber Freescape. I was considering the x11 but it has more of a wedge from my observations. This one is basically just an upsized x7 . I don’t really consider the x11 a hatchet so I went with the gerber freelance. I wanted something with more bite and this hatchet exceeds my expectations. You can chop 2 times as fast and deep as the gerber 14”hatchet which is basically the fiskars x7. The Scandinavian grind and light weight material used on the freescape is perfect for anyone working with wood whether your builder shelters/camp , splitting fire wood or failing small trees this blows all competition out the way by miles ! I never go hiking or camping with out this! Even limbing trees in your yard, this tool just can’t be beat !

Works great and easy to handle. I use it for chopping kindling. Keeps a sharp edge.

Came really sharp, enough weight to cut limbs, worked well

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.

Perfect size for campingWell madeVery Durable

So I like this axe a whole lot!! I find that it holds its edge well and is a great compromise between a regular hatchet and a full sized axe. It sharpens easily and has enough size to work as a full sized axe in a pinch. I have used it to limb smaller branches when felling trees and to split firewood. Although it is labeled as a GERBER the head is clearly marked Fiskars. This is a replacement for the original GERBER and the head may have been made by Fiskars, but was not labeled as such. The reason for replacement was that I lost the original. I will definitely buy another, plus the bright green makes it very visible when on the ground.

Very nice medium length ax, works better if you do not swing it too hard and let the weight of it work for you.