Hiking kit

BJE said:
If you buy in store, make sure you open it up and check the tip before purchase, many times I have seen new ones with broken tips, not sure if they ship that way or if it’s some yokel that does who knows what with it on the shelf. The tips are fragile.
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Thanks for the tip (see what I did there), I wish these various companies would make more robust tips in general. Eyelets as well, so easy to bend or break them even on more expensive rods.
 
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shinyedges said:
Agreed. Get the hatchet, life's short and you want it, it's obtainable and it might put a smile on your face. I half want to reprofile my rmj loggerhead so it cuts wood properly and take it with me.
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Easier said than done unfortunately. I want it for my 18th century kit and getting a period correct axe and getting it here is an expensive endeavour!
 
While I collect knives of all kinds including many different types of fixed blades & folders suitable for camping &/or bushcraft use, I've never needed to carry any knives on a day hike nor more than an SAK Explorer (my favorite SAK model) &/or a Gerber Multi-tool on an overnight backpack trip.🤷
 
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It takes me longer to decide on which backpack and which knife than it does to do a 5 mile hike. The TKC Architect 5.5 in 3V is a favorite. Not too big, not too little, great steel, super comfortable handle and most importantly it’s not too heavy.
 
If I take a fixed blade backpacking, it's the Mora 510. Mine is carbon steel. Very lightweight.

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It's a thin blade. It carves, barks, drills, and splits small wood. File the spine and it scrapes wood and firesteel It guts and skins game.

I've done light bushcrafting with this knife. For backpacking I would have considered it overkill in my Colin Fletcher-worshipping days, but now that I combine fishing with backpacking, I consider it perfect.

The sheath it comes with is black plastic. This sheath is from BPS Knives specifically for the 510 but needs a wet form to the knife.
 
Sounds like you have it figured out for the maintained trails, so I'm focusing mainly on the need for some bushwacking and wilderness camping where the knife use is part of the enjoyment.

When weight is a concern and I'll likely want to do a little trail clearing, or I just want something longer without a lot of weight, I'm really fond of my stromeng 9" leuku. It carries small for the size as it's not really wide like a lot of choppers in this length and the guardless hidden tang really keeps the weight down. It makes a great knife for getting wood gathered for a fire if there's not a lot of deadfall around. I like it a lot for a winter camping knife as well for the same reasons.

If a little more chopping power is needed, the ratweiler, my bush buster, or a skrama (I prefer the smaller skrama, 200 vs 240, as it packs nicer). The skrama with the smallest j-puukko in the double-sheath is a sweet little rig as I'm fan of big knife/little knife?

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I've always been a big outdoors guy and have done a lot of hiking. Usually I'll end up carrying a smaller folder and mid sized fixed blade combo. Throughout the years the knives have changed a lot, and continue to change all the time just because I like to have excuses to carry my knives. I carried a ESEE4 with a SAK ranger banded to the sheath for quite a while. The passed couple years my main 'beefy' outdoors fixed blade has been a Becker Kephart with the micarta slabs, I really like it. That's my camping knife, and if I were to need to possibly do some light clearing of the stray blackberry vine here and there and what not, that'd be good for hiking too. It'd probably be a good one for your longer trips like you're talking about. However lately I've been trying to go more lightweight on my hikes, and usually carry a light(ish) folder, and a lighter, smaller fixed blade. Here's a few examples of what I've carried lately.
I love these two little compact sharpening rods. One is diamond (EZE-Lap I believe, screws into the brass handle) and one is ceramic (Worksharp), a perfect combo.
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This is a super handy, lightweight fixed blade I got eons ago from Landi.
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On this one I switched it up to a tough folder and a lightweight chisel ground fixed, cuz why not. I've never messed with the foldup wood burning stoves. They're cool as hell, but I generally like to just get r done when I'm making something or want a hot drink. I've been using this MSR isobutane stove for 20 years or so and it's been awesome.
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I've used this Allen Blade MEUK a lot as my hiking fixed blade too. He makes a hell of a knife, but he's disappeared as a maker I think.
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And a shot of the ol' Becker Kephart when I got it.
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But yeah I agree, karate would probably be better.
 
Good stuff everyone! Love seeing what others do and carry, good choices all around.

Did 5 miles today, smartwool socks for the win, check this tree growing on this boulder out :20241018_155446.jpg

Unfortunately the bigger waterfall was dry, we haven't had much rain since Hurricane helene.
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I'll have to head to another waterfall that isn't fed by creeks/rain.

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