Considering a New Backpacking Knife

SpookyPistolero

SpookyPistolero

Joined
Dec 13, 2005
Messages
6,105
Howdy folks!

I've been lurking here a long time but haven't really posted much. I really like the community around here and wanted to get your opinions on a possible new knife for camping/backpacking. I've been assembling a bare-bones survival/medium term camping kit and I'm just not sure that I'm satisfied with my standard Ka-Bar for general purposes. It's usually ok for gross work, but it's not so great at the finer things.

I've got a very limited budget (do any of these threads not contain those words?) and need to keep it under $50. After reading a lot of old threads, I've pretty much got my heart set on the Impact Warthog.

It will be used for any standard camp activities: campsite duties, help getting fires ready (light chopping!), very low-scale improvised shelter building, bear fights, anaconda fights, etc. I want the knife to have just a little heft to it and be very controllable. It needs to be durable and be very comfortable in the hand.

It seems like the Impact Warthog fits these needs well, but unfortunately there's not anywhere around this town that has one of these in stock. Do those of you with this knife find it would fill this type of role? Anyone have other thoughts/suggestions?

Thanks much either way!

-Spooky
 
is this knife going to be used for backpacking or camping? For backpacking i use a titanium neck knife that i got for a present. It is extremely light which is a requirement for all my backpacking gear. For camping i just use whatever folder happens to be in rotation for the moment.
 
Both actually, but I'll usually sacrifice some weight for other worthwhile characteristics. The rest of my gear is very 'minimalist' so weight isn't a killer as of yet.
 
HHHHhhhmmmmm...
Limited budget....bear country....Anaconda country....doesn't appear to be a great deal of continuity in these statements.......anyway, SAVE UP, invest in several very good knives.
Anyway.....watch out for thos constrictors....
 
Well, my very biased and personal $0.02: The shape and profile is completely useless as a functional camp knife. It may serve well for your bear and anaconda fights though I am tempted to suggest a 0.45 cal.
Aside from the general design, I don't see much wrong with it.

I would suggest something more along the lines of a Becker Companion or Becker Necker. In general I would look at a blade in the 4-7" range. With a more functional blade grind. Preferably a high grind and a blade that is not too wide. Again in my very personal opinion chopping with a 3.5" blade is so inefficient, that it is pretty useless. Batoning is of course still possible. If you want even light chopping I would look at something in the 6-7" range (or longer of course if you are willing to carry the weight). I think the Ka-bar heavy bowie in 7" would be a good and inexpensive choice but maybe too large for you. If you want to stay around 3" The RAT-3 or RAT-5 would be good choice, but both unfortunately somewhat out of your range.

Quit frankly, the best knife for you from a practical point of view (and well with in your price range) would be a Mora, but I assume it won't be sufficently "cool looking" for you.
 
These may do,

Buck Nighthawk
Buck Fixed Blade Omni Hunter
Buck 110 (version with finger grooves)
-All the above are at or just below you $50 mark

BRKT Companoin
BRKT Crewman
-These run about 50--60

Short Ka-bar
-A small version of the rgular Ka-bar, may be fine for those 'finer things'

Ka-bar Little Finn
-A hunting knife well within your budget. A decent choice for hiking/ camping.

And Ontario Spec-Plus knives may be worth a look.

Sorry, but I've no experience with the Warthog. Hope this helps.
 
Bears and Anacondas? Are you venturing to the lost world? j/k. I don't know of any place the two exist together, but being in terrain where you might need a knife for such a thing I wouldn't rely on a 50 dollar knife to get the job done. Listen to HoB get yourself a good .45 cal or even better yet .44 Mag. Other than that I'd grab a busse or swamp rat after saving awhile. Trust me, I have a swamp rat M-6 and they live up to their reputation in every sense of the word.
 
Thanks for the replies thus far folks. I don't think my joking around was terribly appropriate for a first post, so just to clarify, I won't be engaging in many bear/anaconda fights (I've got a 1911 and usually a rifle for such duties!).

I'm really only concerned with pure functionality at this point rather than the aesthetics. I like the suggested 5-7"length for light chopping, etc., but the length always seems to feel a little unwieldy. I'll have to make a drive to Smoky Mountain or something and feel around a bit on some different blade styles.

I'll definitely check out all of these knives that have been suggested! Got some fun things to do other than study now...

-Thanks again
 
I would suggest you save up a little cash and get yourself one of Justins new Rd-4's in standard production. It should cost you around 70 dollars.

mmmotorcycle
 
Holy cow, am I looking at the right mora's?

http://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html

Those are dirt cheap. They're handsome little things. Is the blade quality decent?

I really like the S-1 and the C-173 about 2/3 down the page. Those are really handy looking. All the comments in old threads that I've found have been really positive, but I haven't found one discussing them specifically. If they are worthwhile I'd definitely consider them.

I like those you showed also, kbog, especially that benchmade. Something to consider saving for.
 
I guess I'm in the minority here but I don't see anything wrong with the Kabar Warthog as a backpack/light duty camp knife. The key word here being "backpack" - Beckers are great knives but they are big and heavy (BK-7) and I like to travel as light as possible when backpacking through the wilderness

There actually is a place in the USA where the (Florida Black Bear) and the Anaconda coexist - The Florida Everglades. Thanks to careless pet owners the Anaconda and Python are currently flourishing in the Everglades. Of course the likelihood of confronting either in a life threatening situation is all but nil.
 
Get a Ka-Bar, it's an excellent blade for very little money. Be aware, however, you may not be doing much chopping with the Impact series. All feature a relatively short, narrow handle that tapers even narrower toward the butt end.

This is idea for CQC in Reverse Grip, according to my Marine buddies, but not very ideal for chopping anything.

You can choke up on the Impact series, but it will leave your thumb sticking out over the back of the blade.

That being said, they're nice thick, heavy-duty knives, and the Impact is under 5".

The fixed Griptilian looks very nice as well, love my Mini Grip :D
 
SpookyPistolero said:
Holy cow, am I looking at the right mora's?

http://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html

Those are dirt cheap. They're handsome little things. Is the blade quality decent?

I really like the S-1 and the C-173 about 2/3 down the page. Those are really handy looking. All the comments in old threads that I've found have been really positive, but I haven't found one discussing them specifically. If they are worthwhile I'd definitely consider them.

I like those you showed also, kbog, especially that benchmade. Something to consider saving for.
Click to expand...

If you are looking at Ragweed's site, that's the place to buy Moras. For cheap knives, they do indeed perform well. Some people stop there, and just use Moras. I don't, and think there are other and better knives for your purposes. That doesn't make the Moras bad, but there is better to be had. If you can find a Becker CU/7 or Crewman, that would be my choice for your price range.
 
Pretty sure he's kidding about anacondas. Not sure what "finer things" the Impact Warhog would do well. Look at the Becker BK-7 from Camillus.
 
SpookyPistolero said:
Holy cow, am I looking at the right mora's?

http://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html

Those are dirt cheap. They're handsome little things. Is the blade quality decent?
Click to expand...
Yes, yes and yes. Mora's are very handy tools and a favorite among the woodcrafting crowd.
The warthog would be to wide for my liking, and probably also too thick for that length, looks to me like one of the tactical designs with very little utility. I completely understand that you want to stay with a short blade, it seems that many share your preferences. But I think you still need to realize that chopping ability of such a short blade is near non-existant. But batoning will get you pretty far so I wouldn't make chopping ability a focus. The "typical" woodcrafting knife as described by Nessmuk and Kephart are fairly light and thin knives in the 4-6" range and rather closer to the shorter end so you are in good company. They would usually carry hatchets or axes for chopping. Even if they are to pricy, you could take a look at the BRKT line, just to get some ideas of blade shapes you might like, which has many knives that are tailored towards the woodcrafting use. Both the Nessmuk and the Kepart knife have for example a pronounced skinner shape, which may not be that applicable to your purposes.

Another very affordable knife that is a favorite of many is the Becker Necker (BK 11) bit hard to find since Camillus is closing down, but they should run you about $35.
If you are interested in taking a look at a little bit more fancy (and expensive) Mora style knifes you will find a good selection here:
http://www.kellamknives.com/

Good luck!
 
Buy a hatchet, a Cold Steel Bushman and a Victorinox Tinker
Add some gear to sharpen in the field.
 
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