"...I find a hatchet and saw too big and bulky to carry comfortably on my person, and they do not fit well in my backpack..."

I'm personally stuck in the middle of this issue, I like a fixed blade knive (some, like my ugly old British Mod 4, can do a pretty good job of chopping limbs, etc), I really like a saw over any chopper for limb sized wood, and I love a good hatchet. What to do. Take what is best for you I guess. There are some very small and lightweight hatchets available today, with metal handles and heads the same width as the hande, making them very easy to carry or pack, yet they do a pretty good job of chopping. There are also several brands of folding saws that pack very easily when folded, and of course there are always larger fixed blades available. So whatever turns you on, do it.

How was that for sitting on the fence???