The Fiskars don't have what it takes to be long term, hard use axes, at least they didn't in Alaska. When you're travelling anywhere from a few miles to over a hundred miles on a snow machine (that's snowmobile to everyone else) in weather that starts at 0 and goes down from there, usually WAY down, you can't afford to have an axe break, which the Fiskars did far too often, and with no recourse. Wooden handles can be replaced, even in the middle of nowhere.
I had the big 26 inch Estwing for camping when I was in college and I liked it, but I hated not being able to choke up on the handle. It's still sitting in a storage unit waiting for me to unpack it (we just retired and moved back down) but I'll probably give it to a nephew and get a Gransfors Bruk, which is what I had in Alaska.
For a first axe, the Estwing has some advantages. It is very durable, but I'd get the rubber handled one which absorbs some impact better than the leather does. They don't have great edge geometry, which can be fixed, and the steel is okay but not excellent which can't be fixed. Nice thing about them, though, is that while it won't work as well as a GB or a Velvicut Council Tools, it will last and last and last. If you get one and use it hard and often, you'll eventually want to get something better (and if you don't on your own, sometime ask someone if you can borrow their Wetterlings or GB and then you will want something better) you can relegate the Estwing to behind the truck seat where it can get bounced around and still be counted on to work when you're out and about and need one.
