Best knife for backpacking?

Ok, settles that :thumbup: I'm more a canvas micarta kinda guy anyway, I like the grip. Well, time to save up, I know what knife I'll be picking up next :thumbup:.

In comparison to my Fallkniven WM1, this ULB would be the same weight but:

1) be thinner so it should accomplish basic backpacking tasks just as well and probably better (food and tinder prep, minor first aid, fishing). If I'm not mistaken it's about as thin as normal Mora stock (not the Robust/Heavy-Duty models).

2) would have a slightly longer blade but still be in the sweet spot I like for a field knife

3) Have a full-hand comfy grip in durable micarta

4) would probably serve just as well if pushed into emergency bushcrafty use.

I generally prefer full convex, but I could probably live with the scandi. They do excel in shallow-cut wood work, like the sort one would employ in tinder prep.
 
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HikingMano said:
Ok, settles that :thumbup: I'm more a canvas micarta kinda guy anyway, I like the grip. Well, time to save up, I know what knife I'll be picking up next :thumbup:.

In comparison to my Fallkniven WM1, this ULB would be the same weight but:

1) be thinner so it should accomplish basic backpacking tasks just as well and probably better (food and tinder prep, minor first aid, fishing). If I'm not mistaken it's about as thin as normal Mora stock (not the Robust/Heavy-Duty models).

2) would have a slightly longer blade but still be in the sweet spot I like for a field knife

3) Have a full-hand comfy grip in durable micarta

4) would probably serve just as well if pushed into emergency bushcrafty use.

I generally prefer full convex, but I could probably live with the scandi. They do excel in shallow-cut wood work, like the sort one would employ in tinder prep.
Click to expand...

You can always ask your dealer (or you can do it too) to send it up to Bark River for a full height grind. I recommend trying it first, though. It is one heck of a knife.
 
I have taken many Scandi grinds to the belt sander and carefully convexed the shoulders off.
I leave the edge, just break the corners down and smooth them out.
They still cut like crazy but but don't get hung up when slicing.
 
Yeah, I'll definitely try it stock first, then see if I want to get it fully convexed.

I've had good experiences with Bark River customizing blades for me. I think the last one I had done was through you, Derrick, when I wanted a ramp-less Gunny. :thumbup:

I wouldn't trust myself to do the full convexing or even shoulder rounding on my dinky lil Harbor Freight, with my current experience level...
 
Sak or Mora. I have both in my pack with a bahco laplander. Light to carry and many uses...
 
12" Tramontina machete with a cardboard/duct tape sheath and a SAK with a saw...cant go wrong and super lightweight :D Ive batoned 6" diameter wood for fires in winter with mine and it never skipped a beat...and it will take a BK2s lunch money in the chopping dept. :)
 
I understand the need for weigh saving. I do a lot of hiking and climbed Mt. Leconte in the Smokys the other day. However, I am willing to pack something more substantial than a SAK. I keep one in the pack but I also carry a folder clipped in my pocket and a fixed blade on the belt. I'm a minimalist in most respects including my shoes. However, I like the security of having a knife that can handle serious tasks. An extra pound in this category is worth is for me. However, I could totally get by with just a SAK and if that's all someone wants to carry, I see no reason why that wouldn't work.

My setup the other day...
img7258b.jpg
 
A lightweight beefy knife is the Mission MPS Ti 10. It was designed for the USN Seals. It is 40% lighter than a comparable steel knife. It has a Kydex sheath with many carry options. There are three handle options: bare skeleton, cord wrap, or Hytrel slabs. Plain edge or serrated.
 
Nowadays I carry the Spyderco Pacific Salt serrated or the Spyderco Manix 2 Lightweight. I used to go on two and three day trips in the White Mountains and carry a big chopper like the Cold Steel Trailmaster or Ontario Marine Raider or Kabar Heavy Bowie or a custom. I enjoyed carrying those big knives and I would use them to clear the trail and chop larger wood for fires. They weren't necessary by any means. I was typically going about 30 miles in two days. They were strenuous trips but since they were three days at most, the extra weight wasn't an issue for me. Since then I've done longer trips on the Appalachian Trail and that's where I carry a lightweight folder. Also my tastes have changed. I don't love big choppers the way I used to.
 
SAK Farmer (the saw)

or

SAK Hiker (which adds the potentially all important tweezers to the mix)

or

SAK Workchamp

or

Gerber Paracord Fixed Blade or equivalent Mora. I just really like the simplicity of the BG P (and the sheath )
 
If you have to hitchhike back to town or back to your car you may also consider blade length. If you get hassled by the police for hitching they could be douches about you having a knife. Sometimes hitching is frowned upon. I thruhiked the AT and carried a buck titanium. I was 18 at the time and I had had the buck titanium since the 4th grade. It was my go to pocket knife. Wish I still had it. lost.
Also I never got hassled by the police even though i probably should have been.
 
danpass said:
SAK Farmer (the saw)

or

SAK Hiker (which adds the potentially all important tweezers to the mix)
Click to expand...

I'm a knife nut and always carry a 3.5-5" fixed blade with me on backpacking trips, but I would be completely content with any of the SAKs that include a wood saw. The one-hand Trekker and Farmer are my favorites. I have a Hiker or Huntsman stashed in every backpack and daypack I carry in the woods.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
I recently started a thread about a similar topic. For me, the perfect backpacking knife (I go lite - my pack is well under 20 lbs) can do a decent job with heavier tasks like batonning, but is lightweight and useful for more delicate tasks like cleaning fish. Big choppers are fun but, when packing light, I prefer a mid-size blade. I'll add a folding saw like a Laplander if processing firewood on the particular trip. My current favorites include:

Survive! GSO 4.1 in CPM 3V
Becker BK-15
Becker BK-16

My Hoodlum and BK2 also see use, but I would definitely be bringing something else along for more delicate tasks, if only the blade on my Leatherman. Personally, I find a handsaw / bk-16 size combo to be more useful than any other combo considering weight, for the type of packing I like to do.
 
Well, I'm pretty sure backpacker magazine recommends the...drum roll please...Gerber Bear Grylls!! And they write a whole magazine about backpacking, so they MUST know! ;-).
 
Hey AF, a quick question off topic! I am actually considering both the pacific salt (non serrated) and the manix lightweight right now as my everyday "larger knife". Do you have a preference as far as ergonomics, size, practicality? How would you compare the two steels? Forget about corrosion resistance, just wondering which feels like the better everyday blade.
 
SAK Ranger for true backpacking. If I I am just doing some dayhikes or walking a few miles to a campsite (not really backpacking), I'll generally carry my BRK Aurora.
 
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