A small knife for Kayaking?

T

TrueBlade1

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Mar 22, 2014
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I have a nephew who loves to go white water rafting with his kayak. He knows little about knifes, so I would like to have a few options to recommend to him.

Must Haves:

A small sturdy 3''-5'' full tang fixed blade knife - stainless steel preferred
A tight fitting sheath that will hold the knife securely to his belt or pack in case of capsize
Quality micarta handles that will offer good traction in wet conditions
Price point not to exceed $90.00

I'm thinking of something like the RAT-3 without the 1095 blade steel. A short sturdy functional knife that securely fits into a kydex sheath so that he will be able to hang on to it in white water. He will want a knife that will give him good service for all his outdoor adventures. I don't mind inexpensive knives that will do a good job, but I'm not looking for cheep knifes.
 
Spyderco has a nice little fixed blade that's perfect for just what you described....Spyderco Enuff Salt H1! It won't rust and just a solid little package.
 
I would take a look at one of the Spyderco H1 fixed blades. The H1 steel will not rust.
 
I kayak a lot. No whitewater stuff, but everything up to it, including some small ocean outings. My wife and I have four kayaks and we go every chance we get. The two extras are for getting others to go along with us.

There are an awful lot of knives that fit the bill, but I thought I'd share my experience with knives while kayaking. I've tried several fixed blade knives strapped on my vest and they all ended up being inconvenient under certain circumstances. That's just my experience, but if you get into rolling, wet exits and entries, and other more challenging circumstances I've found a fixed blade's length and protruding handle can get caught at time and in places not of your choosing.

If the knife is going to see a lot of time in the water, a small fixed-blade diving knife might be a good option since there are literally dozens of option to choose from and none of them are very pricey. I've tried the Kershaw and Gerber options, as well as some no-name ones, and they all worked well while still being inexpensive enough to not stress about loosing or damaging them. A rubber handle works a lot better than micarta in wet conditions, if it's textured properly.

My personal choice is not a fixed blade. I carry two folders when I go on shorter trips. One is a Spyderco Native 5, which resides in my shorts pocket on a lanyard hooked to a belt-loop. The other is a Spyderco Manix 2 or Manix 2XL, which is kept in one of my vest pockets on a lanyard hooked to one of the carabiner loops on the vest. The folder fits very nicely into a (pfd) vest pocket that has a zip closure. It is quick to get to, but will not snag on sleeves, gear, or your paddle. It is always above the kayak deck in this carry method (even if you are wearing a spray skirt). And when I'm using it in under more serene circumstances I can simply close it and let it hang from the lanyard intermittently without fear of getting cut. The G10 grips work pretty well when wet, and both the Manix and Native are stainless (ones S30v and the other is S35v).

If I expect to do any camping, or getting out of the kayak and exploring, I carry a Fallkniven F1 or Sog NW Ranger in a pack in one of the dry compartments. I don't carry anything on my belt or in my pants pockets that I expect to need while in the kayak because accessing these items can be awkward depending on the size of the cockpit of the kayak, the fit, the style, and the circumstances. And EVERYTHING I intent to use while actually in the boat is on a lanyard. I've lost some good equipment thru negligence and take extra precautions every time I go out, now.

Good luck. I'm sure others will have some better fixed-blade suggestions than I do, but I would definitely consider a good quality stainless folder with some sort of serrations on part of the blade. I agree the Spyderco H1 knives are a good option as well.
 
When I use my kayak, which I fish from, I carry a Spyderco Pacific Salt SE in yellow handled version. The yellow handle is easy to locate if you drop it, even in shallow water.
 
americanbulldog1 said:
When I use my kayak, which I fish from, I carry a Spyderco Pacific Salt SE in yellow handled version. The yellow handle is easy to locate if you drop it, even in shallow water.
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This is a good point. But bear in mind that on the ocean or on deeper lakes, dumped gear is likely to be lost if it doesn't float or isn't on a lead line.

I dumped a very brightly colored, fortunately inexpensive underwater camera when I got rolled in an open-cockpit kayak on a 105 foot deep lake in weather conditions that were not ideally suited for that style boat. No sign of the shiny orange camera from above. My brother went down with scuba gear later in the day, and there was a thermocline at 25 feet that acted like a mirror. Couldn't see below the thermocline even when hovering 3' above it. Never found the camera. Conditions were too rough an my estimate of the position of the dump was probably not very accurate.

The Pacific Salt is an excellent choice. I like them for sailing. I often use a stainless Mora companion for fishing trips in a canoe or open kayak. Light weight, inexpensive, effective, and impervious to water (both the knife and sheath). They are cheap, but not cheap, if you get my meaning.
 
Thanks for all your help!
I'm looking at the Salt series and the Enuff series, but the knifes don't seem quite as durable and sturdy as what I'm thinking of, or maybe I just don't like FRN handles much. I tend to like beefier knives because I have large hands and am quite heavy-handed, however, it has to be his decision.
Thanks again,
 
If the knife is there to deal with the hazards of kayaking - like getting tangled underwater in something - that's what knives like this Gerber are for:
Voya_RIverShortyKnife.jpg


They are known as river knives, water sport knives or dive knives. They are meant to get you untangled, pry if necessary and be easy to grab and use with cold, wet hands or gloves. They are light and small with sheaths meant to retain and clip to life vests. They will spread peanut butter just fine and open food packaging.

http://www.topkayaker.net/Articles/Instruction/PFDKnife.html

I think using a really pointy knife when you're being banged around in white water could be fatal.


If another kind of knife would be useful for making camp or whatever, put it in a zip lock bag and stow it.
 
Good call on a stainless mora. Ive been wanting to grab another fixed blade for kayaking before the weather gets nice again. All I've got now is a stripped esee 4 in 1095, so I wanted something stainless to be safe. I've always used a leathermen in a pouch and a folder clipped to my pocket or my buck 102 in a sheath. The leathermen sees the most use, and I really don't care if it rusts a little.
 
How about a Cold Steel Kobun or Outdoorsman Lite? Within the price-range, stainless, decent wet-condition handles, and pretty rugged. Other low-priced options might be a Buck Silver Creek Bait Knife, a Gerber Freescape or Big Rock, Browning Ignite, Camillus Parasite, Kabar Johnson Adventure Wharnstalker, or a Boker Plus Bushcraft XL. Of all of these, I would probably choose the Boker or the Buck. Another good option would be the Mora 2000.
 
I know you want something fixed, but I have been very happy with my folder. A Benchmade 111 h2o. N680 steel. They might still make a fixed blade version.
 
RX-79G said:
If the knife is there to deal with the hazards of kayaking - like getting tangled underwater in something - that's what knives like this Gerber are for:
Voya_RIverShortyKnife.jpg


They are known as river knives, water sport knives or dive knives. They are meant to get you untangled, pry if necessary and be easy to grab and use with cold, wet hands or gloves. They are light and small with sheaths meant to retain and clip to life vests. They will spread peanut butter just fine and open food packaging.

http://www.topkayaker.net/Articles/Instruction/PFDKnife.html

I think using a really pointy knife when you're being banged around in white water could be fatal.


If another kind of knife would be useful for making camp or whatever, put it in a zip lock bag and stow it.
Click to expand...

My brother asked me what kind of knife would be good for a white water trip he was going on, and I had one of those Gerbers, so I gave it to him. Worked out well. A pry bar tip was more useful than getting stabbed. It is a very tough knife. I later picked up the version with a point, being more the landlubber type.
 
SadSappySucker said:
Good call on a stainless mora. Ive been wanting to grab another fixed blade for kayaking before the weather gets nice again. All I've got now is a stripped esee 4 in 1095, so I wanted something stainless to be safe. I've always used a leathermen in a pouch and a folder clipped to my pocket or my buck 102 in a sheath. The leathermen sees the most use, and I really don't care if it rusts a little.
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I really like the Mora 2000 and the Heavy Duty Companion. I just picked up a Light My Fire knife to try as a fishing knife while kayaking or canoeing. It is a Mora blade in a handle that contains a firesteel in the butt. The name is pretty lame, but the knife is excellent for fishing or light camping duties and the handle is comfortable and very grippy. The sheath is typical plastic Mora fare, but it has good retention and is very utilitarian.

I know the Mora's (and the plastic-handled Marttiini knives) look cheesy and are not prybars, but they are great knives that often cut better than $200 knives. Plus, you can spend zero time worrying about the knife and simply cut stuff. I keep two or three in tackle boxes and packs. Almost no weight, absurdly inexpensive, and razor sharp. I also carry a small Wonder Bar II prybar in my pack for prying and scraping chores. Very light, cost eight bucks, and saves my knives for cutting.

I don't carry all that when I go on short day-trips kayaking. I have to confess I do not prepare for the apocalypse when I go on short outings. Just a folder on a lanyard in a vest pocket, and maybe a Mora in the dry compartment with some granola bars, a water bottle and some light rope.

Funny story. I was headed up to Maine for a canoeing trip with some friends about twenty eight years ago. I asked how they intended to pack and they said they wanted to travel light and fast. I brought my canoe, jerky and granola, water purification bottle and light rain gear. I had a Kabar USMC knife and a SAK for tools, and some wet-strike matches as well as two lighters. Bedroll was a wool military blanket wrapped around the other items, with everything stuffed in a dry-bag tied to one of the cross-bars on the canoe. I often slept under the canoe in foul weather.

The three other guys showed up with two full cast-iron cook sets, 30 pounds of beef, three cases of beer, and three shopping bags of canned food items (in addition to various dry items like oatmeal, bread, and jerky). When they loaded the items in the second canoe, it had one inch of freeboard with only one person in the canoe. The second guy got in and the thing went under. They ended up leaving all of the beer, all but one of the cast-iron cookware items, and all but six cans of food items in their truck. Bear in mind we were going on a four-day paddle. They drank one and a half cases of the beer when we camped on shore the night before we set out. Most of the beer and beef they had consumed came back up during the first hour of paddling. I felt fine, having only had water, jerky and some beans (no beer), but I did end up doing all of the paddling while the other fellow in my canoe recuperated. Different idea of traveling fast and light, I guess.
 
Timberline knives makes a production version of fellhoelter' s ECS model in 3 different styles rite around$90 bucks. The SHEATH is what makes it such an awesome piece. Second choice would be one of dpx gear knives. Good luck
 
Stainless Mora Companion HD would be my choice. Nice no slip grip, good corrosion resistance and cuts like the devil. The HD has a thicker blade for a more heavy duty feel than the standard Companion.

It's not full tang but no worry, I been using one for years with no issues. I don't kayak but I do canoe a fair amount and stuff taken onto the river tends to get lost, he wont fret losing a twenty dollar Mora and it's easily replaceable.
 
The Gerber River Shorty looks like it would be a great knife to have available for kayaking. May have to pick one up.... but it's a Gerber.
 
22-rimfire said:
The Gerber River Shorty looks like it would be a great knife to have available for kayaking. May have to pick one up.... but it's a Gerber.
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Marketed by Gerber, since the good old days when Gerber was good, before Fiskars bought them out. And the River Shorty is a contract knife, made in Italy.
 
I kayak and canoe quite a bit. I needed a fixed blade that was lightweight, resistant to corrosion, and had a sheath that could work with a belt or without. The Gryphon M10 works perfectly. The coated VG10 blade stays sharp when used and doesn't rust even when neglected. The sheath it comes with retains very well, and it has a Spyderco G-Clip that works great with a belt up to 1.75",just clipped to swimtrunks, or clipped to a life vest or other webbing. The jimping on the back of the blade is great for locating my thumb during use. The rigid kraton handle is secure in the hand, durable and light and won't rot or rub off like cheaper rubber grips.

I also use the knife for hiking when ounces matter, it's quite capable as a general use blade. It's not a gimmicky "dive knife" so I can actually use it for cutting chores and it doesn't sit useless 99.99% of the time like a more narrowly focused tool would.

 
I'm sorta hooked on kayaking and while I don't own a play boat of any kind (all longer sea kayaks) I do get into some narly stuff. No problems rolling any of my 17 footers fully loaded. Tomba is right a fixed blade can get in the way during fun weather but I've had really good luck with the smaller dive knives like the gerber. The whole trick is placement. You can't always use the spot provided by the vest manufacturer. I often have a small fixed blade lashed to my left hand shoulder strap. Also test, practice, test, practice!
If camping I carry additional knife or knives in the kayak.

Mike
 
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