Depends on what your trying to do.

If your goal is a usable tool for short term survival, until you can get found or walk out, I would go for a hatchet of some type. Light and compact but still functional for light work. For my BOB I slipped in a Fiskars, same as the Gerber except the Fiskars has an orange handle, because it fits the requirements and they say the handle is indestructible.

Now the key to this is to understand that such a light hatchet isn't going to be very efficient for felling anything but a small sapling, limbing, and pounding a stake suitable for holding down a tarp.

If your goal is to homestead a site where you will need to fell full sized trees for cabin construction, fences and firewood you need a full sized axe. You will pay a penalty in weight and bulk but your homesteading and not going too far.

If you want a tool for light chopping, recreational camping, the odd disaster and general use around the house and garden you might consider one of these:

http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/View_Catalog_Page.asp?mi=8174

Plumb and Sears sell a similar design that has a slightly longer handle that I like a lot. We called them a 'rigger's hatchet' but most seem to sell under the name 'half-hatchet'. The longer handle and half-hatchet head are great for building pole barns. We used the blade to chop out flats after sawing the ends for 2x10s with a bow saw. The hammer head is good for hammering in heavy spikes.

It is also good for shingling and taking the head off chickens and other jobs around house and farm. But it is still light and handy enough for camping use. A bit heavier than the Fiskars but not too bad. In return you get a bit more heft and chopping ability.

Between the Fiskars light-weight and a half-hatchet you could get a shingler's or drywaller's hatchet. I have seen these used by hikers.

The axes you see as the hardware stores are pretty poor compared to the highly adapted models an axe aficionado uses. They aren't too bad for occasional use but compared to the better models you spend twice the time and effort getting getting half the job done. The more time you spend with an axe, and the closer you are to maximum effort surviving, the more your going to like the finer models.

That said fine axes are thoroughbreds. They are designed for a single narrow job. They aren't suitable for rough handling, abuse and inexpert application. You don't use a $400 custom built felling axe to cut roots and chop clay. You wouldn't use it to convert a pallet to kindling. You wouldn't use the blade to pry boards apart. For that sort of use the hardware store models with fiberglass reinforced handles are what you want.