Its a very conveniently sized axe and the head has pretty good weight too it all things considered. It came in good shape and seemed to be held together well, so I have no complaints. It fits very easily in the cab of my truck, so is great to have and easy to store for camping trips off-road. The convenient size paired with the hefty head means it doubles not only as a handy axe but also as a pretty great two handed hammer. I probably would opt for the smaller hatchet instead for backpacking trips though. USPS shipped the box damaged and the handle was poking half way out when I picked it up presumably at no fault of the mysterious warehouse thralls that packed it - thankfully it wasn't marred or anything so no problems at all. A small patch of light surface rust on the axe head but nothing a small bit of both elbow grease and actual grease couldn't fix. If you're a man of taste, order this with a tall bag of Ivan's zibby beans like me to extend the tree limb chopping rampage you'll find yourself in. Better to collect a truly terrifying quantity of chopped objects then to not and develop the Popeye-rivaling forearms that could only be found on a Swiss axe-man. I even had time to polish my boots afterwards.