Car Campers Agree This Handy Tool Is A Useful Addition To Your Gear

If you're under the age of 50, you may very well remember "Hatchet," a Newbery Award-winning novel that has sold 35 million copies. Lots of other young adult books have come and gone, but Gary Paulsen's survival story from 1986 keeps finding new audiences. Generations of readers have rooted for Brian, the young protagonist, who crash-lands in the Alaskan wilds and must survive on his own. The plane is lost, the pilot is dead, and Brian doesn't have so much as a brown-bag lunch to sustain him. His only resources are the lake and woods — and a recent gift, a metal hatchet. While many of us might prefer a Swiss Army knife or one of those "tactical staves" that pop up in online advertisements, "Hatchet" proved how useful this age-old tool could be.

A lot of folks agree with Paulsen. "A hatchet is versatile tool," wrote one Redditor on a forum called "Car camping hacks and must-haves," with many others voicing agreement. Blogger Sue Cameron includes a hatchet among her "10 Car Camping Hacks" on the Adirondack Hub website, and Tammira Taylor says the same in her post on the Albuquerque Mom website. You don't have to find yourself in a life-or-death situation; hatchets are ideally suited for casual car-campers as well.

What is a hatchet, exactly? This cutting tool is a small axe, which can be wielded with one hand. While many axes are double-sided, most hatchets have a blade on only one end. Hatchets have shorter handles, so you can store them almost anywhere, and they're fairly light, making them easy to wield. Multi-day hikers routinely carry one in their backpacks, so car-campers might as well toss one in their trunk. Hatchets don't have the same power as an axe; it would be difficult to split sizable logs or fell a tree. But as Paulsen's hero discovers, hatchets are useful in countless ways. You could easily add quality hatchets to a list of the best hiking gear on a budget.

Naturally, hatchets are useful for chopping things, which most often pertains to firewood. When the hatchet is properly sharpened, you can use the blade to strip bark or cut up, which are helpful methods for building a perfect campfire every time. If you have no other implements, hatchets are useful for cooking over a fire; choke up on the handle to slice vegetables or chop meat, or even sharpen sticks for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. If you need to trim ropes or cords, you can swiftly sever them with a hatchet. Rookies often forget that hatchets have a flat back, which can be used like a hammer; for example, flip it upside down to pound tent stakes into hard ground.

You can buy hatchets at almost any outdoors outfitter, and they're widely available in department and hardware stores. While hatchets could theoretically be used as a weapon, you can order just about any kind imaginable online, although some companies set a minimum age of 18. Hatchets come in an astonishing array of designs and materials, though the basic principles are the same: a sharp, metal head with a short handle you can easily grip. Modern hatchets are more ergonomic than ever, and handle materials range from wood to nylon to rubber.

For safety, many hatchets come with a sheath that snaps over the head. To maintain your hatchet, you'll want to sharpen and oil it from time to time. Over many years, older heads may loosen or jiggle, which can be dangerous. If you're traveling with young children, make sure to keep the hatchet out of reach, even in the car. Before you switch on your engine, here's a car camping checklist with everything you need for a long weekend getaway.