Considerations for kayak camping knife

johnniet

johnniet

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I went kayak camping in a guided group a couple of weeks ago. It was just a few days and we came nowhere near a true "survival situation"--the weather was reasonable, the winds never too high, no boats flipped: the guide knew what he was doing. :)
Having boats and dry bags, there were regular kitchen knives for cooking.
I found the main use for our camp knives was making firewood. There was plenty of driftwood to use, and decent choice of size, so we didn't have to chop anything. We often used batons to help split the wood.
It was pretty clear that a fixed blade was preferable for this. :)
It was less clear that we needed stainless blades (for work on shore). We carried much more valuable and delicate things in the drybags (electronics, cameras, etc.) and had no trouble.
For this kind of use, what would you look for in a blade? What do you think you might take with you on a relatively controlled trip?
I'm especially interested in hearing from people who've done this, of course. :)
 
Enduras are terrific. Everybody knows that. And on any trip like this, I'd probably want to have some kind of folder with me.

But one of the advantages of paddle-camping is that you can take a bit more stuff, and stuff that takes up a little more space. So there's no drawback to bringing a fixed blade--even a fairly big one, although I probably wouldn't need it--and doing most of the "hard work" with it.

I'm just trying to think a little differently about this. The camp knife will be in a drybag while paddling--so I may not need stainless. It probably doesn't need real chopping power, since there's plenty of driftwood available.

Any advice from other paddlers or campers?
 
powells85 said:
Price range? That'll help some :)
Click to expand...

Good question! It depends.

I have nothing against good, cheap knives like the Mora clippers.

Let's say up to $60 for a nice knife, and up to $150 for a really fantastic one. Let me know why you think the knife is fantastic. (Or at least nicer than a Mora clipper.) Will it feel better? Cut better? Last longer?
 
HI John

I have been canoeing and kayaking for years with the majority of my experience in expedition style canoe trips ranging from lake travel to river travel.

I have been working on an article about canoe and kayak knives thenmselves ones specifically for the purpose of being available while you padddle amongst the ones I am looking at are the gerber rescu,river runner double and single edge river shorty and expedition. From Spyderco they themselves recommended the Salt out of H1 Kershaw has the Sea Hnter and Amphibian, buck has the Tibuon and Columbia has the Aqua Benchmade offers the H2O as well. All are good knives for the vest and offer the feature needed in a good canoe and kayak knife some have combo edges offer up use in the campsite setting as well.

Fro around the campsite though if you are loking for a regular use knife small is often better because it store beter in your gear and is handy. My last trip into Quetico and the Bondry waters I packed as an extra knife a 3 1/3 Erikkson(swedish knife) I have used other but anything ina 4" or less fixed blade will seve you well the list is endless as to the companies you can use.

As well for the knives I carry on my vest I carry specialty sheath rigs made by Both On/scene tactical and River City sheaths.
 
For me I like something of descent quality for a folder in my pocket while paddling. Usually a BM Ascent. Something I can depend on but not be too upset if lost to the water. I also stow a larger blade(6 or 7in) for firewood and shelter building if needed. Also keep in mind your basic mode of transport....will the blade you choose be useful in making a new paddle? I think there is a real danger of losing a paddle and not being able to travel. If all you have is a small folder, making a new paddle couldmean on overnight stay. A larger knife(or hatchet) will get you moving in just a short while :) Just my $.02
 
Beach fires are ok for ambience but for cooking and tea then it is a no-brainer to use a small gas stove.

Here on Vancouver Island red cedar is usually the dominant driftwood and is in pieces of all sizes . A small axe say 1 1/2 lb and 17" length is my favorite size but really you don't anything above a Mora knife to get a fire going. I might carry a folder but the stainless Mora is the knife that will get used .
 
Johnniet, The last two trips I took to Quetico I carried a Buck 102 Woodsman for shealth knife w/ a Vic Rucksack as folder. Had Vic Waiter w/ photon II and compass on lanyard around neck.
This combo served well both trips. We had small hatchet and folding saw in wet bags. Used a folding Normark Filet knife in tackle box.

Now I have discovered Moras. I think any of the stainless blades would serve you well. Swak, Clipper, or M2K would be my choice now. Light weight, easy to sharpen, hold up well, and are dirt cheap. Water doesn't bother them much. I would look into Eric's (Normarks) shealths for any of these, I just got two and they are great. They secure the knife alot better than the orginals.

If I had to pick from the above, It would be a Stainless Clipper in Eric shealth. The shape lends itself better for cleaning fish and it get scary sharp.

Hope this helps.
Jim
 
I've used a few big blades on my Sea Kaking trips. A stainless CS bushranger, a BK&T BK7 and now Ontario Randall RAT 7. I stow them in dry bags for use on land. I've always carried a folder clipped to my shorts of PFD (when I use one). The folder is usually the Spyderco Military although I'm looking forward to recieving the Spyderco Pacific Salt that I just ordered. I have a Salt 1 which is a truly amazing blade for a totally rustproof knife.

The main reason I have a big blade is to serve as a machete to help carve a way through the accursed thorn thickets that have fouled a lot of the estaury and riverbanks here. The RAT is 1095 steel so I keep it stowed until I need it and just clean/oil it regularly. Rust really isn't an issue even in a very salty environment as long as I maintain the blade properly.
 
It really depends where you go. Generally I take two main knives, a short PFD or neck knife to wear [no pfd if wearing a survival suit] and a larger blade [on the deck or in my deck bag for kayaks. If a canoe, I like to wear this one too].
If you are on the ocean and you'll be out all day in hard conditions, pretty much any steel will rust so I prefer talonite or stellite. I used Blackwoods little hunter until Neil made me a custom double edged variation. I'm not a big Gerber bRiver knife fan, but that's what I used before. But this looks great! http://www.tadgear.com/edged tools/100sh2o_black.htm
For the bigger knife, the choices are many. I actually like Busses. Either the NO or the SH II are good choices.
 
Bill Siegle makes a good point about carrying a larger item I sualy take a camp size axe and a saw of some sorts either folding version or Swede version.

As for making a paddle eaxh xcanoe should be outfitted with at least one extra padle at the most two. If I amdoing a trip that has a variety of water myself and my partner will carry two paddles each a cruising or deep water paddle soe might refertothem and a whitewate durrable paddl like a good C1.
 
I used a Fallkniven S1 and a Victorinox Trailmaster last summer kayak camping in the Adirondacks. Both performed very well.
 
I've been guiding people on canoe and kayak trips for a few years, and I always carried my trusty old tramontina machete. After a while, it became so black with carbon from the fire there was no rust left ;)

These days, I'd carry a Camp Tramp (great for taking care of drift wood, splitting, whatever, and not too heavy), plus a smaller fixed blade for light cutting tasks... Not something tough, just something that would cut extremely well, like a Mora #1 or even a clipper (780). Tougher than that without sacrificing the edge would be a Fallkniven F1. Tough as a bulldozer, yet still taking a scary edge.

Do remember that dry bags are subject to Murphy's Law ;)

Cheers,

David
 
Lots of good notes already, but since I have been building and paddling kayaks for years I thought I would throw in my 2 cents.

While paddling I keep a cheap stainless dive/river knife attached to my pfd and usually a SAK in a pocket or somewhere handy. Paddling in cold water where help is a long ways away I keep a nalgene litre bottle survival kit attached to myself with a multitool amongst its contents..

Depending on the trips destination I will bring a folding saw or small machete for firewood duty in camp. Sometimes just for fun I keep a BK7 or the like in a deck bag or stowed in easy reach. But my vest knife is always there, even if the boat isn't.

Might have to pick up a Mora since everyone keeps yammering about them.
 
Go to knifeforums.com and do a search for Bark River.I'm sure you will find one of their knives to suit you.They are laser sharp and tough as all get out,hold an edge through a lto of use and are easy to sharpen.IMHO :)
 
If space is not at a premium I would recomend that you carry a chopping tool of some sort. I remember a canoe trip on the Lumber river here in NC that could have turned out very badly if not for a camp axe. I was about 9 or ten at the time. It was spring and the weather was nice and my dad and I where dressed lightly, A big strom kicked up and we tried to forge on to the campsite. (this was my dad's way and it got us in trouble several times on diferant trips) Well we ended up swamping in high water. All of our gear and clothes where soaked. The temp was dropping and we where wet.We had our axe and we where able to chop up a dead fall and split out some dry wood and build a fire. The area was picked clean of loose would and if we had not been able to chop and split we would have been screwed. As a group we have a lot of fun playing with our knives, but if I need a fire in a hurry I want a camp axe or a machette. On a lot of trips it will stay in the boat but when I'm cold and wet after a swamping, I don't want to be batoning wood.
Patrick
 
On our sea kayaking trips on the West Coast of BC, I carry:


BM 550 Griptillian
Mora Clipper (two of them - one in the emergency BOB and another in the cooking gear bag)
CS LTC Kukri as a brush machete
GFB Wildlife Hatchet


I find that this combo is the most versatile and compact for sea kayaking
 
I carry a Wave in my PFD and a spyderco military on my pants. When I'm out and about for a long time I use a diving knife on my leg as well, although my kayak is open, an Innova inflatable. I carry a Gerber Camp Axe in my dry bag for camp use, and a SAK for everything else.
 
I've only been rafting once: for part of a river in Patagonia before our kayaks were available. I confess that having a very sharp pointed knife on an overgrown inflated balloon made me a bit nervous [as you can probably tell, I'm no raft fan]. I would definitely go with a blunt nose design for rafting for one of my usual two knives: the smaller necker or pfd one.
 
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