Assist 2: The Ultimate River Knife?

Well, I have done a fair bit of testing whitewater rescue tools, and I don't believe that any one is the perfect tool. Here is what I have settled on.

On my PFD (for cutting rope, straps, clothing, neoprene, etc...) I carry a BM rescue hook. It cuts anything fibrous, with virtually no threat to myself, or the person that I may be rescuing. It is incredibly quick to deploy, and use, even if I have to use that hand for something else. I can easily swim and climb into a raft with the hook attached to my finger.

Mounted on my front pillar: a folding camp saw. This is for cutting boats (BTW, there is only one documented case of a successful rescue that required cutting someone from a boat), or lumber out of creek runs. I doubt that I would ever be able to cut myself out of a strainer with it, but I might be able to free someone else.

In my PFD: a modified Spydie rescue. I ground the blade down to a modified Wharncliffe profile. It is easier to slip between a person and rope,webbing, fabric with the new profile. It also gives me a sharp point, should I need to puncture a raft. I consider this knife to be a backup tool to the hook.

You will not cut yourself, or someone else, out of a plastic boat with a knife....at least not fast enough to save their life. I tested several tools on a Liquid Logic boat, giving myself 2 minutes of cutting time. No knife, not even a fully serrated Rescue with a freshly sharpened blade, would get through the cockpit rim in 2 minutes. A cheap, folding pruning saw went through the rim, and all the way to the grab loop in less than 40 seconds. I limited myself to the tool in hand, knowing that I could probably "hammer" a knife through the cockpit rim with a stout stick, but that won't always be available.

The bottom line is that you have to practice. Here is a good way. Next time you are at a pool session, have a couple of buddies loop a rope around your ankle, then pull you across the pool with it. This will simulate very weak river current. Attempt to cut the rope off of your ankle without severing anything vital. No fair "sitting up" and grabbing the rope - that is pretty much impossible in any kind of current that you would find above class 2.

Thom
 
I have never practiced cutting myself out of a boat (too poor) but I have been pinned, it is easy to do in the shallow rivers of the coast. It is then a huge myth that it is possible? I don't think so. My Kingpin is so thin that I know I'll be able to cut my way out of it, but not when major CMS is pushing on my back, pinning my face to the bow deck. I still think that there is a better option to those Gerber River knives. Everyone walks around with a useless knife thinking that they are prepared. The strainer scenario is real because my buddy cut his girlfriend out of one when they were snorkelling. I still would rather have something real, and I'm not sure I'll be carrying a folding saw while playboating, but creeking is an option. Thanks for your input, it has been quite helpful in answering my question.
 
The next H1 steeled Spyderco will be a Rescue styled knife. The H1 is softer than VG-10, so this might fix some of the brittleness issues you have. I don't know if it'll have the rounded, blunted tip like the Assist 2, but you can always blunt it if you need to.
 
Islander said:
I have never practiced cutting myself out of a boat (too poor) but I have been pinned, it is easy to do in the shallow rivers of the coast. It is then a huge myth that it is possible?
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Yes, I believe that it is. That's why I actually tested knives on a whitewater boat. I had heard from way too many paddlers that they carried a knife for that scenario, and I didn't think it was feasible.

Islander said:
I don't think so. My Kingpin is so thin that I know I'll be able to cut my way out of it, but not when major CMS is pushing on my back, pinning my face to the bow deck.
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I am not sure how you "know" this. The Kingpin is not any thinner than the Liquid Logic boat that I tested (a Session).

Islander said:
I still think that there is a better option to those Gerber River knives. Everyone walks around with a useless knife thinking that they are prepared.
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Since rescue knives are basically limited to cutting fibrous material, I don't think that the Gerbers are "useless". They aren't the nicest knives around, but they cut rope well.

Islander said:
The strainer scenario is real because my buddy cut his girlfriend out of one when they were snorkelling.
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Snorkelling is not whitewater. The power of moving water on a still body is unbelievable. If someone is caught and can be freed by cutting off their PFD/skirt/paddling clothing, then a knife is going to be a valuable tool. If they can only be freed by cutting wood, a knife is not going to do much good (within the 2 minutes that matter)

Islander said:
I still would rather have something real, and I'm not sure I'll be carrying a folding saw while playboating, but creeking is an option. Thanks for your input, it has been quite helpful in answering my question.
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I am not sure what you mean by "real", so I can't address that. If you are seriously worried about pinning, and think that cutting yourself, or someone out of a boat is a possibility, why not carry a saw? The Spydersaw, and the Gerber folding saw both weigh less than a full sized Spydie rescue, and are easy to mount on the inside of your boat

SYOTR
Thom
 
I like the folding saw idea a lot. We have a serious risk of pinning on our rivers, freerunning and creeking. Also, there are a lot of trees in BC, so they are constantly falling in the rivers. The saw would address both of these issues. The boat plastic seems so feeble like it would cut easy, but I bet it is resilient to cutting, seeing how it stands up so well to abuse. I think that I will get a folding saw and attach in front of the seat in the boat, and carry a knife on/in my pfd for cutting rope and lunch.
 
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