5-7" Fixed Blade Backpacking Knife Recommendation

B

Benaiah

Joined
Nov 27, 2006
Messages
26
Hi,

I'm looking for some knife recommendations to help me decide on a knife to take backpacking.

Here are the general specs I'm wanting:
Budget: Under $100
Blade Length: 5-7"
Blade Material: Carbon or Stainless
Sheath: Anything but leather
Weight: Under 16 oz's - knife+sheath

The knife is mainly for emergencies.

Thanks in advance for your recommendations.
Ben
 
Three words.....Cold Steel Bushman. You can pick one up for $20, it is very light, and it is a very tough knife. Take a look at the destruction tests on www.knifetest.com, this is one tough SOB. Pair it with a Mora or SWAK and you're set.
 
Kabar (the newer ones use kydex)

You might try a Sog NW ranger i know its light, you would nead another sheath as it comes in leather
 
The Becker BK-2 sports a nice thick 5.25" blade if you're looking for short and stout.

BK21.jpg
 
If you can find a Cold Steel SRK in Carbon V, I suspect you will find it is the best thing out there that meets your requierments. I chose it for the exact same reason: it is the lightest knife I could find that meets all your (same as mine) requierments. If you can't find one in Carbon V (now discontinued) you can look into the newer ones in AUS8 (stainless).
 
I agree, but it is the best place to see the toughness of your knife or a knife that you're thinking of buying. The Bushman has held up better than knives that cost 10X more. It doesn't look fancy, but it is a great knife for the money. It also fits the "light" part of the request.
 
Thanks for the quick replies!

Were's a good place to get Beckers? The handles look kind of chuncky on the Beckers...are they comfortable?

How's the handle on the Bushman?
 
The bushman is a unique knife, very plain but functional. Google it and you will find pictures and websites that sell them. You will most likely want to modify the handle. There a threads here that talk about that if you do a search.
 
The bushman is a great value and perfect for a BOB but I would want something a little nicer for a primary blade. One of the smaller kraton handled Fallknivens or a Becker would be good.
I used to pack a CS kukuri machete and a mora clipper and still use it as a budget emergency kit
 
Benaiah said:
Hi,

I'm looking for some knife recommendations to help me decide on a knife to take backpacking and camping.

Here are the general specs I'm wanting:
Budget: Under $100
Blade Length: 5-7"
Blade Material: Carbon or Stainless
Sheath: Anything but leather
Weight: the lighter the better

The knife is mainly for emergencies.

Thanks in advance for your recommendations.
Ben
Click to expand...

Thanks for this question, it was well thought out, and reasonable in terms of price range and feratures! :thumbup:

-Rat 5 or 7. In 1095, skip the D2.

-The Becker BK2 or BK7 (can be tough to find due to factory problems).

-Cold Steel SRK

-RD6

A bunch of different Kabars in 1095 steel.

A pretty wide range to choose from. It will boil down to personal preferences.
Good luck shopping!
 
I'll also recomend the SRK in Carbon V. Or the Blackjack Grunt in stainless (AUS8). But then again you might be able to get a custom job from Ranger knives for pretty close to the $100 - he's got a couple of patterns in that size range...
 
I have a Becker BK10 Crewman for these purposes. A good combination of stout and sharp, without being overly large. It's basically a BK7 but with a 5 inch blade. The sheath is nylon with a kydex insert, and has a capacious pouch for a multitool, bic, etc.

The handle is chunky, but comfortable unless you have small hands. If you dont like it, you can remove the handles with an allen key and either cord wrap it or replace them with something thinner.
 
I have a rat 5 in 1095 and its a great knife, the handle seems to be designed so choking back allows you to chop a bit with it. Superb blade.
Also check out grohman #4 survival knife, highly regarded in this forum.
Those are the only 2 I have in what you are looking for, hope to get a becker soon though.
 
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