Belt carry knife size for backpacking

Dan57 said:
Carry a canister of pepper spray if you're so worried.
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This is both the lightest and best solution if you're backpacking. Bear spray is your best option. Personal defense sprays for humans lack distance. Going knife on paw and teeth with a bear or cougar is all but guaranteed to leave you with significant injury if you survive the attack. Bear spray has a very good record of getting people out of trouble without serious injury.

But I carry a belt knife for back-up (and general usefulness) anyway!

YMMV
 
Ounces add up to pounds. I carry my lightest knife. All my hiking is on the east coast so zero worries about animals. If you are out west by bear spray. Your knife is just not going to help you against a 400lb mama grizz charging full speed.
 
Hi, every knows that's nearly impossible to defend oneself successful against a bear - but for some guys it's important for their psyche to have that little chance - especially if you are alone in the wilderness. So which knife is suitable? Would also be of interest for me and surely of many others. We know about ideas of using pepper spray, playing dead, being careful anyhow, ring the bear bell to invite him for lunch etc. Please be so kind to let us know some knife-ideas.
Thanks a lot.
 
Ever watch "The Grey"?
I spent a summer/fall in Denali. and have thru hiked the AT, and spent a year in the oregon woods, among other time spent in the woods. The only time I was nervous was in denali (the entire time i was there, unless we were above tree line).
When i was in maine on the AT a black bear took my back pack ( with nothing in it), he was happy to drop it after i hit him with a stick from about 20ft or soo, and that was really the only "encounter" i have had with animals. They typically try to get the heck away when people are around because they know better. My thinking is that most creatures avoid pain.
My belt knife is a koster bushmaster 5" blade. Cause i think its the best for me. You should just look around and find which one is best for you. The are all better than a similar sized stick.
I say when in the woods or in the streets just pay attention and don't let anything get the drop on you. If anything gets close: back away, be niece. If that doesn't work f'em up the best way you can at the time.
 
What about some throwing knives strapped to your chest? Or some throwing ninja stars like you cut in metal class at school?

But if I'm in grizzly country, I prefer something smaller that affords the flexibility for me to bend over backwards and kiss my ass goodbye.
 
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I like a light, 4" to 5" fixed blade. One of my Moras or other Scandi knives, perhaps a Bark River Fox River or Fallkniven F1, or something along those lines.

I worked as a hunting guide for a couple of years, and have no fantasies about knife fighting with cougars (no personal experience with bears) unless I've got a pack of well trained dogs with me. Mountain lions will leave you alone 99% of the time, and in the rare instances in which they might want to attack you, they won't give you much time to react (they are hunters, not duellists). The only ones I had trouble with were female mountain lions that got used to stealing sheep and gradually lost fear of men (I found one taking a nap on my neighbours porch one morning).

In an area with dangerous game, I'd take a good hard hitting revolver (and practice a lot with it). Even if there are no "wild" animals, firearms are always a good idea in case you run into two legged vermin.
 
I carry an ESEE 4 or Scrapyard War Dog and a chopper in an outside pocket in my pack. I always carry S&W J frame in my pocket.
 
What you need is a good sturdy all purpose fixed blade between 4- 6 inches. It will handle the various tasks at hand when on the bush trails. Animal attacks are rare, but not totally out of the question given the statistics and should the emergency arise you could reach for your knife. Think of it like the life vest under your seat when flying, its good to know that it is there but one hopes it never needs to be used.
 
I am not a long distance back packer; more of a day hike person some of which can be pretty riguorous. That said my answer for a 4" blade is DEPENDS. If you are very weight conscious, then a Mora. If you like Kabar Beckers, then a BK-16/17. Also like the Condor Kephart. The pocket folder is there regardless. Bob Dozier makes some very functional knives for the woods that are very good if you want to spend a bit more.

For defensive use, who knows. Some of the bushcraft knives would work pretty well for that based on the blade shape (tend to be a spear point). If you are actually concerned about bears, pepper spray with a knife backup. Don't concern yourself with mountain lions; just pay attention. You won't see it if it is pursuing you. People.... a light revolver of your choice. One dayhikes, I'll carry whatever feels right for the day handgun wise. Sometimes its a 22, sometimes a 38 or 357, and sometimes a 41 mag. But it is not really because of black bears in my case.
 
A belt sheath gets in the way of my pack hip strap, so I usually stow it in the top where it's handy. The only instance of a person fighting off a wild animal with a knife that I know of was a very tough guy in Bella Coola who was jumped by a cougar. Fortunately for him, the cat was in poor shape and he managed to peel it off and finish it with his Buck 110.
 
I think 4 inch is about right. I carry a Fox River and that is about all I like or need for a hike with a light pack. I like to carry horizontally, but I have a rig for a custom that allows for upside down vertical carry on the pack straps. The custom is about 4 inches as well.
 
A SAK and a Izula has done everything I ever needed while backpacking. I carry a Ti fixed blade made by Daniel Fairly on light weight treks.
 
Depends on where you are; down here we've got sub-humans, rabid animals (coyote, fox, coon etc.), moccasins, rattlers, gators & bears. The big pythons haven't made it this far north yet and the bears are very shy. Danger factor is pretty much in that order and if any one of them gets close enough to use a knife you made a mistake & are in trouble. When hiking I always carry my BM 710 & S&W .357 planning to use the latter first if necessary (w/snake loads if needed) but exercising situational awareness always. Going off trail brush popping I take a HI WWIII Kukri; an SAK is always in my pocket.

Tom
 
U could carry a cold steel bushman and then put it on a stick if you feel that you are in added danger
 
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