UST Camp Axe Review
The UST Sabercut Camp Axe is another item from Ultimate Survival technologies line of budget camp and cutting tools.
Specs: 12 inches overall. 1.3 pounds. 4mm thick.
Price is around $25 to $29 online.
First impression out of the package: Having tested the UST Para Parang it was great to feel this ergonomic handle, it was made of plastic with a rubber insert and a wrist lanyard. Out of the box, this felt very comfortable in my hand. The hatchet feels a little short but I am used to full sized hatchets and hawks. It is thin and doesn't feel heavy enough to be a chopper, but the thin profile probably will let it bite deep for such a light tool. It comes with a plastic lined nylon belt sheath that is fairly secure with two snap closures.
My fifteen year old son and I ran to the local tree dump to get a feel for how this hatchet works. We started off by chopping some green wood just to see how it performed. The first thing I noticed was that my hand had a tendency to let the hatchet slide out to a 3 finger hold to lengthen it. It chopped small sticks just fine, and usually in one shot.
Since most of us use hatches to process dry dead limbs for firewood we moved onto some dead hardwood. The first thing I noticed was that the ergonomic and comfortable handle did absolutely nothing to eliminate the shock and vibration through the hatchet, every hit felt like hitting two aluminum baseball bats together. It was painful to say the least. I found myself letting the handle slide out to a 3 finger grip which the lanyard helped with. I traded it back and forth with the boy and he said the same thing about the shock. It didn’t bite as deep as I expected, being as thin as it is. It did work, but it took a lot of hits to get through this piece of hard dead wood.
After just half an hour of hacking through sticks and small logs, neither of us wanted to use it anymore. As comfortable as the handle was to grip, it really didn’t do anything to mask the shock and vibration that made me not want to cut anymore. We then moved onto the other task that a camp hatchet is used most for, splitting kindling. How easy or hard it is to process kindling depends a lot on the wood being utilized, but a good camp hatchet will always make the job easy. This is the one thing this hatchet did seem to excel at. The axe had no trouble splitting small sticks in a single blow and batoning it with another stick would result in a split stick in just one or two blows.
After reviewing the UST Para Parang and really being impressed with the steel for a budget knife, I was disappointed to see that the edge had chipped after a short time using it.
Final thoughts: For ten or fifteen dollars you can buy a wood handled hatchet from most hardware stores that would perform far better at processing firewood and basic camp chores than the UST axe. The edge chipping is always a sign to me that the metal was not properly tempered after being heat treated. This was probably a quality control issue in the Chinese factory where it was produced. The handle that was so comfortable to grip really turned out to be useless when chopping. It was very uncomfortable and even painful to use. The Para Parang far outperformed this hatchet for less money and less weight. I personally do not recommend this hatchet to anyone looking for a good lightweight usable tool for camp chores. The quality of the metal was questionable and the comfort, or lack of, just made it painful to use. So far I seriously like UST’s line of fire starters, but the tally on their cutting tools is 50/50 on my tests so far.
Other ZASC staff members review
Doc: “First of all, this is just a first impression, hour long test, nothing in-depth. It was nice and light, easy to carry, and has a unique and very secure sheath. The belt loop is the only week point on the sheath that I could see, not sure how long the belt loop would last. It does swing very well for its size, good curve to the blade and general chopping isn’t bad. However it is very lightweight so the trade-off is on chopping power. Prepare to spend a lot more time chopping with this than a heavier hatchet/hawk. The handle is a mixed bag. The hard plastic parts are smooth and create some hot spots (Partially because I have large hands and it’s just a tad bit small for my hands), but the rubberized portions feel really good. A bit thin to hold though and painful (Again, large hands). For quick jobs or as a spare or backup hatchet, this lightweight hatchet is light and small enough to store and carry without much weight penalty. But the trade-off is just too much. I’d recommend something a bit heavier for long term or heavy use”
