How Large Are Ya Prepared To Carry ?

I always wear an Izula in one of my kydex neck sheaths. I'm confident that if I forget any other knives the Izula will get me by.

99% of the time I also have the skeletool cx clipped to my pocket.

If I'm at work or in the woods I also bring a scrap yard scrapper 5 in a kydex belt sheath.

If I need anything more than that I'll usually be a folding saw when overnight camping.
 
I usually have a mix of knives on me even on a day hike but nearly always I have a Busse FBM on me. Yeah it's a lot of knife but it's also a lot of fun so I don't mind the weight.

Not really into the go super light scene.
 
i usually have my trail hawk and my mocchasin ranger just in case war ever breaks out on a trail :P
 
SAK OHT in my pocket for little, ordinary stuff.

My BK9 with a fully decked mini kit and paracord shoulder straps in the pack--if I take a pack. Otherwise I just sling a canteen across my shoulders and wear the BK9 "He-Man" style with a trick I've rigged up.
 
Depends on how far I intend to go.If only as few miles-I end up will several Big Choppers.I enjoy testing and comparing them.If it's more than a few miles-I still like having at least one Chopper in my pack.(AND A 3-4" BLADE ON MY BELT).

The difference between a Fixed Knife with a 4" blade and one with a 8-9" blade is not that much(unless you compare a Mora to a Busse ASH for example)

I'd rather hump the extra weight even if I never need to use it(for survival) as I love to chop and I feel better knowing I could build a shetler in a survival situation a lot faster than a 4" blade alone.
 
Really, I carry a buck 110 folding 4" blade, hiking in the mountains, camping, fishing whatever. If I don't have that I'll have my David Farmer 3" fixed I think 6" overall small drop point. I go back and forth with these two. I generally will have a small 303 buck slippy on me as my edc or in my psk.

When hiking about I really don't have the frame of mind of Oh if I had a large blade or hatchet I could do so and so...

What I do think about is what materials are around me to help me survive if I had to, where is the streams, where is the fire tinder, where are the pine cones, trees for fire etc. all this thought includes my thinking if I did not even have what I have on me during the time. Essential I work little scenerios in my head to see what I can do without a knife...even though I have one it is good to depend on your mind than your tools sometime if not all the time.
 
I think that the itinerary predicts what I am going to carry.

Is my day hike pretty much predetermined? Does anybody know where I am and when I should be back?

My thoughts on this are that if I am out for a walk and someone knows my where abouts then my belt knife will be fine, it happens to be a Koster bushcraft most times. If I got hurt and couldn't walk out, I would probably have to spend an overnight at most before rescue would happen. To me I can start a fire with the Koster even if I had to baton to get to dry wood.

If I were to go exploring an unknown territory and no one knew where I was then I would have no problem carrying a much larger blade, Koster Survivor.

On a dayhike as stated. I think your FAK and a couple of space blankets and a tarp will serve you better than a large do-all knife.

That's just my opinion on the subject.

Paul
 
Over here in the UK the situation legally is that to carry a knife other than a 3 inch or less slip joint means you have to be able to show a "need" to do so legally, the 3 inch slip joint can be carried as an EDC without this requirement.

I never really paid this too much concern but found that my large SAK Champ was best carried on a belt in a pouch and was a bit bulky for a pocket unless in a jacket. I guess I come into the category of liking to carry the lightest weights I can if they are on my person...so recently instead of carrying a lock knife in my pocket I decided to buy a UKPK from Spyderco and must say I am incredibly impressed with it....I carry in my pocket this set up for emergencies...

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It probably has'nt got much ability on the batoning front but covers fuzz sticks and getting a small fire started OK....and it would be there when I had nothing else...

If I have a daysack with me I will also have my SAK Champ and a fixed blade...the fixed blades vary as often I will just try one out to compare against others...

What is interesting though is that with a bit of judicious use of carved splitting mauls and rocks as hammers to baton larger bits of wood...I think you could get by very well with the simple UKPK...it does all of the main tasks very well.:thumbup:
 
pitdog said:
I guess this is a similar take on threads of the past but here ya go anyway:

Whenever a thread comes up about the perfect size for a survival knife, the most common answer I see is a blade around the 5"-6" mark, this knife will get ya by for most tasks cutting, slicing and even moderate chopping.
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The most common answer I see is 4-5 inches. I think 6 inch knives are a horrible length. Too small for chopping and too big for anything else. The only thing they do okay at would be batoning but that's a whole other can of worms.:D

To answer your question I would say about 10 inches overall. Then again, I carry a hatchet or saw in my daypack so the point is probably moot.
 
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Todd A said:
I should really add that by law I am limited to a sub 4" sharpened edge anyway. So since I am a good, upstanding , law abiding citizen :) the largest I carry has a 3 7/8" blade.

.:(
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The way I understand the law in CT, is if you are camping etc, you can have and carry what ever size fixed blade you want. I have had my Golok on my person many of times on trails here with out a 2nd look by a ranger or LEO.

That said, I prefer to have a knife around 4" on my belt in any situation.:D
 
I seem to be in the minority here with a couple of others, but I am fine with my larger folders. If it's just for a day hike, I don't take any more than I have to haul as I am using that day for walking, gawking, relaxing and sight seeing. I won't be scratching out a fire, worrying about survival issues, etc.

I have found that on day hikes ( not play dates with new outdoor toys! ) I rarely pull out my knife unless it is to half an apple, open a pesky wrapper on a power bar, or to inspect something seen a along the trail.

My Kershaw JYD II comb is my favorite at this time. An amazing knife. Perfect size, lightweight, cuts like a demon. Clip it to the pocket, and I'm off.

Robert
 
anytime im hiking,hunting or just in the woods i bring my bravo 1. i can do everything thats needed in a survival situation with that knife. although a big knife is easier to chop and baton with,i would never carry around that much steel,especially for a day hike.two of the most popular survival knives are the f1 and b1, both are roughly in the 4" range. i once built a shelter with a vic hiker.its more in how you use your tools,not how badass they are.
 
pitdog said:
So to get to the point ' what is the maximum length of knife you are prepared to carry when on day hikes etc, please give the overall length and not the blade size !!!
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For warm weather on-trail hiking, I generally carry a 7-8" knife (Fallkniven F1, Busse BAD, Moras,smaller custom knives).

When hunting or snowshoeing in cold weather, I prefer something a little larger; 10+" (Busse SAR5, SARsquatch, Blackjack Trailguide, etc.).


Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
midnight flyer said:
I seem to be in the minority here with a couple of others, but I am fine with my larger folders. If it's just for a day hike, I don't take any more than I have to haul as I am using that day for walking, gawking, relaxing and sight seeing. I won't be scratching out a fire, worrying about survival issues, etc.

I have found that on day hikes ( not play dates with new outdoor toys! ) I rarely pull out my knife unless it is to half an apple, open a pesky wrapper on a power bar, or to inspect something seen a along the trail.

My Kershaw JYD II comb is my favorite at this time. An amazing knife. Perfect size, lightweight, cuts like a demon. Clip it to the pocket, and I'm off.

Robert
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I think you have missed the point of my post buddy, as Cody Lundin says in his book most survival situations happen because day hikes go wrong !
Therefore being as prepared as we all are would it not be wise to carry the knife we envisage as our perfect survival knife even if just on a day hike ?
 
hey Pitdog, just go hiking with me. i've been known to carry 40lbs of knives in a backpack on 3 hour dayhikes........ :D
 
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