Credit Card Ax Survival Multi-Tool

Here’s one prepping and survival Kickstarter campaign that seems likely to succeed: Credit Card Ax: A Multi Tool by Survco For Everyday Carry. It’s a credit card sized multi-tool, whose primary functions include an axe head and an arrowhead. You need to provide a handle for the axe, perhaps from a tree branch, and zip ties or the like to strap the axe head to the handle. For the arrowhead, you need the same: the wooden shaft and perhaps some paracord to attach it. The arrow can be used as the head of a spear. The axe and arrow can be combined on a handle to become a tomahawk. And it fits in your wallet. (Not sure I want to be sitting on my wallet, but it would fit.)

A crowd-funding campaign is a funny thing. I’ve seen other survival-type campaigns fail miserably, despite being well designed from a prepping point of view. On the other hand, this drink cooler with built-in drink blender, bottle opener, and Bluetooth speakers raised over $13 million dollars. Survival type crowd-funding projects tend to raise a lot less money.

Another issue with crowd-funding is that some project creators over-promise. They design a great product on paper, but they can’t produce it in reality. The project gets funded, but no one receives the promised item.

This particular survival Kickstarter project is different. The goal is only $6,500 dollars, more than a third of which has already been raised. And the item is already in production. You can buy it at Etsy for $29.99 (free shipping U.S.). [Prices, terms, product availability as of this writing, and not guaranteed.] The crowd-funding project gives you the item at a lower early bird price, and probably is something of a marketing tactic. But this forestalls the usual risks of crowd-funding. The product is already a reality, and it has a low threshold to be funded.

Like most multi-tools, the number of functions is a little exaggerated. They say “21 functions”, but that counts tomahawk, axe, knife, scrapper, skinner, and shovel all from the blade of the axe head. The most useful functions are: axe, tomahawk, arrowhead, saw, socket wrenches (several), and bottle opener (in my opinion). But that is enough to recommend this inexpensive compact tool as part of any mini-survival kit.

- Thoreau