Hatchets worst problem is that they can ricochet, the lighter ones are far worse about this than the heavier ones. Estwing is the best made out there, the only hammer I have ever purchased as well... I trust them. You can also get them with a rubber handle. The metal goes to the bottom.
You WILL eventually miss, a tube handle will fold, you can end-up hurt badly or just with no hatchet, if you are very lucky.
It ain't camping to take it with you, but taking the wood with you already cut does just fine.

I'm with rkzenrage on avoiding tubular handles, failure can be catastrophic rather than incremental.

hatchets weigh too much. go with the folding saw. every ounce will count going up hills, dude. i have a plastic handled one that weighs nothing. i take a lot of abuse about it, but it has always served me well. it rips thru branches with a quickness. perfect for campfire wood, and faster cutting than a hatchet. It's not like you'll be felling trees.

Folding saw + Hatchet
 

For many summers in my youth, I traveled by wooden canoe, and cooked over an open wood fire. We were manly men, and chopped all of our firewood with a short Hudson's bay style Axe. very wasteful of wood and energy. Now that I have to substitute smart for strong, I use a folding saw Sven saw, (Minnesota USA), but the best are japanese - silky - a UK link:

http://www.abbeygardensales.co.uk/su...s-0001704.aspx

The Silky USA site recommends some of their models for camping use.

I also use an Estwing 26" axe now for splitting the sawed up pieces, but the Estwing hatchet or a roofers hammer with a hatchet blade and a hammer head is a great idea without being so threatening. I agree with rkzenrage, Estwings are satisfying for their simplicity, function and form. like most quality tools, there is no reason not to have it to hand down if well kept.

For small fires, a sheath knife with a stout blade can be used to split sawn wood, and it's lighter than a hatchet. A traditional hunters knife, not a military one, ought to be acceptable, but I know that people aren't always reasonable...
Never used a pencil torch, another good idea. I'd stash a few solid fuel pellets for when it's been raining long enough that dry tinder is hard to come by. we were pretty caught up in the tradition of it.

in combination with commercially available napalm:
http://www.nitro-pak.com/images/7360-Fire-Paste-NN.jpg
you'll have no issues

Sven saw. The silky may be sweet, but do you want to make a side trip to Japan or Walmart for a replacement blade?

I don't think you'll be cutting much firewood. Are you going to be cooking over it? Is it for environmental warmth? Something to tell stories around and toast your smores? Only option three is a reasonable excuse for a fire night after night when you're traveling.

Cooking over a wood fire is ... a challenge. A long time consuming, inexact, fuel intensive, romantic ordeal. At camp, after hiking all day, I want something hot to drink and eat, and right quick. That means a camp stove. I **LOVE** my MSR Dragonfly. It is loud, granted. That is its only "flaw". It has a great range from candle flame to SR-71 on afterburner. It runs on white gas, unleaded, kerosene, diesel, and jet fuel. No, I'm not exaggerating.
I love it. I'm never going back.

I'll only mention in passing that open fires are often not allowed at all, when a camp stove is. I guarantee you'll find that to be true as you travel west, especially as fire season starts.

For the record, I have the Gerber version of the Fiskars (one company bought the other...) and I love it. It is scary sharp, light enough to pack and goes on ... one trip in ten, and I camp a lot. The Sven saw goes on every trip. Much much much more practical and useful.

We used to collect pine-cones and lighter-knot. I agree with the folding saw comments. I also like a heavy machete, but I know how to use them, they take some time to become skilled with... they can be dangerous for someone not used to them.
But, still, my last few trips before becoming too ill... just cut it up at home and took it, pre-cut, with me. But you have to have the right vehicle, tarp and room.
I like cooking in the fire, fold the food, wine and spices into several layers of foil, bury into the coals and wait. BTW, use a shovel and long tongs. We called them hobo-packs in the scouts and on the ranch. Does well with potatoes too.

that does make more sense, biggie. much of the time you may not be able to gather fuel for a fire, and that stove looks portable enough. there aren't many trees along the road in oklahoma.

I loved my Coleman stove! I still use Coleman Camp Stove Fuel in my Zippos, cleanest, hottest, least expensive fuel in the world.
I miss my Coleman... :sniff:

I made blueberry crepes for my wife at dawn in Death Vally on that stove *cries*

i wish i was going too....in a microbus

When I was a canoeist, we were cooking for nine, and the little backpacking stoves wouldn't cut it. We were in Ontario and Quebec, and there was plentiful seasoned windfall and drift wood for fuel, and yes, building a wood crib to set a 6 quart aluminum pot full of water on to boil required experience, fast reflexes and a pair of foundry/welders gloves for rescues. The multi burner stoves were too big and heavy, and didn't pack well in our scheme.

an older more experienced guide once made me a scratch blueberry pie, rolled the crusts out on the bottom of a canoe using a paddle shaft as a rolling pin, a frying pan, lid and two plates as a dutch oven. birch and maple for slow cooking coals. I did it for a group the next year and achieved legend status with them.

didn't earn shit for salary, and I'd go back and do it again in a second. sigh.

Weight doesn't count, afloat. Pedaling it counts. I've taken similar advantage during our kayaking expeditions. I love cooking with a dutch oven, and that's one tool that is well suited to wood fire / coals cooking. I even have a small one (9 inch) that is backpackable. I won the first place prize for my pecan pie, best dessert, made in that little dutch oven. I love dessert.

But floating and cooking for nine is a considerably different situation than carrying and cooking for one. I still say stove, for this trip.

You guys are awesome. I now know more about the pros and cons of axe-like implements than I ever thought there was to know!

I've got one of those MSR Dragonfly stoves already. I think I'll pick up a tiny folding saw and napalm to make a fire if I feel like it.

Thanks for the hatchet/saw advice, guys. I'll have to take a good look at the selection the next time I'm out.

Ah, my favorite camping stove! Eats nearly any fuel and barely uses any to bring a pot to a boil. The Dragonfly is a beast and I've considered moving away from it to a light, quiet folding stove that takes gas canisters, but I can't bring myself to do it.

Curious: Did your stove come with a red pump or green one?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/14/88...69fd153ea7.jpg

...and we need a "camping" thread. I'm crazy about it.

Mine came with a red pump.

And yes, we need more camping chat.