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Took a shot of all my camping tools. I just picked up the saw from Canadian Outdoor Equipment and can't wait to use it alongside my Gransfors. The curvy knife is a Spyderco Schempp Rock that I use mostly for kitchen duty and the Coldsteel Recon Tanto is my abusing knife. The bottom is my Spyderco military which is my EDC. 
Camping tools of choice by Zen, on Flickr
Cheers,
Zen
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Very nice Zen. Love the Gransfors. I may need to upgrade my old hatchet. Sometimes the compromise for a little more weight is worth it for something so classic as a beautiful cutting tool.
I know an axe is not a necessity but once you get used to always having one it is hard to leave at home. Especially for those cold and wet early season trips where a good size piece of cedar deadfall is the only ticket to dry firewood in the bush.
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Thanks jonp! The Gransfors is awesome. It's great for limbing and for around camp, plus it really is a nice looking axe :D
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Wow! I take a multi-tool with a knife blade included in it and a folding saw. Something as heavy as a hatchet has never passed the scrutiny for its value vs. the weight. Even in damp, windy, cold, snow spring conditions I have never found dry firewood difficult to locate. I could see bringing a small, lightweight knife dedicated for kitchen duty but those others appear to be more than I would prefer to carry.
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ya forgot a fillet knife for da fish.
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I'm with you Pa; I bring my swiss army knife and folding saw unless going backcountry in the winter, then I'll add a hatchet.
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Me too. I bring a multi-tool, Folding saw and a fixed blade. Lately I've been looking at the fixed blade and wondering why I bring it.
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We have a similar selection of tools in our arsenal. But we don't bring them all on every trip. For a trip with few portages and challenging weather, we'll bring a hatchet. But typically we just bring a folding saw, a pocket knife each (we have two different sizes so we can maximize variety) and a kitchen knife that travels with our cook set.
Depending on what we're cooking, I really like having a separate kitchen knife. It's probably overkill, but I don't like the idea of using a knife that's cut salami to cut ropes or other things that won't get hung with the bear bag.
Thanks for sharing Zen! I love seeing what tools others use. Everyone is a little different.
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I'm in Claire's camp.. depends on the trip..
Heading into say.. Rosebary to base camp.. 1 short portage.. hatchet, bucksaw, kitchen knife, filleting knife, etc why not..?
7 day trip with long portages everyday... folding saw and one knife capable of many functions..
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Multi tool. Folding saw maybe. And a fillet knife for kitchen specific duties. Other than that too much weight. The odd trip I may package Gerber backpacker hatchet but not very often.
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I've never used a multi tool. Got tiny scissors and tick tweezers in my first aid kit, a folding bahco saw, and one knife to rule them all. What do you do with your multi tools? ( don't say multiple uses!)
Love the pic. Someday I'd like to do some base camping and use a gransfors axe. *Drools*
Last edited by Methye (2/23/2016 11:31 pm)
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Multi-tool use? Primarily the smooth knife for foods; scalloped blade for cutting rope or small branches; pliers for a variety of uses including repairs (crimping metal), pulling out super tight knots, or like tweezers; scissors for trimming/cutting; saw blade for cutting wood up to about 5 cm in diameter, file for filing fingernails or removing a metal burr, screwdriver blade for prying or scraping. 95% of usage is blades, 4% is pliers, other elements when rarely needed make up the other 1%.
When living on our farm, it was a terrifically convenient and handy tool to have on my belt nearly all the time. Use while camping is somewhat limited but those pliers can grab and pinch almost anything - I usually have a small length of 14 gauge wire in my repair kit and the pliers are great at using the wire like an ultra heavy-duty twisty tie.
Last edited by PaPaddler (2/24/2016 7:19 am)
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My multi tool for canoe trips is a Leatherman Charge. Very well made and heavy. Backpacking I carry a Gerber Dime. Like most Gerber products it is a piece of crap. But it is small and light. I should replace it with something better. The multitool has much more utility than a fixed blade knife. About the only thing I use a fixed blade for that a multitool can't do is batoning. And really batonning is just something Youtube has popularized. While it can be convenient to create kindling by batoning it is rarely necessary in our forests.
With a multi tool I,
Took apart a seized White gas stove pump (pliers)
Opened up and replaced O rings in a canister stove regulator (pliers)
Adjust simmer ring on Alcohol stove while hot (pliers)
Move Alcohol stove while burning (pliers)
Fixed a broken seat on a Swift Canoe (Copper wire and pliers)
Kitchen knife (blade)
Camp knife (blade)
Cleaning Trout (blade)
Unhooking fish (Pliers)
Clipping fishing line (Scissors).
Tightening glasses (micro screwdriver).
Lighting fire with a ferro rod (back of saw).
Process tinder (blade)
Trim and clean nails (file and scissors).
Oh, I forgot the other thing a fixed blade is better for, fighting off bears and zombies!
Last edited by MartinG (2/24/2016 7:37 am)
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I have a really small Leatherman ( Style PS) that has a carabiner and just clips on to my life jacket. Don't even know its there.
Very small and pretty cheap. I think I got it on sale for $25.
Not a whole bunch of tools but all the ones I really ever use in the backcountry.
Scissors, Pliers, screwdriver, tweezers and a file.. also has wirecutter and bottle opener.. both of which I have never used.. No knife but I always have a separate knife on me..
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Speaking of knives. I found this beauty along the Nipissing. A camper abandoned it along with a pair of Simms fishing boots, Sea to Summit towel and assorted gear that he generously decided to gift to the Algonquin wilderness.
Ontario Knife Raider Bowie. 15" from tip to tail. Weighing a gravity defying 1 pound, 15 ounces. Obvious answer to the question,"What knife for the zombie apocalypse?"
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15" ...good thing you weren't on a slot lake you would of had to throw it back.
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My thoughts:
1) GB Small Forest Axe: Mandatory for winter, and I carry in the summer as well. Love that axe, but I'm thinking the GB hatchet may save some weight. Both are dangerous due to the short handle, so I never do the full swing for splitting. Has anyone used the hatchet?
2) Saw: Bob Dustrude 24" for winter (600g), Bahco for the summer (180g). Dustrude for group trips, it really rips through the softwoods.
3) Knife: Mora is hard to beat, but would love to get a Helle...
4) Style PS: It has scissors, tweezers and pliers and it's light. Great tool. I stopped carrying the Wave: a) it's heavy; b) does nothing amazingly well; c) pliers are on the style PS. I think it's more of an EDC at home, but in te bush it's an extra 400g that I can live without (and haven't needed it).
It's always tempting to have several knives, but the weight builds up. The axe is extremely sharp and great back-up for the knife. Knife is a back-up for the axe (battoning). Axe is also a backup for the saw. So there is good redundancy even with the above minimal-ish system.
Would love to hear thoughts on the hatchet.
Cheers,
Marko
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