Some years ago I was involved in organising a bothy weekend and the topic of conversation turned to the bothy fire: is there one and who’s bringing wood/coal? I told everyone to carry in a small amount each of varying sizes; on the day hardly anyone did and the one person who did brought a lump of 4×4 timber! When I asked how they intended to light it I was met with a quizzical look…
If there’s no fuel in the area (and most bothies have had the local area scoured bare) then you are looking at carrying in fuel. A map recce should give you an idea of possible sources en-route and with the aid of a couple of tools you can ensure you have the right wood to start and maintain a fire. A pocket saw is a great tool for converting fallen limbs and deadwood* into manageable fuel, and in years gone by I’d have used a knife to strip off excess twigs and branches. Recently though I’ve been converted to using an axe and had spent some time searching for one online as at the present time actual physical shopping was not possible. One that caught my eye was the striking black and yellow Ganzo Sport Axe and despite lockdown I have been able to give it a fairly decent bit of use.
Ganzo Sport Axe
At 34.5cm long this axe is ideally sized to fit into a rucksack, or indeed on to it (or a belt) and it comes with a protective moulded plastic axe-head guard which has a built in belt mount. In addition the guard is fitted with a fire steel which is recessed into the plastic underneath the axe head. This simply twists to release. The guard is shaped to provide a carrying handle and the axe itself is removed by rotating a plastic retainer.
The complete kit.
The axe handle is a one piece moulded affair, but it is hollow and contains a 30cm long hand saw with an 18cm blade; the saw being retained inside the handle using a pop stud closure. Between the axe, saw and fire-steel this should provide a unit which can be used to prepare and light a fire from start to finish. So how does it fare?
Axe Head in carrier and fire-steel. Note the rotating retainer which can be operated one handed.
First up, the axe. The grip is comfortable and even with sweaty hands has no tendency to slip. It’s nicely weighted and I found it easy to strip down smaller branches and protrusions to prepare for longer lengths for sawing. It retains a good edge and can handle chopping larger pieces of wood as well as finer shaving. The rear of the axe head has a flat head which can be used for hammering which is a nice touch; it’s good to see a design which aims to pack as many features into it as possible though I am slightly mystified by the large hole on the head of the axe and would love to know its purpose.
Folding Hand Saw: More efficient than the Ganzo one which is more of a backup than a main tool.
If you use it with the saw still in the handle it does tend to “rattle” a bit which can be off-putting, so I’d recommend removing the saw for extended use. The saw itself was a disappointment and I found it was prone to bending and sticking on anything thicker than the diameter of my thumb. At that thickness I could simply chop it with the axe anyway. As an emergency backup it would be acceptable but I would not rely on it as a first choice and for that reason my folding saw remains part of my kit.
The saw inserted in the handle, with pop-stud retainer.
The fire-steel is certainly effective and is best used with the back of the saw. I’d prefer a slightly longer steel, finding it just a touch short, however it does produce the required sparks, so it does what it is supposed to.
Overall this gets a thumbs up, despite some shortcomings. The one piece design means that head and handle remain secure and are unlikely to loosen with use. There’s no cord handle to fray or wood to splinter so this should be a durable axe which will give years of service. It would be nice to know that you could obtain replacement parts such as the fire-steel and hand saw, but these don’t appear to be available so make sure you don’t misplace or break them.
Axe Length: 34.5cm
Blade Length: 8.5cm
Weight: 860g
The Ganzo Sport Axe is available from a variety of online retailers for around £35.
*I’m highlighting the words “fallen limbs and deadwood” for a reason. Don’t go round chopping down live trees for firewood. That’s about as polite as I can be on the subject.
The Airdrie Rambler 