Recommend camp/hiking knife

[grammy]

I have a Benchmade 201 Activator. Beautiful knife, very functional, and great steel. It is between $100-200.

 

[Zoub]

I thought I'd ask the knife experts. I'm looking for a all purpose knife for camping and hiking.

For me hiking or hunting is the "X factor".

If I am really going to wear that knife on my belt all day from sun up to sun down and use it in camp for general purpose I don't like knives over 5" flopping around on my side. Even 5" can be a bit much for typical uses and probably slow you down.

The ESEE 4 is my favorite of current knives I have looked at to give as gifts to family. Nice spine, good blade design for multipurpose and a choil to allow you to choke up on it for detail work. This is also why I don't like 50/50 blades, the serrations get in the way of doing detail work with your blade.

If it is so big it needs a leg strap, strap it to your pack. I will usually have BK1 (Brute) or BK7 on my pack.

 

[KG1]

I carry one of these on my person for an all purpose camp/bushcraft knife. It's like a beefed up mora. It has a thicker blade with a full tang for not much more money. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Condor-Sapien-4-Inch-Straight-Leather/dp/B003D9RBMU]Amazon.com: Condor Tool and Knife Sapien 4-Inch Straight Blade, Walnut Handle, Black Leather Sheath: Sports & Outdoors[/ame] You can google it, there are a couple of good youtube reviews. It comes with a nice leather sheath but i'm thinking I might look into haveing a kydex one made for it. I also carry a bigger blade in the pack.

 

[Colt.45]

I'm lookin to buy a good survival knife... What would you suggest ... Price: the best buy for the money.

 

[drbarnes]

colt, best value for the money look at scrapyard knives, esee or blind horse

 

[Colt.45]

Awesome thanks!

 

[cubby]

dollar signs don't tell any stories on a knife. be it camping or combat. i see POS knives talked about daily over $200. i see fantastic knives under $100.

buy what you like. but check the specs. if it says "surgical stainless steel" run. if it doesn't SPEC a steel, run faster. if it has the name of a gun maker on it, jump off the boat. so on and so forth.

my pick? Grayman Ground Pounder that is symetrically ground.

 

[jeremy]

For a Camping/Hiking knife I prefer to keep the blade length in the 3-4 inch range. It is just far more handy and user friendly for the types of jobs that are found on your average Camping/Hiking trip.

 

[sadclownwp]

The Becker BK-2 is prolly the best all around knife for the money there is. At least for camping and hiking. But it really depends on what you are going to be doing with it.

 

[bingley]

I'd recommend taking a look at the Benchmade Griptilian. The fixed blade is more versatile if you have the space. I'd probably avoid serrated edge unless you know you'll be cutting rope and sawing stuff. The ergonomics is great, and the blade is well-constructed, the geometry not prone to tip breakage. Decent thickness, good width for working closely. It's very nicely balanced. It's around $100. Spending much more than this on a knife doesn't make sense to me, unless you are a collector or you have a special application.

I'm not as enthusiastic about the Benchmade Rant, which is supposed to replace the Griptilian and provide a better value. I guess it's OK.

If you want something cheap, the Gerber Rock is not a bad choice ($35). I'm a little worried about the steel, but the geometry is inoffensive and sensible.

I'd recommend that you go into a camping store and see which one feels best in your hands. Avoid knives with back saws (useless!), overly pointy tips (breakage!), hollow hilts for storing stuff (bad breakage!!!), weird curves (limited application), etc. In other words, no Rambo knives. Simplicity is often the best. The blade geometry should resemble the Griptilian. You might have to work with the knife for a long time, so make sure it is well-balanced. The grip should not be aggressively checked. Most of the time that just ends up chewing up your skin.

I'd avoid most "tactical knives." Some of them are good, but most of them are designed by and for people who don't actually use knives (including fighting). I tend not to like military knives, because (1) they're bad for fighting, and (2) while very robust, they're often a pain in the neck for me to work with. Fortunately our military doesn't have to fight with knives. Maybe (2) is different for you.

Da Bing

 

[tradertator]

dollar signs don't tell any stories on a knife. be it camping or combat. i see POS knives talked about daily over $200. i see fantastic knives under $100.

buy what you like. but check the specs. if it says "surgical stainless steel" run. if it doesn't SPEC a steel, run faster. if it has the name of a gun maker on it, jump off the boat. so on and so forth.

my pick? Grayman Ground Pounder that is symetrically ground.

Agreed. The Grayman Pounder is a beast!

 

[Txlur]

Hiking - I'd snag a Mora. They are light. I like the red plastic handled ones.

Something nicer - Fallkniven A1 or F1. Check out the torture tests.

Something beefy - The other guys seem to have this covered, rat, ontario, becker.. They all seem like they can do the job, and I haven't handled any, except for the cold steel SRK, which has a nice sheath and great thickness for around $60.

Folder - Ka-Bar dozier folding hunter. Get it in orange. Never loose it. Best 20$ you can spend. Just remember to loc-tite the thumb nub, mine has come off once, and come loose once.

 

[cubby]

I'd avoid most "tactical knives." Some of them are good, but most of them are designed by and for people who don't actually use knives (including fighting). I tend not to like military knives, because (1) they're bad for fighting, and (2) while very robust, they're often a pain in the neck for me to work with. Fortunately our military doesn't have to fight with knives. Maybe (2) is different for you.

Da Bing

plus one! knife "designers" and knife users are usually completely seperate!