Recommendation? a good beater for camping

Moras are best outdoor knives for money,Ontario has some good choices ,also Condor and Kabar,but id get mora and hatchet,along with some knife for food processing with thin flat grind,cold steel has some good choices along with ontario ,srk in sk5 is very good and inexpensive knife,along with drop forged survivalist bowie.You have many choices.Buck 102,105,118,119,120 are other nice knives that will not break the bank,depends what you like,but mora and nice swedish hatchet will take care of any task.Dmt folding sharpener or pocket norton sil carbide stonewould be nice addition too.
 
Last edited:
I was raised to have camping tools like rake, axe, hatchet, garden rake/fork, shovel, machete, a few work knives, and the like. We would camp for several nights, however, and having level ground free of rocks is crucial. Most of the tools I mentioned are for making and maintaining a great camp site. A machete of some sort is indispensable for hiking in my opinion. Even more-so when you find a site you like so you can start cutting a nice path for an easier trek.
 
A machete around the camp is a useful tool. It takes care of most of the chopping that might be needed. As far as carrying one on hikes.... I have done this if I know I will use it, otherwise it gets left in the truck. But I always have one in my pickup, always.
 
Becker BK5 Magnum Camp Knife
0wnnwVT.jpg
 
That bk-5 is ideal, but discontinued. My top suggestion is the ontario cerberus in d2. Amazing knife & handle. Despite the gerber brand, the strongarm is very good, sheath/belt options are very good as well. I would recommend thinning out the grind a little bit as I have. My bk-7 is awesome, but may be heavier than you prefer. My mora companion hd feels great in the hand and there's no knife better for that price. Pick what looks like it work with how heavy handed you want to be and what you see yourself doing with the blade.
 
OP, if you’re determined to blow all of your budget, there’s a brand new Swamp Rat Ratmandu on the exchange right now for $150...


They’re pricey, but you’d have a very hard time finding a better camp knife.
 
Becker and Ontario's SP-line are good places to start for sure.

A specific model that I think makes a good starting spot is the Esee 6 if looking for improved wood processing capability, or the Esee 4 for something more general purpose. I'm partial to the HM version of those Esee's. The BK16 falls right into that category as well.

More of a bushcraft knife, but the bushcrafter HC by LT Wright is a good option as well, and the might have something bigger by now in their HC line of knives that is more to your liking if you want something bigger.

Mora's are always a decent option if you like scandi grinds. I like the Sheffield green river knife myself. Baryonyx sells a Dexter Russell version that is without a sheath that is close and a little less expensive.

Buck has a few nice USA fixed blade options that could fill that role well too; I like what they are doing recently with their well-priced USA made knives the past couple years, thought most are still hollow grinds if you dislike hollow grinds for camp tasks.
 
supergnat said:
Gerber Strongarm
Click to expand...
To your point, Gerber doesn't have a strong reputation in general, but I've never heard of a Strongarm failing.

supergnat said:
Schrade SCHF42
Click to expand...
I HAVE heard of Schrade fixed blades failing, though. One quick example, but there are lots of videos on YouTube showing similar failure modes:

As others have said, there are tons of options for under $150. The Cedric and Ada channel on YouTube has some good reviews of a lot of the knives mentioned, including abuse testing.

Some other knives to consider, that I haven't seen mentioned in this thread:
  • Fallkniven - F1 or S1, depending on size. "Just" VG-10, but they do a damn good job of it. Plus, you won't have to worry about rusting
  • JP Peltonen M95 - another solid Scandinavian survival-style knife. Very similar to the Teravas mentioned earlier, but someone better build quality (IMO). Neither will fail, but the Peltonen will look nicer
  • Lionsteel T5 - above your price point by a bit, and probably overkill. However, after all the knives Pete (from the Cedric and Ada channel) has beaten on, he said this would be his go-to if he had to settle for one production knife. Hard to argue with that
My two cents: start with something under $50, figure out what you like and don't like about it, rinse and repeat. The perfect knife for one person's ergonomics and needs may be awful for you, and vice versa - no reason to jump straight to $150.
 
I’d keep an eye on the secondary market at $150. Lots of cool stuff you could get second hand for that amount. I’d look for a Khukuri (m43 from Himalayan imports is really good). Or a Bowie, like an old Western W49 Bowie, Cold steel trailmaster in carbon v, maybe an old Gerber Bowie, something like that.
 
Being a sharpener, I'd go the other way. After all, a knife is a knife. It's the edge that makes it dangerous and/or useable.

Talk to your friends and folks organizing a garage sale. Buy any kitchen knife there for pennies. Somewhere amongst your friends (whose liquid refreshment you've been supporting for years) is a pal who owes you--and knows a sharpener, or at the least a hobbyist with an "Edge Pro."

Figure it this way, if you wind up spending real money for even average cutlery you'll have to pay for sharpening anyway. Buy junk and fix it up.

I figure it this way. When I was a boy I saw a Hudson Terraplane in mint condition. Some hobbyists will customize anything...
 
Beastchopper said:
That bk-5 is ideal, but discontinued. My top suggestion is the ontario cerberus in d2. Amazing knife & handle. Despite the gerber brand, the strongarm is very good, sheath/belt options are very good as well. I would recommend thinning out the grind a little bit as I have. My bk-7 is awesome, but may be heavier than you prefer. My mora companion hd feels great in the hand and there's no knife better for that price. Pick what looks like it work with how heavy handed you want to be and what you see yourself doing with the blade.
Click to expand...
When the BK-5 was around retail, I have picked them up many times to fondle. I do like a big knife and the BK-5 IS a big knife. I love the blade profile for general use which is why the BK-15 (discontinued also) is one of my favorite budget woods knives. If it was easily obtainable, it would be my recommendation for this thread. It was such an underrated knife and I like it just they way it came from the factory.

I have a BK-7 and I think it's too big for most of us to carry hiking. It's the tweener between the BK-2 and BK-9.
 
I don't have much use for medium-sized knives (5"-9" blade lengths) in the wilderness. They are too small for big tasks, such as chopping wood, and too big for small tasks, such as food prep and other more delicate tasks. I always like to be prepared for the worst that can happen. A tough, high-quality, dependable knife is one of the best tools a person can have in an emergency or survival situation. If I only had one it would be a "do everything" knife with around a 10" blade and finger choil.

I'm not familiar with all the knives mentioned, and I'm sure there are some very good ones, but in your price range I like the Esee-4 for general camp use. Good steel, full tang, 3/16" spine, drop point, finger choil, removable micarta handes, and molded sheath. Hard to beat, IMO!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top