I don't carry an axe or shovel when hiking or backpacking. Usually I won't even carry a saw, since its easy enough to break the kind of small dry branches I burn by hand.

Actually, when hiking/backpacking I don't carry my fixed blade Mk3 - its just too heavy, and my Mk1 does everything I need to do. The Mk1 AND Mk3 AND my Snow & Nealley Penobscot Bay axe AND my Trailblazer buck saw go with me whenever I am car camping. If its a longer term camp I'll likely take my big S&N "Our Best" axe too - I really like that axe.

So far the Mk3 is mostly used for cooking since it is a bit bigger than the Mk1 and cleans up so well. I don't carry it on my belt - it slides nicely into the padded area of my L.L. Bean daypack that was designed to carry a water bladder.

I can't think of a time I've needed a shovel while camping - other than a small one for moving coals when cooking with a dutch oven.

BTW, I EDC a mini-Mk1 at work. That's the nice I use 99.999999999% of the time. LOVE that knife!

I'm a huge fan of Doug's knives - no apologies for that. So far I have the mini-Mk1, the regular Mk1, the M2 steel Mk1, the M4 steel Mk1, the Mk3, and my wife has given me the Mk4 gentleman's knife and the orange-handled Mk1. I'm lucky enough to have a wife who puts up with me. I searched for a good knife and simply don't like much of what most manufacturers put out. There always seems to be some oddity about the designs - either the blade, the blade material, or the handle - that I just don't like. Doug's knives have hit my needs/wants dead on target.

The only other knives I use much are the ragweedforge.com Mora #746, #748, and #749 knives I keep in my RV. I actually carry a couple of #746's as "steak knives". The #479 is very useful for watermelon. They make fine kitchen knives.

Ken