Backpackers! How heavy is your knife?

[SVTFreak]

AG Russell Hunters Scalpel. AUS-10 steel, hard locking sheath, and now available in orange.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...nge-quot-latest-update-to-the-Hunters-Scalpel

Thanks. I found it.

Love the execution but just a little smaller than I would like.

 

[uluapark]

knife carry needs to follow the mantra of" better to have ,and not need, than to need and not have." better to err on the side of safety,and have a knife capable of securing food,shelter, just in case something un expected happens, and you have to over stay your trip. having a SAK is all well and good, and may even be valuable in processing small stream fish you might need to catch. but other than that, it is too light for other stuff, and therefore i would carry another knife in addition to the SAK.

again safety first, have a way to make fire,process food. then worry about widdling down the weight, but dont sacrifice safety, and nessary capability doing it.

 

[sideways]

Never underestimate the SAK.
[video=youtube;F-9LihiP_sA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-9LihiP_sA[/video]

 

[Hacked]

Mine is on the heavy side at around 3oz with sheath and neck lanyard but I haven't been able to force myself to downsize. I also tend to have a Swiss Army Knife which in all honesty is all I really need. I wouldn't consider carrying a 6 - 8 oz knife on a backpacking trip personally, Ounces = pounds.

 

[Shotgun]

knife weight will depend on need, i can go from a HI BVCAK pictured below, to a becker bk2, to a full size kukri, if the shelter, fire building needs are there. my full size kukri weighs in at 35 oz.

my smaller knives,

How's that little kuk? I've always wanted a small one but I always wondered how useful they are.

 

[neeman]

my knives

On my belt always an Opinel #7 or 6

In my pack
A SAK Huntsman that has a saw and sissors (the heaviest of the carry)
A SAK Classic for first aid

then
A Mora Scout SS 3 1/2" bladed
or
A Mora #2/0
or
Enzo Necker skeleton

 

[NoviceWoodsman]

I don't think I've ever really needed more than my little SAK Tinker (2.2 oz) or Boker Congress (2.8 oz) on a properly planned backpacking trip. However, I always carry a 3-4 inch belt knife when backpacking (4-5 ounces depending on the length and tang). I like to do a lot of carving on the trail. I doubt even that get much above 5 ounces, if that. It's actually the one item I don't weigh or base my decision on weight. My knives aren't very heavy though. That being said, the last time I went backpacking I slept under a tarp in a bivy sack and packed only lightweight and some ultralight gear. I didn't take a knife at all...but I carried a small 9" belt axe (14 oz), so go figure.

 

[Thomas Linton]

If everything goes as planned, my SAK is plenty.

Heck, a safety razor blade is probably enough if everything goes as planned.

I do not backpack with only a SAK because things rarely FAIL according to plan. For the same reason, I carry a first aid kit, whistle, and more than one way to start a fire.

I have had occasion to help others who carefully planned that nothing would go wrong.

 

[Faiaoga]

0.5 ounces, plus a bit extra for the sheath and lanyard. 1-2 oz total I would guess.

In my ~30 years of backpacking, recreational dayhiking, and living and working outdoors full-time... I've actually found that there are very few things in the outdoors that need cutting. Maybe a food pack, guyline, or moleskin once in a while. On most trips I never use a knife at all.

More serious backpackers carry a Swiss Army Knife than any other single piece of equipment. Even a fancy one like the Tinker only weighs just barely over 2 oz.

Almost all of the time nothing more than a Tinker should ever be needed. However, I cannot understand anyone hiking the back country without a sturdy sheath knife 'just in case". The AG Russell knife or a simple Mora should be adequate; in a emergency, these can help improvise a stretcher or make a fire.

As I remember it, Colin Fletcher (The Complete Walker) stated that he carried a sheath knife with a 6 inch blade or so. The possible need for the knife as an emergency survival tool made the extra weight worthwhile. A very short and light machete could be worth its weight in gold under some conditions. Some 12 inch machetes with sheath weigh no more than 12 oz. Such a knife can cut poles for a stretcher, improvise a shelter, cut a trail through brush or keep an emergency fire going during an unexpected storm.

 

[TheGearGuy]

I love backpacking. I've been backpacking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains 4 or 5 times per year since I was 22...21 years now. Also for the past couple of years I've been finding wilderness day-hikes to do nearly every two weeks while I travel the western states for work.

Nearly all of the knives I collect are either intended for EDC or wilderness use.

When it comes to my backpacking equipment I am a weight FREAK. I compare and source products obsessively, I cut tags out of my clothing and drill holes in my toothbrush, and that's just the beginning. BUT...I'm also a knife nut and weight is not my only priority. When it comes to knives, weight be damned, I'm bringing a nice knife...maybe 2. I figure all of my obsessing over weight allows me to bring a little more knife.

So, if I'm backpacking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains I'm usually going to be above 10,000' and you can't have a fire above 10,000 legally. Plus I will have a tent or bivy and a stove. So without a need to process wood for fire or shelter I only bring a folding knife, or 2. If I get a chance to make a small fire someplace down lower a good folder will still do the job. Most times I'm just going to clean fish, open food packages, cut para-cord, carve a hiking stick...etc...light stuff. My go-to for these situations (because I think it's actually a little overkill and that makes me feel good) is the ZT 0562 CF and it weighs 5.5 oz.

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When I'm going for a longer trip in the same sort of area and I'm more concerned about weight I will go with the Slysz Bowie at 4.3 oz instead.

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In both cases I usually bring a back-up stashed in the bottom of the pack, just because I'm a little knife crazy. Most of the time it's my ZT 0450 because it's only 2.9 oz.
It's the one on top in this pic. I don't have a good individual pic on Imgur yet.

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If I'm going to be lower than 10,000' or going anywhere other than the Sierras I take my Bradley Bowie (used to take my ESEE 4). It's absolutely my favorite when I'm in any wilderness. It's comfortable, tough, stays sharp, and big enough to do everything fairly easily. Wood processing, food processing, fire starting, protection, this knife handles everything gracefully IMO. At 7.7 oz it's about the same as the 2 knives I would take above 10,000'.

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I do also usually take a back-up even when I have my Bradley Bowie. I like to pair the Bowie with my Benchmade 484-1 at 3.5 oz with it's sharp little S90V blade.

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Truth is, I have always found the "back-up" knife unnecessary but I just like knives and I have a lot of them so I bring 2 because I like to.

Other knives I have taken into the wilderness with me lately have been the Spyderco PPT, Spyderco Techno, ZT 0900, ZT 0452CF, Benchmade 940, Spyderco PM2. But the 5 above are the ones I've been happiest with so far.

All the Best!

 

[TAH]

Good post, GearGuy. Thanks!

 

[druid189]

For the most part, backpackers are conscientious of keeping the weight down on their gear. Backpackers who are not into knives, typically carry a small SAK, or similar, just enough for small cutting tasks. But if you're like me, a knife geek, you splurge on the knife you carry even though you count ounces on all the other stuff. For the last 5 years, I have carried a Fallkniven F1, which is 6 oz., but I'm thinking about replacing it with a little heavier knife just to change things up a bit. The two knives I'm considering weigh around 8 oz. - Bark River STS-4 and ESEE 4. Backpackers who are not into knives would cringe at the thought of carrying an 8 oz. knife. Over my 25 years of backpacking, I have carried heavier knives and lighter knives. So I'm curious, how much does your knife weigh and where do you draw the line?

I'm not really overly conscious about weight...though I do tend to limit my pack to about 20-22% of my body weight. That makes my pack max out at about 55 lbs.

That said, I used to carry a Cold Steel Trail Master Bowie - that is of course, until a few years ago when it was confiscated by a daughter . I carried that on my belt with an Altoids 'survival' tin of firestarters.

I replaced the TM with a KABAR USMC that I had bought a few years earlier and was attached to my INCH bag. I replaced the KABAR [for the INCH bag] with my old [Vintage??] Gerber Tac II

I used to carry a small forest axe but lost it when my canoe no longer wanted me [or my gear] in the boat...that was a $250 axe....just....gone....

So I changed up to the batonning option with bigger, heavier blades and really haven't looked back with the exception to possibly getting a CRKT Chogun T-hawk.

I do carry a Case large folding hunter that is a family hand-me-down [on my body], as well as a smaller hunter/skinner fixed-blade in my pack. I always have not less than 3 blades on me in the woods...2 on my body, one in my pack.

 

[Ferahgo]

About 4 pounds of knife. I carry my bk9 on occasion as well.

 

[TAH]

About 4 pounds of knife. I carry my bk9 on occasion as well.

Ferahgo, this is exactly what I wanted to hear. Now I don't feel so guilty carrying an 8 oz. knife. :thumbup:

 

[Hacked]

The funny thing is a Victorinox Classic is probably one of the most popular backpacking knives. It comes in at .7 oz and offers additional useful tools ontop of its tiny little blade. I personally wouldn't take it as my only knife, but it goes to show you what is really needed to get along. I do think a lot of folks go overboard with what they need to get by out in the woods. Even if one needed to maintain a fire and build a shelter a SAK or small knife is all that is really needed in most areas.

 

[Zemapeli]

I carry a reground and restored Cattaraugus Quartermaster 225Q on hikes. I don't have a way to weight it, but it is very heavy for a knife. I'd rather have a reliable rough use knife that I can depend on. A smaller folding knife is a good backup. Either a CRKT M16 14M, Emerson/Kershaw 6K, or Camillus Cuda. Those are my usual folders.

 

[TAH]

The funny thing is a Victorinox Classic is probably one of the most popular backpacking knives.

I'm sure this would be the common answer if I asked a backpacking forum...

I carry a reground and restored Cattaraugus Quartermaster 225Q on hikes. I don't have a way to weight it, but it is very heavy for a knife. I'd rather have a reliable rough use knife that I can depend on. A smaller folding knife is a good backup. Either a CRKT M16 14M, Emerson/Kershaw 6K, or Camillus Cuda. Those are my usual folders.

...and this is a common answer when asking a knife forum.

 

[Shotgun]

I'm sure this would be the common answer if I asked a backpacking forum...
...and this is a common answer when asking a knife forum.

For sure. I visit a light weight backpacking site every now and again. Not only do they not carry a decent knife, they look down on people that do. In one thread a couple people were bragging about a 1 dollar knife they sold at walmart as being light and good. I had to step in and at LEAST tell them to get an opinel or a svord. There's inexpensive and there's cheap. Better off grinding down the edge on a caulk scraper IMO.

 

[Hacked]

For sure. I visit a light weight backpacking site every now and again. Not only do they not carry a decent knife, they look down on people that do. In one thread a couple people were bragging about a 1 dollar knife they sold at walmart as being light and good. I had to step in and at LEAST tell them to get an opinel or a svord. There's inexpensive and there's cheap. Better off grinding down the edge on a caulk scraper IMO.

This sums up my users completely, inexpensive but not cheap (crap). You have to remember though that a lot of backpackers are hiking heavily traveled well marked trails and eating frezer bag or no cook meals. They depend on insulation rather than fire and radient heat to keep warm. So the need for a knife is limited to minor cutting tasks. But I completely agree that's no excuse for carrying a Walmart special, your better off with a disposalable utility knife blade IMO.

I'm sort of in between a "bushcrafter" and a "backpacker" I guess. I like to hike scenic trails and camp out in remote areas. I enjoy the hike as well as camping. I like to have fires but still bring a stove and use a tent for shelter and a pad/bag to keep warm. I like to have a quality reliable knife for use in camp, but I perfer thin and light over thick and heavy as I value ability to cut over ability to pry. I don't find batoning nesisary in my uses as I can typically find some small dyameter wood on the top of a dead standing tree to split into kindling without the use of a baton and I don't bother splitting wood aside from the kindleing to get the fire going. I'm sure they look down at my fire, knife, external frame pack, and budget minded gear but it doesn't bother me one bit ;-) you have to HYOH.

 

[Thomas Linton]

It is hardly unusual for folks to show contempt for those who have a different opinion about any topic, including knivish things. On that topic, Backpacker did an article are suggested a razor blade as the optimal cutting tool for backpacking.