Camping - Firewood Gathering Tools

[Hilldweller]

I usually will gather wood in the method that requires the least amount of effort. I like small fires you can sit next to and fiddle with compared to a fire you can't get any closer than 5 feet to. That being said the size of the fire will vary depending on how cold it is....
YMMV

Darrell

It was 16 degrees and breezy at Country Fried Weekend Saturday night. So we built a pretty big fire --- and burned the bear... :sombrero:

chopping wood:

Burning wood:

The Bear:

But we had 78 people to keep warm. And it wasn't really "camping". It was a glamping party.

Kids enjoying the Burning Bear:

 

[Xterabl]

Awesome!
Goes to show there's a time and a place for everything...!

 

[srgsng25]

this couldn't be a better time for this thread. at the end of last season, we sadly lost our double bladed axe by snapping the handle off we are looking at the Eastwing Camping Axe http://www.estwing.com/ao_campers_axe_long_handle.php

 

[Scoutn79]

this couldn't be a better time for this thread. at the end of last season, we sadly lost our double bladed axe by snapping the handle off we are looking at the Eastwing Camping Axe http://www.estwing.com/ao_campers_axe_long_handle.php

That is the one I have. I really like it. It packs away nicely in the back of the Scout, holds an edge, the steel handle won't break and the rubber grip doesn't transfer shock to your wrists. I have used Estwing hammers in my construction business for 20 years....very well made product.
The only draw back is the short handle does take some getting used to compared to a full handled axe....It requires a slightly different swing but works just fine.
Darrell

 

[Hilldweller]

I have an Estwing too; sharpens up great and keeps an edge.
Best axe I've ever had.

 

[vicali]

I come from a long line of woodpile connoisseurs, few things are as great as sitting around a fire with a nice firewood supply.

Tools match the trip, if we're out for awhile and need to get wood sorted for the week it's hard to beat a chainsaw.

If we're just trying to relax I will leave the saw at home and just take my axe for splitting/gathering.

There is also a small hatchet and folding saw that live in my recovery gear in the truck all the time.

 

[E.J.]

this couldn't be a better time for this thread. at the end of last season, we sadly lost our double bladed axe by snapping the handle off we are looking at the Eastwing Camping Axe http://www.estwing.com/ao_campers_axe_long_handle.php

You could always get the head re-handled.

 

[iluv83vettes]

You could always get the head re-handled.

I use the same axe that my granddad used. The head has been replaced twice and the handle 5 or 6 times. It's great to still be able to use something so old.

 

[Kowboy]

Long time ago, a buncha old wood had washed up on the shores of Lake Mead. I took advantage of this a few weeks ago.

Made quick work of it with my Stihl MS 201 C. Lightweight, low emission member of their professional series of saws. Compact with a 12" bar and a powerhead weight of less than 9 lbs. Fits nicely in the extended cab of the truck. Handy tool to tote. Also tote a Stihl splittin' maul and an ax. The beauty of havin' a beefed-up full-size rig.

 

[BigSwede]

this couldn't be a better time for this thread. at the end of last season, we sadly lost our double bladed axe by snapping the handle off we are looking at the Eastwing Camping Axe http://www.estwing.com/ao_campers_axe_long_handle.php

I have one. They are very nice for chopping, lousy for splitting. Which is why I started carrying the Fiskars splitting axe so I can do both with one tool.

 

[Chili]

I use the same axe that my granddad used. The head has been replaced twice and the handle 5 or 6 times. It's great to still be able to use something so old.

Haha.. Theseus's Paradox.. Haven't seen that in a while.

 

[eatthepeach]

Made quick work of it with my Stihl MS 201 C.

View attachment 208791

That's the cleanest saw I've seen this side of Lake Mead!

 

[Kowboy]

First time it was ever fired up. :sombrero:

Figurin' it'll get alot more use this summer when I migrate my way up into the mountains.

 

[86cj]

Stihl cordless chainsaw

I recently started bringing my DeWalt 20 volt sawzall camping with a spare wood blade and battery pack, it makes camp prep very easy and don't have to smell like chainsaw fumes.

I was thinking the same thing last fall before a camping trip, I hate the sound and gas cans a chainsaw requires. I have been wanting a cordless sawzall and had a fall trip planned on the Golden Road that could require a real fire all day. In the summer, camping fires are small and mostly at night so my normal Svensaw, axe and hatchet work just fine. I have also noticed a lot of primitive campsites have a supplied fire ring that is very small and requires a lot of time and labor cutting by hand to make a safe fire. I stumbled across a cordless chainsaw online and stopped by my Stihl dealer, he made me a deal on an older model MSA-160-C on clearance. http://www.stihl.com/STIHL-power-tools-A-great-range/STIHL-Cordless-Power-System/01554/Cordless-Chain-Saws.aspx
.

It's not the cheapest method in this thread to cut wood but the little saw does just what it is asked to do, The 36V battery life was good for a few days of campfire wood, and does not bog down unless you make it, the little 1/4" chain just needs a few seconds more time to work. The newer version has a longer blade and battery too.

 

[Septu]

So, I am trying to gather the perfect kit of tools for gathering firewood when Jeep-Camping. I go out into the forest when I camp now so I am trying to source the right list to do the job.

Now it comes down to the axe... Should I just get a splitting maul and be done with it? I plan on sawing about 2-foot segments of downed trees around the campsite area and then splitting them if they are large enough.

Well, that's my plan. What's yours? How do you gather firewood? Do you just burn big branches that are on the ground all night? Do you just saw 4"-6" logs into small segments and burn them all night? Is splitting wood overkill when camping in the woods?

This is what I use for an axe. Cheap and very effective.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/fiskars-x25-super-splitting-axe-28-in-0575115p.html#.UwIuEbQSjfI

Chops firewood like a champ. Fortunately for us, firewood is free in the Yukon so I'm just splitting already cut wood. When we're out in the boonies, I usually bring some cutup 2x4 ends from projects, or we find deadfall (there's lots) and just chop that up.