Camp knife

S

sranderle

Joined
Jan 19, 2023
Messages
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I'm interested in your thoughts/experiences of the following knives. General camp usage and when on a motorcycle trip, my only knife.

Ontario RAT-5
ESEE 4/5/6
Doug Ritter RSK Mk3-G2


Thanks
 
Personally I would take the Ritter. I have a BM 151 that I love and have used on many backpacking hikes. After that the ESEE 4 for general camp chores.
 
sranderle said:
@mmyron1

Why would you take the Ritter over the ESEE?
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Design mostly. I have a BM 151 which is the predecessor really of the Ritter and it is my go to fixed blade really. I have an ESEE and like it well enough but I have a Ritter RSK folder which is a killer edc for the money.
 
The esee 5 would be pretty cool.

I do most of my motorcycle camp knife stuff with a folder.

But sometimes I need to chip bit of kindling off the bag of bought wood at the camp grounds. Bang or pry bits of bike away from other bits of bike in a crash.

Hammer in tent pegs (ok almost nobody but the bear grills does a decent hammer pommel.

Flip stuff on a barbecue.

That kind of dumb stuff. And so my fixed blade is generally this silly fat apocalypse knife.
 
Out of your choices, Esee all day. Go with 1095, Rowan know how to heat treat 1095 to get awesome toughness. Ease of sharpening is a key factor and edge retention is quite good. Oh, and Esee has an incredible warranty for their 1095 blades during hard use, S35VN not so much.
 
I'd take the ESEE from those choices or something else. It really depends on what you use a camp knife for. Is it a small machete and everything else, or just minor camp stuff? The idea mentioned of carrying an additional folder is a good one, as a larger knife isn't always convenient for everything and a smaller blade saves edge of your big knife for when it's needed.

I like the ESEE 4 with HM handle, but you might want a larger model depending on your need to clear brush vs basic camp tasks. The round handle has much better ergonomics if you need to take more than a couple swings.
 
My only ESEE is the Becker BK14. I would consider bringing it, but would more likely settle on one of my small Anzas. I have always carried one of those, plus an Opinel and SAK. I DON’t tour much any more, if I did, BK16, Jääkäripuukko or Sissipuukko. If I were staying in the US, I might choose the DEK-1, but for Mexico, something a little easier to replace, as Mexican officials have been known to suggest a little “gift”.
 
The DEK-1 looks like another good option, or the 5" Field Knife. The DEK-1 looks very similar to the Ritter.
 
F1fan said:
I’d take the Esee 6 if it were me.
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This. I prefer the 6HM as it's more tradional looking.

I have no experience with the ritter fixed blade. Looks like a good design, just not in favor of the price compared to other options. It just doesn't "do it for me" to intrigue me to buy it. So many good knives out there.
 
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