***** 401K *****  What do you mean 401K???

Several weeks ago mine just got up and left and took my hope of ever retiring with it. !!!

 
   This is the one I have. IMHO for the money you can't buy a better one. Unbreakable handle, bright color so you won't leave it and good steel.

Comes with a plastic sheath that LOCKS to the axe.
They make a myriad of aftermarket Kydex/Leather sheaths if you want something fancier.

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Hey Tom,

I'm looking for an axe. I'm thinking I might need it if I can get into some place wild such as Wabakimi where I have to literally cut my way through a portage. I have a corona saw with a 13" blade which is perfect for this but sawing large diameter blowdowns can be exhausting. So, is an axe the answer as a backup?

I know there are intrepid, experienced trail clearers on this site such as yourself who've swept through trails after some of my early-in-the-season excursions and taken out such trail blocking monsters. So, I'm looking for advice on 1) whether an axe is necessary and 2) what would be a suitable axe to pick up (assuming I need one).

It's wild country out there.

Now that you've articulated what you want your axe to be capable of, my recommendation is clearly NOT what you want.

   As for sawing thru large blowdowns being exhausting with your current saw, a AXE big enough to do the job is going to be even MORE demanding physically.

You have to swing the weight of the axe overhead which increases the load on your heart by about 25% not to mention the increased risk of self-injury.
    A saw doesn't need to be used with downward force like a axe does. The sharpness of the saw does the majority of the work.

  If you do go the axe route, Fiskars makes bigger ones built just like that camp axe I recommended.
You can forget staying around 2 lbs too. A axe big enough to do what you want is going to have a 2 1/2 pound axe head or bigger plus the handle.

If you want to be able to cut big blowdowns, then a BIG saw is the way to go. Problem there is you WILL need to cash in your 401k to buy one. 

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  They make a 500mm AND a 1000mm when you want to clear the WHOLE forest.

  Here's a link to a YouTube site that features a Alaskan couple who are into Bushcraft. They both know their stuff and do alot of DIY projects. Check out his folding saw review.

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I second Marten's recommendation; a decent saw (and good pruners if you can spare the weight) are much safer and more effective than an ax.