Recommendation? a good beater for camping

I have a Gerber Strongarm. Great knife and good sheath. I bought mine a few years ago when they were $45-50. Now they run $70. I don't recommend it as much anymore due to the price increase. I also prefer a blade slightly longer.

I'm not a big Gerber fan but I do recommend the Strongarm. My old 600 Gerber multitool has worked just fine for many years.

If you go ESEE, I'd highly suggest the fatter G10 scales that are now available or the knife building thru the knife connection. The G10 are a vast improvement over the thinner micarta handles imo.
 
You shouldn’t have to spend anything close to $150. Right now the Old Hickory 6” knife comes with a pretty decent sheath for $19.99. A Green River 5” fish knife with a Kabar sheath will come to less than $25 and makes a very nice companion rig.

Another vote for Moras as well. The Kansbol is as capable as the Garberg for less than half the price. For kids, I would be inclined to start them out on a Companion, or some flavor of 611 for even less money.
 
I'm not familiar with most of the knives mentioned but for what it's worth I'll recommend the mora companion. You could buy 2 or 3 of them so your kids could have one as well.
I'd say get a folding saw with any leftover money. Something like a bahco Laplander then you won't need a knife that is strong enough to baton wood with. (I hate batonning wood) If you need to split then wood cut some wooden wedges with the mora, cut the log you want to split to size with the saw then use the wedges to split the log with another log as a mallet.
Or buy a hatchet as well that would make splitting much easier. Have no idea what things cost where you are but it's likely much cheaper than here in the UK. You might even have money left over for a cheapish but still fairly good quality machete like a tramontina for clearing campsites?
That's what I would do. But I'm not you :):thumbsup:
 
Any Mora for a good inexpensive but useful knife, ESEE 4 with different scales. I have a Ontario Rat 3 with the handle extension from knife connection, makes it feel like a different knife, so the 4 with such a handle would be a good all-rounder. Then a good hatchet. One idea that i like is a modified Old Hickory knife, maybe with new scales. Or at least take the scales off, clean the tang and reattach with epoxy and the same pins or other pins. Let us know how you go.
 
The true "beaters" are the Kabar Becker BK-2 and ESEE 5. They are tanks, hence "beaters". ;) I recommend neither. I own a BK-2. 10 years ago (maybe even 5 years ago) they would have been very high on the recommendation list presented. We learn.....
 
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I bought a Mora Companion for my wife and I'm very impressed with it. I could definitely get one for myself, but I'm inclined to get something else for variety's sake.

I have a folding saw and a camp axe (both larger than necessary, but not too large for a short hike), so batoning isn't a priority for me, but I'm not opposed to trying it out if I get a knife robust enough for it.
 
If you want a folding saw, I recommend getting a Silky brand one.

I have an ESEE 4 and the handle is about a half inch too short for me to be comfortable. The ESEE 6 HM has a nice handle and sheath. I ordered from TKC to get the kydex sheath instead of the leather one. I like the 6HM over the 4.
 
22-rimfire said:
The true "beaters" are the Kabar Becker BK-2 and ESEE 5. They are tanks, hence "beaters". ;) I recommend neither. I own a BK-2. 10 years ago (maybe even 5 years ago) they would have been very high on the recommendation list presented. We learn.....
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I second BK-2 and ESEE 5.
ESEE no questions asked warranty is also hard to beat.

I would also add Cold Steel SRK in SK-5 steel as a good beater option (I personally use Recon Tanto in SK-5 as a beater).
And finally Drop Forged Survivalist. Entire knife is one large chunk of 52100 steel.
 
TheTourist said:
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.
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And a knife made of junk steel wont take or hold an edge.
And a knife with bad geometry wont cut.

So, no, a knife is not a knife.

And if the sharpener friend you are suggesting isn't out in the field with you....you are out of luck when your junky steel loses its edge.
 
S supergnat By "beater" do you mean something you can beat on innocent trees in the woods with, or a decent reasonably priced knife good for general outdoor recreation tasks?
 
AntDog said:
Becker BK16. 17 if you like clip points. No need to spend more money. If those aren’t big enough for what you want, try the BK7.
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agree with your choice
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The "beater" term I think is relevant to the discussion in general and was generally not mentioned. A beater knife to me is one I don't care about and I'm pretty much willing to do most anything with it that resembles a knife task from digging, heavy batoning, lifting rocks, prying, cutting material into rocks... lots of hard use kinds of things that I seldom do camping or hiking. If I am car camping, I have a hatchet or axe with me in most cases.

I have a number of "beaters" but frankly the one I use the most is the old version of the Condor Bushlore with it's thick stock steel. It is way too hefty for me to carry in the woods to use for normal stuff as I have other options normally. So, it mostly gets used for rough work stuff and digging weeds out of my yard. If I were a ginseng hunter (digger) I might well carry it for that or the BK-2.
 
supergnat said:
I bought a Mora Companion for my wife and I'm very impressed with it. I could definitely get one for myself, but I'm inclined to get something else for variety's sake.

I have a folding saw and a camp axe (both larger than necessary, but not too large for a short hike), so batoning isn't a priority for me, but I'm not opposed to trying it out if I get a knife robust enough for it.
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Good inexpensive knife. I think the 5" Kabar Becker BK-62 Kephart would really work for you. I find Mora's a bit boring myself, although they would be nearly a first choice for me to leave at camp for cooking duty. They also make a good backup knife if you are inclined that way. My backup tends to be a folder (generally a Victorinox SAK). If I am carrying a shoulder bag hiking, I like to keep the Vic Trekker in there for the larger blade and the saw. It is all I honestly need.
 
marcinek said:
S supergnat By "beater" do you mean something you can beat on innocent trees in the woods with, or a decent reasonably priced knife good for general outdoor recreation tasks?
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Sorry, it didn't occur to me that "beater" might mean something different to the knife community than it does to the flashlight community. In the flashlight world, a "beater" is the opposite of a "shelf queen". It's a light that is convenient to carry and use, robust enough that it doesn't fail under the abuse of regular use (being dropped, getting wet, etc), and not so expensive or irreplaceable that I lose sleep over dents and scratches.

So in this context, I'm interested in a medium sized fixed blade that can comfortably do most knife-related camping tasks, is relatively easy to care for and maintain, and doesn't cost so much that I'm afraid to use it.

Sorry for the confusion.
 
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supergnat said:
Sorry, it didn't occur to me that "beater" might mean something different to the knife community than it does to the flashlight community. In the flashlight world, a "beater" is the opposite of a "shelf queen". It's a light that is convenient to carry and use, robust enough that it doesn't fail under the abuse of regular use (being dropped, getting wet, etc), and not so expensive or irreplaceable that I lose sleep over dents and scratches.

So in this context, I'm interested in a medium sized fixed blade that can comfortably do most knife-related camping tasks, is relatively easy to care for and maintain, and doesn't cost so much that I'm afraid to use it.

Sorry for the confusion.
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Ninety-nine percent of the knives suggested above meet your specs. Beyond that, it is just a matter of personal preferences.

Which ones do you find interesting?
 
I currently have a Benchmade Puukko 200 for camping and hiking. I've had Mora Companions in the past, and they worked well. Can't beat their price. I also had an Esee 4 for awhile, but eventually sold it because I liked it more in thought than in actual use. After I sold the Esee I waited around with no fixed blades at all because I wanted to wait to get one that truly met my needs and likes. Several months later the Benchmade Puukko was released and I jumped on it right away. No regrets, but I do want to get a kydex sheath for it soon.
 
supergnat said:
...So in this context, I'm interested in a medium sized fixed blade that can comfortably do most knife-related camping tasks, is relatively easy to care for and maintain, and doesn't cost so much that I'm afraid to use it.
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My kind of knife!!

I sort of gathered what you meant by "beater" from the knives that interested you. But I wanted to clear that up. ;)
 
sabre cat said:
Ninety-nine percent of the knives suggested above meet your specs. Beyond that, it is just a matter of personal preferences.

Which ones do you find interesting?
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At this point I suspect that any knife in this size from a good brand that isn't made for a specific purpose will probably suit my needs just fine. At this point I'm leaning toward the Becker 16 primarily because it's so popular and I'll have it as a point of comparison if I decide to purchase a 2nd knife. I also like the Ontario Rat 5.

I'm a little nervous about getting a blade that can rust (stainless steel has spoiled me), but it's worth a try, I suppose.
 
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