When I packed for my first real backcountry trip at 19, I grabbed a folding saw and a flimsy hatchet from a discount bin. Both let me down within an hour of reaching camp. The saw snapped on a knot, and the hatchet bounced off a log like a rubber mallet. That trip taught me […]

When I picked up my first felling axe fifteen years ago, I had no idea a 3-pound head on a 28-inch handle could change the way I see a forest. After testing more than 40 axes over the past three years and felling everything from 6-inch maples to 22-inch oaks, I can tell you the […]