Recommendation? hiking knife

Lightweight and soft fannypack cross body with something light like the mentioned Buck 110/112 slim or even better mora.
 
Cosmodragoon said:
There are some pretty small fixed blades out there. As some people have recommended, a neck knife might do the trick. Even a small fixed blade, neck knife or otherwise, could be better than a folder for defense. If just for cutting things, then go with one of the many lightweight folders that have come up.

The walking stick idea is probably going to serve you well. Does anyone have a good resource for that? I'm familiar with guns, knives, and some other types of gear. Aside from making a few walking sticks for myself, I really don't know where the best place is to start exploring that.
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I use a branch that I found in the woods and it works great.

I've also seen 1" wooden dowels at Home Depot that would also work, that you could put a grip on with hockey tape, etc.

I like a really long walking stick. Over 6'.

It makes a big difference on steep declines.
 
CanadaKnifeGuy said:
I use a branch that I found in the woods and it works great.

I've also seen 1" wooden dowels at Home Depot that would also work, that you could put a grip on with hockey tape, etc.

I like a really long walking stick. Over 6'.

It makes a big difference on steep declines.
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The ones I made weren't very difficult but it did take time. I found a branch or sapling that worked. I stripped the bark and did a little shaping, carving, etc. I let them dry over the winter. Then in the spring, I sanded them and applied a coat of whatever I had handy. It's been over a decade and this thread makes me want to do it again.
 
Mora "light my fire". :thumbsup: At 3.4 oz. your shorts should stay away from your ankles. :p The built in firesteel could come in handy if you ever get lost or caught out too late. :cool:
 
You can not go wrong with any Mora knives,light and inexpensive,and durable and strong enough,and even Schrade fixed blades like sharpfinger,deerslayer and few other models that can be had for cheap,and yes theyre made in China but for price are excellent,easy to sharpen and hold edge well.Another excellent inexpensive large folding knife is Cold steel Eland,great value for money,good lock ,large blade with pretty giod steel.
 
its a bit above your price recommendations at around $85, but the Cold Steel Broken Skull might be worth looking at.

Solid lockup with the Triad lock
Great blade steel (CTS-XHP)
4" blade length and a handle to easily fit XXL hands
only 3oz in weight.
get an orange handled one and it makes it less "scary" to a LOE
 
JParanee said:
I know a thing or two about hiking and backpacking and I never did it in gym shorts :)

The best hiking shorts I’ve encountered are from KUIU and they certainly have belt loops






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Would it make you uncomfortable if I told you that's a nice rack?

Anyway, regarding shorts... Obviously people should use whatever works for them. Just noting that OPs preferences for gym shorts aligns to what I see on trails here in the northeast (and when I was in CA). I'd figure elastic waisted shorts with either a draw string (think Nike or ubiquitous soccer shorts) or, at most, an internally threaded webbing belt (think Columbia, North Face, REI) outnumber traditional belted shorts something like 20 to 1. Thick normal belts and normally placed belt loops can cause pressure points on the iliac ridge under a hip belt.

In any event, great looking shots.
 
Cant go wrong with any cold steel folding triad voyagers or recon1 knives,also their fixed blades,from inexpensive roach belly and canadian,in krupp to more expensive srk,master hunter ,recon scout or trailmaster.btw Master hunter is another excellent knife,srk also and you have choice of different steels from sk5 which is perfectly fine to 3v .Id get srk in sk5 as its a bargain and good quality with new higher grind and easy to sharpen coated blade.aus8version is excellent too.Ive been beating the hell out of cs budget blades roach belly,kudu and other kitchen-hunting blade in krupp steel and they hold up well,same as their aus8 in which i have many knives and never let me down.Their aus8 is almost as good as spydercos vg10 lol.go with cs,cant go wrong
 
You guys have given a ton of information regarding model types of knives, sling bag, walking stick, etc. I have researched all of the knives recommended. I have even gone to the store to look and feel some personally. They are great. I think i am going to try a couple variations this summer. I might try a sling bag with my buck 119 attached first. See how that goes and move on from there. I might buy some knives discussed, as it has been awhile since i bought a knife. Cant go too long without buying a new one it :) Its always nice to try a new knife out.
 
Cosmodragoon said:
The ones I made weren't very difficult but it did take time. I found a branch or sapling that worked. I stripped the bark and did a little shaping, carving, etc. I let them dry over the winter. Then in the spring, I sanded them and applied a coat of whatever I had handy. It's been over a decade and this thread makes me want to do it again.
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Yep it can be a fun project. When I bought my house I planted a “Harry Lauders walking stick tree”. I also have some others I’ve been twisting and braiding as they grow to train them into cool shapes.

Soon I’ll be harvesting and making new sticks.
 
CanadaKnifeGuy said:
I'm not a lightweight guy. I wear tactical cargo pants, have a BK15 on my hip, a bk14 on the front of my belt, a backup Mora on my "lightweight" 14lb day-hike pack :eek::p:D and I think there's a SwissChamp in there as well. :confused:
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I like your style, Canadaknifeguy. I also wear cargo pants when hiking and backpacking. I also wear Danner boots...the old-school, stitchdown construction kind. I've tried trail runners, and my Danners are heavy, but far more comfortable, with better ankle support.
 
Cosmodragoon said:
The walking stick idea is probably going to serve you well. Does anyone have a good resource for that? I'm familiar with guns, knives, and some other types of gear. Aside from making a few walking sticks for myself, I really don't know where the best place is to start exploring that.
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I make walking sticks for fun and I could be that guy who natters on for pages, but I will try and be short THIS time.... Ash and Birch are my favorite for trail sticks, Hickory is also supposed to be good but it doesn't grow near me. They are hard, resistant to damage, and have a bit of elasticity that makes the stick "live" in the hand. Harder, denser woods like Oak or Purpleheart make fantastic weapons but are fairly heavy and don't rebound against the ground at all--more fatiguing over time. Then you decide bark on/bark off, what oil, sealed or unsealed.

Shoulder height is a good rule of thumb for length, you will seldom use the last foot of a head-high staff unless going down a steep grade. I like either a rounded or knobbed end in case of accidental contact, and it's more comfortable for leaning/resting. The business end needs a ferrule to protect the tip and prevent the fibers from getting crushed apart; you can find them online. I like to use spear buttcaps, since they are decent steel and so long that I cut them in half. The open tube fits over a larger diameter stick, and the tip fits a smaller one. If you use a sauroter as a tip, you have a stick with a pound of pointed steel or brass on the end--it's not great for distance, but damn does it hit like a truck.

Or you can be a heretic and use prefab trekking poles. I got a pair from Costco for my boys so that they can adjust them to their (changing) heights and I can collapse and tie them to my pack if they don't want them. Wood is always better!
 
The Bark River Ultra Lite Bushcrafter is also a good choice. It is light, sharp and durable.
 
B BitingSarcasm , fwiw I used an ironwood branch (American Hophornbeam) with no metal, stripped it and oiled with pure tung oil. Have had zero issues with mushrooming or any degradation after 15+ years.

The great thing about this wood, is it's found almost everywhere in the eastern half of north America, it's been used for axe & tool handles for hundreds of years. The only downside is finding a really straight piece, which personally, I don't require in a walking stick.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrya_virginiana
 
Buck 119 is perfectly fine knife and good value for money,someone suggested bark river above,yes,theyre not bad ,but i think you can get better value for money,and quality too.Their bowies are nice,along with their blackjack series of knives,had bravo 1 and gave it away to a friend,he never uses it either,too thick for most tasks.Id rather buy Mora instead of their bushcrafting blades.You already have buck 119,so just buy a Mora or cold steel roach belly or canadian as backup and youre set.Bucks are some of best value for money,i love their hollow grinds for pure cutting.
 
For some of these weak elastic-waist pants, can you use suspenders? It might not look "cool" but in some of these cases, the pants themselves don't look cool. In some cases, you can wear the straps under an over-shirt.
 
Today i went on a hike, and i used a sling pack to carry. I ended up adding more and more to the pack though. So it was kinda uncomfortably heavy for the thin strap around my neck. Plus there was no room for drinks, etc. So i switched it to a full fledged backpack a lot of extra space. Its my hunting pack, and has all the amenities (padded straps, padded back, quite fabric, etc.). So next time i will try that and see how it goes. However its quite large for hiking, but maybe...

I do wear suspenders, but only for hunting because i can hide them under my jacket. haha.
 
I am certainly middle aged, but not averse to light weight gear, in fact I like it. However, what is driving this, OP? Are you trying to set a land speed record? Genuine question.

Why not just sort out a pack, if you really want to carry stuff [athletes don’t tend to do that sort of training], then just sort out what you need and carry it normally? Pack, belt, whatever. You will add slight weight. If you are truly an ultra light dude, then a 110 is pure foolishness. You should know that.

Part of packing weight is getting used to packing weight. It gets easier the more you do it. You can really make a very light pack, and buy a suitable ruck/whatever to put it in. Then just go out and do it. If you are worried about confronting animals with a pen knife then I can’t help you.
 
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