>>236216>yeah, stay away from stuff with plastic handles.Well if he's going for something really durable, in some ways, yeah. But still, they're not all shit.
My father has an axe with a fiber glass handle from the early 80s, one of the first to be made with those handles, it's the only axe he uses and the handle is as good as new.
Me I use a Fiskars axe which I constantly take /out/ which is great seeing how light they are, and despite how cheap and fragile the hollow plastic handle looks, 5 years later it could pass as being new, aside from the markings that disappeared. And while the head can't be rehandled, not only I'm not the slightest worried about having any problem with it, but then there's a lifetime warranty.
So if "durability" implies not being dependant on a warranty, then sure, get a traditional axe head you can rehandle yourself. Otherwise, don't dismiss plastic handles too fast.