Opinions on the olight otical axe?

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Drop bear

Joined
May 3, 2020
Messages
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Just it seems like the only tactical entry tool axe thing that is even vaguely affordable.

Has anybody used one?
 
My opinion is that it's not an axe, but a novelty knife thing that's vaguely axe shaped and nowhere near usable as one.

There's nothing of merit about this thing in my mind, but even worse is the fact that it has a big hole in the head to remove weight when you need all the weight you can get in the head of the tool.
that alone would have me running away from it as fast as I can if it weren't already pretty much useless otherwise.

That is just my opinion of this thing, I'm sure might seem somewhat okay if normal axes didn't exist and you had previously tried to process wood with a box cutter.
 
Its intended use case is unclear. As such it's difficult to meaningfully judge.
 
It's capable of doing a lot of things, I think. But I also think it would do a mediocre job at all of them vs. other market offerings. Just because something CAN do a thing doesn't mean it's good at it. But I do reckon if you were given some hatchet work to do and that's what you were given you'd find a way to get the job done. Harder than you would have to if given a better optimized tool, yeah, but I bet it'd reach the finish line eventually. My point is mostly that the design language is unclear and to give it a proper analysis does require specifying a context of use, or range thereof.
 
Looks like a too small entry tool with features added without clear knowledge of why those features are on other entry tools.
 
It's a hawk /pry/ hammer for breaching , survival , SHTF .

Like any multi-tool , not going to work as well as dedicated, purpose built tools .

Looks like a cheap version , but probably better than nothing . Maybe ? 🤷‍♂️
 
DocJD said:
It's a hawk /pry/ hammer for breaching , survival , SHTF .

Like any multi-tool , not going to work as well as dedicated, purpose built tools .

Looks like a cheap version , but probably better than nothing . Maybe ? 🤷‍♂️
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Except it would definitely perform much worse than other hawk/pry/hammer breaching tools on the market due to the way it's designed. Hence why its intended context of use is unclear. The item description tries to be very vague. Without clarification from the designer it's hard to judge how which features are meant to give what benefits, because the visual design language speaks to a market space for which it's poorly optimized, and yet some of its features would work in contexts other than what it appears to be marketed towards.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Except it would definitely perform much worse than other hawk/pry/hammer breaching tools on the market due to the way it's designed. Hence why its intended context of use is unclear. The item description tries to be very vague. Without clarification from the designer it's hard to judge how which features are meant to give what benefits, because the visual design language speaks to a market space for which it's poorly optimized, and yet some of its features would work in contexts other than what it appears to be marketed towards.
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Seems like there's lots of products now targeted for somewhat nervous people , wanting some "survival" stuff .

But not knowledgeable , skilled or experienced in such matters .

And not committed to learning . They just want to buy stuff , that they can believe will magically protect them , if needed .

To feel safer ! :eek:
 
DocJD said:
Seems like there's lots of products now targeted for somewhat nervous people , wanting some "survival" stuff .

But not knowledgeable , skilled or experienced in such matters .

And not committed to learning . They just want to buy stuff , that they can believe will magically protect them , if needed .

To feel safer ! :eek:
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Easily 99% of all knives and other edged tools are designed to sell rather than designed to use and it drives me up a wall.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Easily 99% of all knives and other edged tools are designed to sell rather than designed to use and it drives me up a wall.
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100% of my edged tools were bought and 100% of them are quite useful in their niche. So I'm giving you half credit.
 
Boattale said:
100% of my edged tools were bought and 100% of them are quite useful in their niche. So I'm giving you half credit.
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That just means you're one of the folks that actually stick to buying stuff on a functional basis rather than as eye candy, a serotonin boost when unboxing it, or as a prop to feed a fantasy. However, the marketplace overall is seemingly driven by sales in those categories, where looks and prestige matter more than performance. There are exceptions, but it really is 1 in 100 designs that are actually designed as functional tools first and foremost rather than as something to open folks' wallets.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
That just means you're one of the folks that actually stick to buying stuff on a functional basis rather than as eye candy, a serotonin boost when unboxing it, or as a prop to feed a fantasy. However, the marketplace overall is seemingly driven by sales in those categories, where looks and prestige matter more than performance. There are exceptions, but it really is 1 in 100 designs that are actually designed as functional tools first and foremost rather than as something to open folks' wallets.
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There's that with a lot of the new folders but other than that I think you're overstating the case.
 
Boattale said:
There's that with a lot of the new folders but other than that I think you're overstating the case.
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Not at all. I think you underestimate the percentage of the market that is comprised of laypersons and the shear volume of churned out flash-in-the-pan designs vs. the good ones. In part because good design takes many iterations and adjustments to really get it dialed in, while the poor ones get churned out. For every design from a good, reputable designer there have easily been a hundred gas station knife designs cranked out.
 
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