I think it's important to understand the jungle people use a parang because getting through dense and heavily vegetated jungle routes is incredibley hard without one.
I've used machetes and all sorts for years and while it is pretty neat being able to hack away at bushes and what not to increase the size of the camping area it isn't a must have, and most of it could be done with a mora or bare hands in not much more time.
Unless you have sawn wood to split, trees to chop down and shelters to build you probably wont need an axe either.. I do little/none of those things when camping, so I rarely take an axe out of necessity. I've used my cold steel bushman as brush clearer, long stick in the handle and it did a great job, far better than a normal knife its size and better than all of the heavy machetes I've used. So if that's the only real job a camp knife has then go for the bushman!
and if the minimalist approach is something you like the idea of then go for a camp knife/parang and give it a try, if it works you've saved yourself carrying an axe, saw and other knives!
Was just answering the question of what a large knife is better at than an axe.
If you dont need to clear brush and have logs to chop then an axe is a better choice
if you dont chop wood carry a small knife a larger camp knife may be a better choice
if you like one over the other then use that it will make little difference over a short time tho I wouldnt like to clear back heavy bramble and nettles with a Mora
a parang is much bigger than a camp knife IMO and nearly as heavy as a SFA size axe
a machette to me again is a differnt tool bigger in length than a parang but thinner and maybe lighter
as for the axe my fav is the GB carving axe obviously great for carving but also a good all rounder when ive tried it as i like to try all cutting tools in all jobs even ones they are clearly not meant for
it has a short handle like a hand axe but a heavy head in the mid range so it hits harder. it has a sharper thinner grind for carving so bites deep and cuts well but the head thickens so also splits you do have to be a little careful as the edge is obviously more prone to damage
you can choke up for carving and the bit shape gives great dexterity and control it also has a long cutting edge and its curve with the finer edge makes it good when choked up as an ULU style food and game prep knife very good for prepping stir frys
But with the SFA i would put it in a larger class of tool than the CC companion more in line with its big brother
heres a couple of pics form when i had the pass around CCtool
you can see my little Camp nessy is well out gunned in size and weight and thats my Kukri I used to carry
and against the GB axe
similar profile
Funny enough and probably Coincidence the companion size CC didnt exist last year when Chris Caine saw me at the Wilderness gathering and was interested in the Kydex on my Camp Nessy I was wearing
OA length XL 351mm CC tool 349mm
Edge length XL Approx 200mm CC 197mm
thickness XL 3.5 or 5mm or 5.8mm CC 5mm
My mate has the CC Companion and admits its fairly ruff in finish etc but works and cuts chops very well once sharpened (I think the grind geometry Material and HT on mine will give it the edge tho
) and is half the price of my XL but doesn't come with a nice Kydex cover but i can sort one out if you like
