I have a lot of axes. But you can never have too many and at a sharpening workshop that I taught for National Trust volunteers at Winkworth Arboretum I got to work with some Husqvarna hatchets. They look good and better still are 1/3 the price of the equivalent Gransfors. I'm told that the edge holding is comparable to the Wetterlings.

So I was quite excited that I had a retail therapy day on 31st of May and ordered the hatchet and the carpenters axe from Abbey Garden Sales of Tavistock (Google it, I am not giving them a link).

Perhaps it is dealing with the likes of Amazon and Firebox but my expectations were that they would arrive an a couple of days. On 8th of June I asked where my order was. No reply. On 11th June I sent a longer email expressing my concerns that they had my money and I had no goods.

I got an email on 12th June giving an eta of 14 June. I also got a paypal refund as one of the other items I ordered to bring the order up to the free postage value was not available.

The axes arrived on time packaged in bubble wrap and brown tape. The tape was wrapped around the handles and now I have to remove the glue.

But the worst thing is the mask for the hatchet isn't even close to being the right size. It was floating around loose in the wrapping.

I am not a happy bunny.

If you are a retailer and think you can open a web channel by just getting an off the shelf webshop and loading it with your catalogue: think again. People expect more.

• If they had got the communications right I would not be having a whinge now. A simple email giving an eta when they know it was going to be nearly two weeks to get my parcel to me.
• If they had told me the order was going to be incomplete earlier I might have looked more kindly on them.
• If they had been nicely packed I might not feel so annoyed.
• If they had got the right axe mask in the package I could possibly have let the other things go.

A combination of these things has pissed me off so far that, when I have got this order sorted, I will avoid them like the plague. Even though they have lots of things I want. 

Rant over.

I'm off to get an edge on these axes and see how they cut. Look out for a review.

The new bivi bag arrived today
It's a Snugpack Sattelite XL and the first impressions in the back garden are good.

Putting it up using the curved poles is no problem which is just as well as it comes with no instructions.  The two poles are colour coded and clip into tapes. It comes with some proper moulded aluminium pegs with 3 blades that look like they will be pretty well bombproof.

It's big enough to take my big nanok sleeping bag (and me) without cutting off my circulation and it seems pretty well sealed. There's a zip that can close off the face mesh and closes whole thing off.

I have been advised that I might need a tarp over the top if the weather is wet. We will see. I think it should be pretty waterproof according to the spec.

The pack size is tiny and it is a sensible stuffsack that closes like a wet bag with a turn over top and compression straps. The bag is a generous size so packing away a problem.

It's a bit of a faff to get in and out off through the 3/4 length side zip but I'll get used to that.

I'll post an update when I've used it in anger...