Looking through my collection of axes, it seems that I have a lot more fibreglass handles than I did five years ago.

Fibreglass handles seem to be just about indestructible, and nearly impervious to weather and abuse by overstrike. The axes I use and abuse all the time (pulaski, splitting maul, 2.5lb car axe w/24" handle) all have fibreglass handles.

Weight-wise, wood wins every time. For the self-propelled traveller, that matters a lot. And it seems that for a true cutting axe, the "swing" is better and more effective with a wooden handle (highly subjective). High-end axes (no root choppin' with these) all seem to come with wooden handles.

In preparing for an unknown situation, is the extra durability of fibreglass worth it? (I think it is, since axes get used as hammers too. YMMV.) I wonder what firefighters use these days; that's a good indicator for hard use.

So: which do you prefer, for what tasks, and why?