Backpacking through Europe.

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My brother is graduating this year and soon after he is leaving to go backpacking in Europe for 3 weeks. For part of his graduation gift I was thinking of getting him some sort of Leatherman or other multi tool to take with him. Would he have any problem carrying this over there? I don't know what the laws are regarding that sort of thing throughout the different countries he will be visiting. What are your thought?
 
Backpacking thru Europe. I doubt he´ll have any problems at all with a letherman or something like that. Here, in Sweden, you can carry one of those if you have it in your backpack, with intent to use it at a camping site or something like that. Then, you won´t have a problem. Crossing the borders wouldn´t be a problem either, but to be sure, don´t carry it openly or in your pocket, keep it away from reach, in the backpack.

If he flies, ofcourse, he can´t carry it on the plane, but that you already knew.


Good luck


Niclas
 
I would get him an Opinel to take with him. It's a great, cheap knife that will cover all of his cutting needs. It won't matter if it gets confiscated, and it's a common knife in Europe. If you want to get him something nice give him some extra dough and tell him to get a unique Swiss Army Knife when he is in Switzerland. They have models there that you can't get in the States.
P.S. The only downfall of the Opinel is that it's French made. But it is still the best cheap knife on the market by a long shot.
 
I don’t know which Leatherman model you are thinking of but the Wave is not allowed in Denmark because it can be opened with one hand. Besides that you are only allowed to carry folding knives with a maximum blade length of 7 cm (approx. 2.75 in) and no fixed blades. But I am sure it can be a fantastic experience anyway traveling through Europe.

Have a nice trip.

____
Carl
 
Any politician in Denmark ever give you a satisfactory explanation why one-handed opening is a feature of a knife that must not be allowed? What is the big objection? Is a knife that can be opened with one hand somehow more lethal than one that, say, requires two hands to open but is opened by a criminal well in advance of his attack? Once opened, all knives are equal: they are ready to cut. The time to open, or the ease of opening, is nearly irrelevant. I don't think that there is a significant difference between the fastest opening knife and the slowest opening one. If the fastest takes 1/1000 of a second and the slowest takes a full two seconds, two seconds is still a short amount of time. If the law makes a person take 1.999 second longer to open their knife, is anyone safer from attack by that person because of it?

Why are the people who make these laws so damned IGNORANT?!
 
I totally agree with you peacefuljeffrey. No I have never heard a reasonable explanation but I know what they tell you.

The explanation is that with a one-hand opener you are able to grab a man from behind with one hand and then take you knife from hiding with the other and open it without letting go of the victim.

I don’t think that this prevents attacks, and if an attacker really needs to open a blade or to have a blade ready after grabbing a victim, nothing prevents him from using a fixed blade (from household). He is a criminal anyway so I don’t think he cares about breaking the law of not carrying a fixed blade in public (they can be bought, but are only allowed for hunters, scouts).

____
Carl
 
Originally posted by Veratio
Here, in Sweden, you can carry one of those if you have it in your backpack, with intent to use it at a camping site or something like that.
Click to expand...
Actually, here in Sweden there are almost no kinds of restrictions regarding types of knives. Autos aren't outright banned, but you aren't allowed to import or transfer ownership of them. And that's it. Any (other) knife you need for a practical use you may carry while you need it.
 
In the Netherlans he can carry his multi-tool even on his belt, except when your brother goes out for a drink in a pub, if he goes to a dancing, ...
It depends on the circumstances and places he is going to visit, whether IMO he should keep the tool in his backpack while visiting a city, carry it on his belt while hiking or keep it safely in his hotelroom when he goes out partying.
In Belgium you can carry a tool, but I would recommend him to act in the above mentioned fashion. It ain't worth the hassles or loosing your tool when a cop decides to be difficult.

I carry my folders in the same way and in the same circumstances, and I have never been into trouble.
 
>Would he have any problem carrying this over there?"

=====================================

No.
 
If he drinks wine, make sure he has a corkscrew, and a can opener for cans, and a bottle opener for bottles. A Swiss Army knife is ideal, and I always use one in Europe. I used to carry a longer knife for cooking, like a Frosts, but it doesn't seem necessary. If he goes for class, get one of the attractive Lagiolle (spelling wrong) folders from our ally for over 200 years, the country which helped bankroll our Revolution, and from which come part of my genes. Vive la France!
 
SAK explorer (esp for the sciccors, tweezers, corkscrew, can opener)
Spydie Endura Plain Edge VG10 - I used this to cut cables, webbing, ham from a whole leg, chicken, soap flakes, vegetables, MREs etc

I've used this combo on many trips - works like a charm.
 
...please don’t forget to equip yourself with decent corkscrew!
I couldn’t consider what countries your brother is going to visit, however there are excellent vines at the southern Europe countries.
 
I traveled all through Europe in the early 90s with an Aitor Gran Capitan (swiss army like folder). Never had any problems, but then again I never had a run in with the law either.. I wasn't aware of any of the various country's knife laws and if I ran into trouble I was just going to plead ignorance and flash my Canadian passport...

Like mentioned above, a corkscrew gets a great workout in Europe, more so than the blade... I would suggest a simple non-locking folder and then look for a cool local knife like the Aitor or Laguiolle.

Cheers.
 
>"SAK explorer (esp for the sciccors, tweezers, corkscrew, can opener)
Spydie Endura Plain Edge"

==============================

That's an excellent recommendation. :)
 
i would be comfortable carrying a non locking SAK with me all over europe. The knife laws vary wildly. I think as a general rule you will find the far western countries of europe have very very strict knife carrying laws whereas the central/ eastern parts have reasonably relaxed laws regarding this.

You cant really go wrong with a SAK with a non locking blade and a reasonably large amount of tools on it because it cant really be called a weapon by anyone, especially if you are camping. A SAK or leatherman in my pocket and a friendly looking fixed blade packed deep in my backpack would be how I would play it.
 
If you do stupid things, you are going to get hassled and suffer the consequences. Act like a normal person and don't do the stupid things and you won't have a problem.

I travel Europe for over 6 weeks straight staying at youth hostels after a six month work exchange program in college. I didn't know what the knife laws were and, frankly didn't care. I never did anything to draw suspicion my way so, no one ever shook me down or asked me the difficult questions.

My travel buddies were amazed that I could walk straight through customs and not break stride with my passport while they routinely had their backpacks searched. What was obvious to me wasn't to them. Basic courtesy and respect goes a long way to making your travel go smoothly.

If he is going to Switzerland, have him buy himself a Victorinox Spartan or similar knife for everyday usuage. I doubt he will want to carry the weight of multi-tool, nor is he apt to need it either.

Make sure he doesn't pack to much weight. The backpack gets heavier as you pick things up along the way. Then add a bottle or two of water, some food, etc. and you get the idea.

When he gets back, buy him a Victorinox Swiss-Tool (the one with scissors).

Sid
Youth hostel road warrior and happy Eurail(sp?) user
 
Second or third the SAk idea - with cork-screw !

If the travel will be a little on the "wild" side and include camping or hiking one of the decent sized multi-tools in addition might be a good idea - shouldn´t be heavier/bigger than the original PST/PSTII size though and using one of those (or Pulse) won´t create the problems the (also heavier) Wave might with the one-handed blade in some countries. So a combo of a decent basic SAK plus PST/PSTII/Pulse won´t break the bank or weight limit and will give him pretty much everything he might be needing on his trip.

Just my 2 €cents

Klaus
 
If he ever overwhelms the present american anti-french feelings and chooses to have a look at our country, then I think he will spend a rather good time, if he behaves respectfully, and in any case nobody is going to bother him about his knife if he carries a SAK. Here, Leathermans are mostly carried by LEOs or moving craftsmen (plumbers, electricians...) but a big lot of people carry a SAK or a Laguiole in their pocket, and no one minds if you draw it in a public place if you need it for some obvious cutting job.

Policemen are very subjective when they control you, and if you're good looking and friendly, then you can even carry a small concealed fixed blade without any trouble. Just do no let a ka-bar hang at your belt if you're neither hunting nor hiking in a wild place.

As a last point, due to the importance of touristic income, there is a tolerance towards tourists, and they enjoy more freedom with regards to the law than french people do and for instance they won't get a fine if they're caught driving a bit too fast. But of course you represent your country when you are somewhere else, and thus must try not to act on humiliating manners. This seems obvious, but I see really many foreigners who have not understood this.

May your brother have a nice trip !
 
Unsolicited advice: some things that would be harder to fix once he gets over there:

Really good shoes. (I know, they're not exactly a knife-type item, but they're very important.)
A really good backpack with lots of handy pockets and zippers that won't break. Does he have that?

Follow the usual advice about keeping passport and credit cards close to your body, like a neck wallet.
Have him take some Photons or equivalent to give away as gifts. I don't know if the Euros have discovered those yet, but here they're always appreciated.

Oh yeah -- I had some kind of SAK in my front pocket the whole time I was in Europe, April to Sept. 1998. Never had a problem. The SwissChamp was overkill; nowadays I like the Ranger, but you could get by with the Compact.

Remember: take twice as much money and half as much clothing as you think you need.
 
speaking of corkscrews - the best I've used for travelling is by screwpull - their teflon coated corkscrews make you look super pro. I have never been able to duplicate that with the waiter's friend.
 
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