Appreciation post: I dropped $80 on a basic rock hammer and it changed my whole weekend

Everyone online says you need the fancy Estwing with the leather grip and the shock reduction, but I think that's overkill for a casual collector. I was in a small town hardware store near Sedona and grabbed their cheapest, no-name hammer for about eighty bucks. It's just a simple steel head on a fiberglass handle. That thing was perfect for prying loose some of the basalt chunks I was looking at. It's light, it gets the job done, and I don't feel bad when it gets banged up. The expensive ones are for serious, daily use, not for someone like me who just wants to crack open a few rocks on a hike. I see all these posts about gear and it feels like you need to spend a fortune to start. You really don't. Has anyone else had a good run with a simple, cheap tool instead of the top-shelf stuff?

3 comments

3 Comments

milacraig27d ago

But what if that cheap hammer fails when you're miles from your car?

smith.anna29d ago

I always saved up for the Estwing because the forums said it was the only real option. Spent last summer with a cheap 20 dollar hammer from a gas station near Moab. That thing lasted me three full trips before the handle cracked. You're right, the fancy gear is for people who use it every single day. For a few weekends a year, a simple tool is more than enough. I was totally wrong about needing the best to start.

hannah_perry29d ago

Totally get where smith.anna is coming from, but man, a broken tool mid-trip is the worst. That cheap hammer dying on the third outing kinda proves the point about spending a bit more for something that won't leave you hanging.