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I bought a 'tactical' camping hatchet from a gas station in Flagstaff
It was a total impulse buy for $40 on a road trip, and the handle snapped clean off the first time I tried to split a small log. In my experience, you're way better off with a simple hardware store hatchet that costs half as much. Has anyone else had a piece of gear fail that badly right out of the gate?
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faith6846mo ago
Feel that pain. Saw a "survival" shovel at a truck stop once that bent trying to dig in soft dirt. That whole tactical look is just cheap metal and bad glue. Stick with the boring tools that have been around forever, they work. What did you end up doing with the broken handle?
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annawebb6mo ago
Totally agree with @faith684 on the cheap metal thing. Fiberglass handles can be solid though, it's more about the quality than the material. Evan's right about the gas station ones being junk, but a good fiberglass handle from a real brand is tough as nails. The problem is most of that tactical stuff uses the worst version of everything.
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evan_burns956mo ago
Honestly, I used to fall for that tactical gear look too. Thought it meant tougher, but a cheap fiberglass handle from a gas station is just asking to break. Now I just grab the plain wood handle from the hardware aisle, it's ugly but it actually works.
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