Best Knife for Sea Kayaking?

I've done some kayaking in the Gulf of Mexico off of Florida's west coast.

I took a Spyderco Pacific Salt (fully serrated) clipped into my pants front pocket and a SAK in my pack. I went swimming more times than I can remember with the Spyderco in my pocket.

Worked out well for me!
 
Thank you for your many replies.

I like the idea of taking a backup knife. I probably shoud attach floation foam to the keyring of my One Hand Trekker in the case that it falls into the water
I really like the idea of a spyderco pacific salt without a blunt tip and serrations. From what I've read regarding the H1 it souds awesome. It would also be high time for me to pay homage to the inventor of one hand opening and pocket clips. The OHT SAK does not have a clip and as recommended would be good to store in the hatch with luggage.

On the other hand a larger blade could come in handy. There are great white sharks in the channel between the main land and catalina island, but close to the island I think the odds are pretty slim to none. Still I sort of like the idea of bringin along a folder and a fixed blade knife.

Spyderco makes a couple fixed blade H1 knives like
SP-FB23SYL.jpg
would this sheath be easy to attach to a life vest?

This is a tough decision, please keep the advice coming.
 
old dive knife so you can poke around.i live in naples by the yought club in long beach and kayak a lot .some times i'll take a 29 .but then no poken around.old crappy knives rule.kayaking.
 
I carry benchmade 6H20 when fishing and boating. It is attached to a 39" retractable lanyard clip on. It works great for cutting line, will not rust and is difficult to cut yourself with. It also works great for cutting belts and straps. If you remove the plastic tab it should also work as a bottle opener.
http://www.newgraham.com/detail.aspx?ID=3889
Also have a Pacific Salt along for other tasks.
 
Ok, a couple of things. First, he will be in the PRK, so that double-edged SOG would land him in the pokie before he even got off of the beach. That is LA/Orange county, on the beach. Heart of the extreme Left. They will be screaming for the cops about a big, bad man with a sword as soon as they can get their cellphones out of their pink, fuzzy purses. The girls might scream even louder...

Second, Great Whites... Yeah. A knife will help with that... If he is extremely unlucky, and gets attacked, it will hit him from underneth the kayak, and knock it, and him out of the water. And possibly take a bite to see if he is a seal, like he looked like from below. When it finds out that he isn't a seal, it will probably just swim away, grumbling that the seals in this area sure taste funny today. Of course if it bit him, he will bleed to death in a matter of minutes. No knife would do him any good in the world. We have had 3 great white attacks here in southern California since the 1950's. All 3 were fatal. One may or may not have actually happened, the other two were people mistaken for seals, and then spit out. The trick is trying to not look like a seal.

Finally, about which knife to take. If you think you will need a SAK for all of the tools, by all means take one. It probably won't rust in a few days. Try to keep it out of the water, and try to wash it when you get home. No biggy. And if it does rust, well, that is when you either clean it up, or go get a new one. Knives are meant to be used, not kept pristine and untouched. If you want a bigger knife, either use one that you don't mind getting dirty, or go to wallyworld and get a cheapy one that you don't mind thrashing. You will not find that many things that need to be cut between the beach and catalina. A serrated knife or at least one with some serrations might be helpful in case you run into some fishing line or rope. But again, you will be out in the water. There isn't much there to cut. Kelp is a non-issue. You can tear through it with your hands. The worst thing that it will do is foul your rudder, if you are using a sea kayak that has one. Just pull the rudder up while you are in the kelp. Problem solved. If you really, really, really want to take a bigger knife with you, you can always check the local dive stores, or online for a cheap dive knife, and figure out how to rig it to your lifejacket. But I would also advise that you do that BEFORE you go on your trip, so you can find out if it interferes with the way you paddle, or do anything else. Of course your instructor and classmates may laugh at you if you insist on bringing a Rambo special along...

-Mb
 
The_Monkeyboy said:
That is LA/Orange county, on the beach. Heart of the extreme Left.

Of course your instructor and classmates may laugh at you if you insist on bringing a Rambo special along.
Click to expand...


I'm pretty sure he'll just be paddling AROUND Catalina. Not TO it. (that channel can get really rough) In which case he wouldn't be leaving from the beach. My guess is he'll take the ferry out of San Pedro, and then rent a kayak in Avalon. But whatever. :rolleyes:

Now;
Are you joking!? ORANGE COUNTY, to the Starboard!?! :confused: Or was that Port?

I lived in San Pedro (L.A.) for 3-1/2 yrs. and I NEVER heard the O.C. described as "Left".
Quite the opposite. The DNC only spends token amounts of money there because it's pretty much a waste of time. (what I heard)

But politics aside. I agree that a large fixed blade is unlikely to be necessary. Anytime weight is a significant factor, most packers try to eliminate the unnecessary. But you never know . . . . that Rambo knife could come in handy if he is ever charged by one of those Catalina Bison!! (just kidding/FOR REAL)(Dude.) :D Anyhow, it's always good to be prepared for the unexpected. :thumbup:
 
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