BATACLE vs Falkniven A1 vs Rat RC-5 vs or???

T

tomdogma

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Nov 29, 2008
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I already posted this in the general discussion and Rat forum and would love to hear some thoughts from fellow hogs!
I do a bit of high alpine and high desert camping and backpacking and I am looking for a medium sized fixed blade knife to cover a broad range of tasks from light chopping to slicing and in case of an emergency robustness for random abusive tasks!
so with that in mind I have come down to either a BATACLE, a Rat RC-5 or Falkniven A1, they all are made of .25 inch stock, the Batacle made of INFI (a big plus), but hard to find! the Falkniven though is stainless (a plus) and laminated for strength while the Rat is 1095 (strong) but can be prone to rust. I have an izulu and like it a lot and I have a lot of respect for the company, I know that the RC-5 is new and not a lot of people have experience with it but any thoughts appreciated!! I would also appreciate any other suggestions for a strong practical do almost anything medium size knife!!!.
And for shits and giggles what would fellow hogs think of a Boss HG55 for this use, they are so damn sexy and I want a half of an excuse to buy one, is it at all practical?????
 
honestly...you will not go wrong with any you have listed.


my personal preference is actually the skinny ash, for general hiking/camping.

all the blades you have listed are tried and true. whichever "feels" best in your mitts, will be thee one.

just my $.02...ya get what ya pay for..lol
 
the tac series handles never felt right to me. i had an sj and batacle, and just couldn't get a real comfortable grip.

for me, the noe is the better all arounder.

im certain the rat5 is great knife as well. being more readily available is a big plus.

but in the end, i would take infi over 1095.
 
in all probability there is a good chance that i will buy all of them, I think the Skinny ASH (and I see them at the company store!) is a good suggestion, maybe a bit longer then what i had in mind (the Falkniven is also on the ong side)but in terms of practical use how does it compare to a CG ASH 1 do you theink the heavier and thicker CG version offers more versatility or will just get me tired quicker at 10,000 feet walking uphill
 
when similar questions have been asked, the general consensus around here (if there is such a consensus beyond the known love of Scotch and INFI) is that the Skinny ASH1 is the deal for an all-arounder... personally, I have a CG ASH1 and love it dearly. ymmv.

best of luck.
 
but what scotch is the consensus???
i prefer the peaty Islay Malts myself! it warms me up when i am holding some cold INFI
 
When I go on a multi-day hike, I take INFI. I have lots of great knives from very reputable companies and some fine customs. But if I'm only going to have one fixed blade... it is INFI... hands down.

It is very corrosion resistant, tough as nails, and holds an edge better than any other knife I own. I'm totally confident that it will NOT let me down when the chips are down.
 
I'll throw in my normal response here.
SHBA

If I can't have one of those then the the ASH-1 LE is my choice.
 
The SAR 5 has replaced most of my mid sized INFI for camp/backpacking, including my BATACLE (too heavy and thick, but feels awesome in hand) The SAR 5 is an all around great knife. That, a B9 for chopping, and a GW or AD for smaller work makes the best combo IMH.

-Dan
 
either one of these would do nicely, I do have an RC5 coming next week so I am anxious to compare the 3.
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