Esee 3 for 5-day hike?

R

Ruudr

Joined
Jul 1, 2010
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Is a Esee 3 good enough as a survival blade for a 5-day hike?

Has someone experience with this?

Grtz,

Ruud
 
I would go with a ESEE 5. I had a ESEE 3 and thought it was too small for a primary blade.
 
The 3 is a great blade for hiking. Lightweight and can do all you need of it. I own all the Esee line and have used them all in the woods. As good as a knife as the 5 is , you have to ask yourself if you really want to go for a long hike with a one pound knife on your side. Maybe great if your going to spend 99% of your hike batonning through logs ! The 5 was designed as a downed pilot's survival knife meant to egress aircraft. A blade like the Esee 3 or 4 is a much better general purpose knife. They have the same handle although the 4 is slightly thicker due to blade thickness. Both are great slicers and every bit as tough as you need. If want to go lightweight hiking I'd take one of those two. Even if I wanted to carry a large knife , the Esee 6 ( lighter than the 5) would be my choice.
 
The 3 will work, but for a trip like that I'd take my 4 or Bravo-1.
 
Anything that you NEED to do with a knife, you can do with the 3, plus it's light and good lookin' to boot :) Definitely the best slicer of all the ESEE knives, and one of my favorite blades that I own... I'm kind of biased I guess ;)
 
The 3 is possibly the most useful offering in their whole lineup. Provided decent technique, it should be more than enough knife for a 5 day trip
 
CID25 said:
The 3 is possibly the most useful offering in their whole lineup. Provided decent technique, it should be more than enough knife for a 5 day trip
Click to expand...

I agree with that. As to if it's enough, depends on what you need the knife to do. And check out the W&SS sub-forum in the community area. All they talk about is woods knives.:thumbup:
 
It's a good, strong knife. A little small, but you can use it depending on what you are going to do. For camp and hiking: no problem at all!
 
It's way too small for a long hike like that, 5 days....

I would say a 5" blade min for a primary blade depending on what else you are going to haul along for those 5 days.

If you are going to haul a saw and or hatchet then you might get away with a 3" knife, but if you are then a folder would do just as well.

I wouldn't want to bet my life on a 3" knife out in the wild if something happened unexpectedly.

It's better to be prepared then to need something and not have it, it might be your life.
 
Ive had mine with me for several hikes that lasted several days. It has served me just fine and have handled everything ive asked of it. It batons reasonably sized firewood with no problems and excels in the campkitchen. Small woodcrafting is a breeze with the thin blade. My only gripe is that the handle is a bit small.

I would want something bigger though, if im hiking during the harsher winter/fall months.

This thread needs some pics!

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Will you be carrying an axe or machete?
The 3 is enough for many. If you need to build a shelter, process lots of wood, split some wood, or any other larger tasks, the 3 may come up too short.
Be prepared, take a saw, machete or axe/hatchet as well as a small/medium fixed blade knife, and/or a folder. A 12" machete or a 10" chopper is an excellent way, for many, to do the large chores, and not as heavy as a hatchet.
 
Depending on the area I'd bring a machete along too. You would be very hard pressed to come up with a cutting chore that can't be done with a machete, a small knife, and the tools (like a wood splitting wedge) that you can make with those.

But the 3 is definitely tough!
 
If you aren't carrying something to chop wood with, the ESEE 3 might be a bit small. If you aren't worried about chopping firewood, the ESEE 3 is a fantastic knife and would be great for your hike. Small enough for all kinds of work, but I would go a bit bigger for a do-everything blade.
 
I'm thinking of buying a Esee 4 because the 5 has a to thick blade. Or maybe a small axe. I think a smaal axe would be a lot cheaper than a Esee 4 or 5. Something to think about :D
 
I typically carry way too many knives when I hike, even though I know I'll do just fine with a small one. I don't baton, so the heaviest I use a knife is to bend over a 2-year old tree and press the blade into the bend to cut it down if I need a green-wood pole for some reason. I say a RC-3 is a perfect size knife for a 5-day hike! If you're planning on having fires every night, I'd say bring an axe. If you're not planning on having fires, then an axe is a ton of extra weight.

Survival is about what's in your head. It's not as big of deal as people make it (still today many humans live 100% outdoors) and a big knife isn't going to help you anymore than a small knife... I'm sure I'm going to catch flack for this statement, but I feel the whole "survival gig" is highly overrated, especially the survival knife. Artic survival gear is real, I don't really see how in normal climates your survival gear should differ from the hiking gear you carry on your back. If it serves you well for 5-days, it'll do the same for 10 or 20 days unless you carry a biodegradable tent.
 
Thanks guys for the replys it will help me a lot, I think I go wit my RC-3 and a small axe. Because we're planning to make a fire every day for cooking the fish and other food.
IMO this thread is closed.

(sorry for my not so flawless English)
 
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