Camping with city folk dillema.

Doesn't sound like overkill to me. When I go camping, I bring a hatchet, folding knife, a Mora and 1 other which varies depending on what I want to "play" around with. I just acquired a Condor Bushlore, so that'll probably be the "other" knife next time out.
 
I always have an axe, large hand saw, and machete in my own truck. I would also bring a few knives with me. So I don't think that you are necessarily nuts. I usually carry two fixed blade knives, one of them a smaller knife like an Izula, and maybe a Silky saw, on a day hike. I would only carry an axe in cold weather/snow. On a longer backpacking trip I might not carry the saw.
 
Went camping with some people once, and we were getting ready to start a fire. I gathered all my wood, and then realized I couldn't find my saw... Wanting to get it done real quick I asked my friends for theirs...

"Saw? What do you mean?"
"You know, you cut fire wood with it"
"Oh, we just bought our fire wood from the store"
*points toward trunk full of split logs*

Talk about taking all the fun out of camping. I eventually found my saw though and started cutting and they started asking, "Why not just use some of ours?" and I said, "Well, I'll just cut this up in case we need extra," and of course we did as the pile they brought was woefully insufficient.
 
I have 4 season backpacked my whole life in which the majority were multi-week trips. Most of those miles with a small locking folder or a mora. I have never needed a plethora of knives to survive any situation. These include a tweaked knee, a broken ankle, 3 broken fingers, frostbite, burns. cuts, intestinal infections, dehydration and numerous equipment failures, most 20-50 miles from any help. Most survival situations involved addressing the situation as best as possible, then using minimal energy and calories, getting to a place were it can be fully remedied. A lot of guys I hung with the would laugh at your load out and start betting on how many days in you would start bitching about the weight or the pace. 3 lbs of peanut butter or water will probably save your life more times then 3 lbs of steel when Murphy visits in the middle of nowhere.

I like knives and like to have fun with them in the woods doing primitive crafts, but it is a hobby and not everyone will be into it. Like jackknife says try to educate and entertain not alienate.
 
Id like to know more about where you are camping before I make a call on if you are crazy or not .
Your friends are bringing raw meat . I take it there will be a fridge ? by day 3 , if they dont have some way to keep it , its gunna be a little stinky .

I carry a folder in my pocket , and a machete in my pack , minimum , usualy there is a fixed blade in the pack too and I have a mercator on my key chain and an okapi floating around in another pocket .

I dont have my gear on display , its all right there very easy to get , but out of sight . People dont need to know what Im carrying , itd probably just scare them .

It never hurts to have a back up knife or one that you can give / lend to a friend who needs it .

Same with extra , long life food , keep it put away out of sight for incase ..if you dont use it , no big deal take it home again , if you do need it , its there .

Im worried about them going 4 days camping with only raw meat tho , like , who is bringing the beer ?
 
When camping with city folk, bring along coat hangers, marshmallows, Hershey bars and Graham crackers. :p And don't forget the cell phones, so the young people can text! :D

You may even want to bring like, a bicycle so they can get the warm fuzzies and really really feel "green." :barf: :barf:
 
It was pretty out in the woods, but i have read the posts and gathered from my past experience and next time i will only bring my CQC-7 and a 4-6 in fixed blade. I grew up in thick bush and the skills i use to live are considered survival skills by some.
 
glockman99 said:
You carry 4 EDC knives? Yup, you're crazy. One good folder and a good multitool is enough.
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Well I must be crazy too. I carryy 3 (usually). I folding knife to cut hay twine (I cut A LOT of it) and like to have a dedicated crap knife I dont want other knives to have to suffer through, a sharp emerson comander (so if I get hung up in a rope its quick and right there) and an izula2 on my left side, so people are less likely to notice the bulge from my sig220 iwb on my right side.:p

I usually use two of them a day, mainly the izula and my little junker folder.
 
Spongebobby said:
They act like I'm batshit crazy because I have a hawk and a 6 inch bushblade strapped on the back of my pack and a small fixed blade for bushcraft on my left shoulder in addition to my pocket knife, which they claim is all you need. Sure a minimalist could do it, but I enjoy being prepared. Am I batshit crazy?
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Take a rifle with you, they will shutup about the blades.

-Freq
 
I have a bag I take when I go anywhere with a Kukri style machete on one side and a Gerber LMF-II on the opposite side. I usually hae one or two folding knives on my belt line at work and I'm going to start carrying my tan Izula clipped to my belt. Better over prepared than under prepared right?
 
I'm mindful of whom I'm camping with and err on the side of discretion. Sure I pack my Junglas, Kukri, Bravo 1, F1, and at least three folders, but no more than two is in plain site at any given time. Wouldn't want to give the impression that I'm crazy about steel, or just plain crazy. Camping is not for show and tell. If something comes up unexpectedly, then...
 
Well, as a lightweight minimalist backpacker, former Marine, and hard core camper...I say that it depends. On the one hand, you are not crazy if the situation really calls for it. On the other hand, carrying extra weight that you don't really need can really ruin your trip and make you miserable. It could even be downright dangerous. We backpackers trim our teabags and cut our toothbrushes in half to save weight. Do you really NEED that extra weight? Or do you bring it for a "just in case" situation that is highly, highly, highly, unlikely? If so, then yes! You are batshit crazy for carrying extra pounds you don't need.
 
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