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- Aug 27, 2012
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I just returned last night from a few days of hiking with my wife on the Superior Hiking Trail up in Minnesota's North Shore area along Lake Superior. Since we prefer to do a series of day hikes (to allow for visits to some of our favorite restaurants in the area) it gave me numerous opportunities to take along a variety of new gear, swapping things out for each hike. Based on numerous recommendations to try Hill People Gear as a concealed carry solution, I used an HPG Runner chest pack, along with a small "slimline tactical" backpack of no discernible brand or country of origin. My wife was wearing the same kind of backpack and was responsible for food and water, while I carried a first aid kit, spare socks and run-of-the-mill survival stuff, with a little room left to stow our outer layers if it got too warm. Besides the obvious hiking and sightseeing, one of my goals was to see how well various items were suited to hiking.
Because I knew there wouldn't likely be much call for really using knives (since we weren't actually camping) this was more about ease of carry, with the main difference being to replace an IWB handgun holster with the HPG Runner. Since some of our hikes were inside state parks, where the rules forbidding firearms are quite clear, I occasionally carried a fixed blade knife and flashlight in the HPG pack to roughly simulate the weight and feel of a handgun and spare mag, which in this case was a Bersa BP9CC and spare mag. Note that while the Runner doesn't include an actual holster, it has a wide velcro strip inside, and I was able to get a generic holster for a few dollars that attached quite securely; I tested this setup with a couple of larger SIG and Steyr handguns and found there to be plenty of room for either. The front pocket of the HPG Runner had sufficient room for a multi-tool, clip-on flashlight and a small water pouch, as shown.
Getting back to knives, my plan was generally to carry a different knife on my belt on each day hike, plus a Camillus Barbarian attached via Tek-Lok to my backpack strap and Kershaw RJI riding in my front left pocket. I rotated through the following: Condor Multi Knife II, SOG TL-02 Team Leader Survivor, Ontario SP-25 and Ka-Bar Mule folder. On the final full day of the trip, we stopped at a shop where I have made it a tradition to always buy a knife, but this year skipped the name brand stuff and bought a locally-made Lester River SBK (small bushcraft knife) in A2 steel. Lester River knives are built to order, so finding one in a store was cool.
Now, as far as my grand experiment was concerned, the first order of business was how well everything fit together. I was able to comfortably wear the HPG Runner independently of my backpack, although some folks have mentioned attaching it directly to their backpack straps. With the Camillus Barbarian sheathed upside-down on my left backpack strap, I could easily unzip the Runner from the right side for fast access to the handgun (or knife) holstered inside. Other than taking a couple of minutes to adjust the various straps to fit my "skinny fat" frame, it was all about as effortless as a person could hope for. As anticipated, the Ka-Bar Mule's nylon sheath rode nicely on my left hip, attached horizontally to my belt. The other knives, with either leather or nylon sheaths, didn't present any problems either, even when climbing or crouching as was often the case, although the Condor and Ontario both canted forward slightly; the SOG stayed in place 100%, and the Lester River SBK was so small that it didn't move around at all. The only knife I really put to use was the Condor Multi Knife II, which I used for some light chopping while my wife was taking pictures of this, that and the other thing. The rubbery (or "soneoprene") handle is nothing special in terms of ergonomics but was plenty comfortable. I was initially concerned that the 420HC blade would be a weak point, but fallen branches around a half-dollar diameter were no problem. It certainly held up better than my Gerber Gator Jr. machete, which rolled when chopping through much thinner branches in my back yard. Using the "chopping" side of the blade was marginally more effective, but given the consistency of the grind in general, the main benefit would probably be comfort for someone (such as myself) more accustomed to using a hatchet than a knife for chopping. It would not be ideal for food prep or processing game.
I didn't have an opportunity or any particular desire to "field test" the other knives, but again, this was strictly a hiking trip and didn't include camping, fishing or hunting. I would say that the saw teeth and overall dimensions of the SOG Team Leader Survivor are such that it would compare favorably to various inexpensive folding saws, and the blade shape would serve fine in for most cutting tasks, although probably not heavy chopping due to the relatively thin blade and definitely not batoning since there is no available striking surface. The Ontario SP-25 is identical in most regards to the traditional pilot survival knife except for the rubberized handle and slightly different sheath construction, and would probably be my choice for a jack-of-all-trades fixed blade out of the whole batch, especially if I had a hatchet or saw with me and just wanted a medium-sized knife. The Ka-Bar Mule and Camillus Barbarian both stayed out of my way to the point I forgot they were there, which is just fine with me when the goal is to hike unimpeded.
When all is said and done, I didn't use any of the knives except for the Condor, but I would happily bring any one of them along on another hike. Next time out, I'll probably see how comfortable the HPG Runner is with a larger handgun, and bring along my Benchmade 275 Adamas and a sheathed multi-tool or two for strap carry. I found a sheath that might work well for my Cold Steel Recon 1 tanto folder, so that might ride along as well.
Because I knew there wouldn't likely be much call for really using knives (since we weren't actually camping) this was more about ease of carry, with the main difference being to replace an IWB handgun holster with the HPG Runner. Since some of our hikes were inside state parks, where the rules forbidding firearms are quite clear, I occasionally carried a fixed blade knife and flashlight in the HPG pack to roughly simulate the weight and feel of a handgun and spare mag, which in this case was a Bersa BP9CC and spare mag. Note that while the Runner doesn't include an actual holster, it has a wide velcro strip inside, and I was able to get a generic holster for a few dollars that attached quite securely; I tested this setup with a couple of larger SIG and Steyr handguns and found there to be plenty of room for either. The front pocket of the HPG Runner had sufficient room for a multi-tool, clip-on flashlight and a small water pouch, as shown.
Getting back to knives, my plan was generally to carry a different knife on my belt on each day hike, plus a Camillus Barbarian attached via Tek-Lok to my backpack strap and Kershaw RJI riding in my front left pocket. I rotated through the following: Condor Multi Knife II, SOG TL-02 Team Leader Survivor, Ontario SP-25 and Ka-Bar Mule folder. On the final full day of the trip, we stopped at a shop where I have made it a tradition to always buy a knife, but this year skipped the name brand stuff and bought a locally-made Lester River SBK (small bushcraft knife) in A2 steel. Lester River knives are built to order, so finding one in a store was cool.
Now, as far as my grand experiment was concerned, the first order of business was how well everything fit together. I was able to comfortably wear the HPG Runner independently of my backpack, although some folks have mentioned attaching it directly to their backpack straps. With the Camillus Barbarian sheathed upside-down on my left backpack strap, I could easily unzip the Runner from the right side for fast access to the handgun (or knife) holstered inside. Other than taking a couple of minutes to adjust the various straps to fit my "skinny fat" frame, it was all about as effortless as a person could hope for. As anticipated, the Ka-Bar Mule's nylon sheath rode nicely on my left hip, attached horizontally to my belt. The other knives, with either leather or nylon sheaths, didn't present any problems either, even when climbing or crouching as was often the case, although the Condor and Ontario both canted forward slightly; the SOG stayed in place 100%, and the Lester River SBK was so small that it didn't move around at all. The only knife I really put to use was the Condor Multi Knife II, which I used for some light chopping while my wife was taking pictures of this, that and the other thing. The rubbery (or "soneoprene") handle is nothing special in terms of ergonomics but was plenty comfortable. I was initially concerned that the 420HC blade would be a weak point, but fallen branches around a half-dollar diameter were no problem. It certainly held up better than my Gerber Gator Jr. machete, which rolled when chopping through much thinner branches in my back yard. Using the "chopping" side of the blade was marginally more effective, but given the consistency of the grind in general, the main benefit would probably be comfort for someone (such as myself) more accustomed to using a hatchet than a knife for chopping. It would not be ideal for food prep or processing game.
I didn't have an opportunity or any particular desire to "field test" the other knives, but again, this was strictly a hiking trip and didn't include camping, fishing or hunting. I would say that the saw teeth and overall dimensions of the SOG Team Leader Survivor are such that it would compare favorably to various inexpensive folding saws, and the blade shape would serve fine in for most cutting tasks, although probably not heavy chopping due to the relatively thin blade and definitely not batoning since there is no available striking surface. The Ontario SP-25 is identical in most regards to the traditional pilot survival knife except for the rubberized handle and slightly different sheath construction, and would probably be my choice for a jack-of-all-trades fixed blade out of the whole batch, especially if I had a hatchet or saw with me and just wanted a medium-sized knife. The Ka-Bar Mule and Camillus Barbarian both stayed out of my way to the point I forgot they were there, which is just fine with me when the goal is to hike unimpeded.
When all is said and done, I didn't use any of the knives except for the Condor, but I would happily bring any one of them along on another hike. Next time out, I'll probably see how comfortable the HPG Runner is with a larger handgun, and bring along my Benchmade 275 Adamas and a sheathed multi-tool or two for strap carry. I found a sheath that might work well for my Cold Steel Recon 1 tanto folder, so that might ride along as well.
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