How to wear knife with a backpack waist strap?

G

gnius

Joined
Jul 1, 2008
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I was looking at a number of smaller frame packs today, because I'm graduating to longer outdoors trips, and every pack I have liked has fairly thick pads on the waist straps.

Normally, I wear a number of things on my belt, and I just got a spectacular bush knife from John Landi that I'd like to wear... but with the waist pads sitting snug around me, I don't think I could comfortably wear anything on my belt, especially not a fixed blade.

So knowing that many people here have had vastly more outdoor experience than I, I would like to ask how you wear your knife when walking with a pack?

Here's what I am talking about (image credit: North Face, modified by me)
terra60.jpg


P.S. Has anyone here used the Terra packs? They were very light for their capacity among the internal frame packs I looked at... and the straps were the cushiest.
 
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Have a sheath made with a dangler on it. Might be low enough to clear the pack belt.
 
I generally convert my kydex sheaths (assuming that is what I'm using) to accept a Blade Tech "Tek Lok" which allows me to facilitate the removal of my sheath from my belt and the ability to connect it easily to the waist strap itself. Carrying on my waist belt gives me quick and easy access to it. Then when done for the day I move it back to my pant belt.
 
Yeah, I would check out JRE; they make some great sheaths that can be worn high-ride when the pack is off and a detachable dangler can be added when the pack is on so the knife drops below the waist belt.

If Landi's sheath is Kydex and it has a good fit for vertical carry, you could try a MercHarness (like carrying a gun in a shoulder holster. Another similar option is just a simple 550-cord baldric...

ROCK6
 
Believe it or not, I find that even the strap of leather (on a dangler) irritates me underneath the waistbelt of my multi-day pack. It may just be me and the way my pack fits, but I can't do it. I will have a sore spot the next day.

What I end up doing is wearing a paracord baldric.

IMG_2159.jpg


I can take the pack on and off with easily and still have my knife when the pack is off.

It is also a good conversation starter, because everyone wants to know what the heck the thing is.
 
As luck has it, my friend I went out today with my kid carrier that has a waist strap. See this pick for how I attached my RC3 to the waist strap. I used 550 cord that came with the sheath. It worked perfectly. It's on my left side set up cross draw since I'm right handed.

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Although I don't have this knife anymore it worked perfectly mounted horizontally on the bottom of the shoulder strap via a Tek-lock. I liked it mounted this way so you don't have to worry about it going anywhere once you unclip the waist strap.

064.jpg
 
I tend to like a drop sheath on my side and then a smaller knife attached to the shoulder straps.
 
mistwalker said:
I tend to like a drop sheath on my side and then a smaller knife attached to the shoulder straps.
Click to expand...

I really didn't like the idea at first of having a knife attached to my pack instead of my person. The pack I attach it to has my son it so I am not going to be putting the pack down and walking away so it didn't concern me all that much.

I have carried a drop sheath with a waist strap but prefered the knife to be attached to the pack instead.

I'm not a fan of the knife being inverted on the shoulder strap though.
 
I'm a weirdo. Neither of my backpacks have a waist strap. I use a german and a Swiss large mountain rucksack.

However on the pack that you show and in the area you point at it would be fairly easy to mount a RAT cutlery RC4 in the horizontal position with the molle clips. You could also mount the sheath using the clips to the shoulder straps.
 
I backpack all the time and I never could understand this question. I normally just wedge it in the waist strap, on the waist, and forget about it. It never really feels uncomfortable to me, but that is just my preference. Either that, or it is a low riding sheath and isn't a problem.
 
I just don't wear a belt sheath and pack at the same time. I generally have a folder clipped to my pocket for ready access and just keep the larger sheath knife inside the pack and only take it out and put it on while I am making camp or have some other need for it.
 
Some good ideas given above! Here's two more ideas:

JRE will make you a sheath (your choice) with the bottom of the belt loop attached to the sheath with a Pull-the-Dot snap. This snap only comes apart when pulled in one specific direction. I've used a couple of their sheaths with this feature for several years, and it has worked well for me. It's easy to switch from pack belt to pants belt, and has never come apart at the wrong time.

Another way is to sew on a short loop to the bottom of the waist belt on the pack. I use some flat nylon tape for this. The middle of the loop is velcro-ed (double velcro-ed, actually) so that it can be opened and passed through the belt loop of any sheath. So there is actually two parts to the loop, left and right, joined in the middle by velcro. (I'd draw a picture and scan it, but I'm away from home and will be for two weeks, sorry. If you PM me in two weeks, I'll get a picture up for you)
 
I do it like myright. I carry my knife horizontal, I'm right handed and carry it on my right side. Really it's on the front part of my waist. It never gets in the way of the waist belt on my packs.
3734216700_f9e4baf906.jpg

Later,
Iz
 
I didn't take the time to read all the responses, so I'm sure someone already suggested this, so I am going to back them up.

Get a Dangler sheath, or make one from your current sheath. A piece of leather, or a braid of 550 cord will look nice. But, the cheap and easy, is to use a carabiner. Clip it around the sheaths belt loop, and to you pants belt loop.

P.S. Make sure your pack is fitted correctly. The top of your iliad crest should be about and inch from the top of the waist strap, or a more general fit if you don't know were your crest is, the buckle of the strap should cover your belly button. You may find that this is quite high, as mine is, and you could actually get away with wearing the sheath as normal. Or, if your sheath is so equipped, carrying it horizontally should not get in the way at all, unless you wear you pants real high.

You can kinda see what I mean, regarding the carabiner idea, in these two pics. Carabiner is blue, and I am the guy on the far left of the second picture, you can see how it hangs below my pack.



3478265198_1738601acb.jpg

3477487357_3d201a2519_b.jpg
 
Ive got an Osprey pack with a massive solid waistbelt and couldnt fit my TAK-1 there, so i ordered a detachable dangler sheath from JRE. I havent received it yet though.

I dont like strapping a knife to a pack, cos i tend to take it off at breaks and go exploring for abit, so i like to have my knife with me at all times.
 
I like a nice wide but flat cotton baldric.

I've tried other materials like leather and synthetic but they have disadvantages to me. Leather just doesn't work for me as it isn't flat enough for the required strength and I can feel it under a pack strap. It isn't pliable enough under a strap. That sucks. I've tried a couple of different sorts of nylon webbing but they tend to want to move about under their own steam. That's a pain 'cos the seat belt stuff I can cut from cars in long lengths actually has better properties than the all singing stuff I bought. That migration thing is insufferable though so I'm back at cotton.

With the right width the load is dispersed comfortably without need for any padding or frippery even when I've got much more load on it than a simple little FB. Just a little F1 or similar on that melts away as pretty much weightless. Even with that bat belt paraphernalia on it too I don't feel encumbered but the tools are right under my nose.

Advantages to me in no particular order:

1] Perceived weight is zero.
2] Goes under or over clothes.
3] Instant availability
4] Low profile – I can rotate it as the situation dictates. I can carry a fairly big FB like that under my left arm and you wouldn't know it was there
5]Works when sitting
6] Avoids pet peeve – I hate stuff on my trouser belt. Go up a steep incline and anything at the front gets pinched. Loading any kind of weight on the trousers is abhorrent to me. Doing ye olde round the back where I can't see it like the wallet / jeans back pocket things sucks to me too. Compared to other methods there are access issues, plus the sitting / laying down thing. And of course there's bergan hip belt problems.
7] None of that latch key kid daft hand it round your neck malarkey.

I've tried loads of carries with various blades over the years from the drop extender though the neck dangle to the rather childish lash it to your calf. Someone is going to have to invent something totally new to dislodge me from the baldric. A simple merc harness has its place but isn't as good for me at all round stuff.

Still, mileage varies. If I didn't go up and down steep hills and stopped grummaging about in the undergrowth, and brought a chair to sit on, I might think differently.

Only a day pack but I use the same rig with a huge bergan and massive loads and the same applies -

sqmu1vra544ep-k412.jpg
 
If your blade is not too long, horizontal is definitely a great option. This K Girl rig is my constant companion, very comfortable both sitting and standing. I usually wear it above my right front pocket (not crossdraw):

Recycled pics:
mike464.jpg


Can be worn on the back as modeled here:
mike465.jpg
 
Thank you for so many responses! I am overwhelmed, really.

I originally thought that I'd mount the blade on the waist strap of the pack via tek-lok in its kydex sheath.

But now I wonder whether I could fit it on the belt (either vertically or horizontally) without disturbing the pack too much.

Thanks a lot. I'll let you know how it works out when I purchase the pack and actually have to do it.
 
I've tried the knife mounted to my shoulder straps in all configurations (both straps, horizontal, vertical, inverted and normal carry). I just don't really like it that way. I always feel like I'm going to fillet myself when withdrawing the knife, especially when using a secure kydex sheath.

I like the baldrics - and that is cool baldtaco how you have a little PSK pouch hanging on your baldric along with blade. For a larger blade, I usually end up either just sticking it directly inside the pack or attached by molle on the back of the pack. I carry a smaller fixed on the belt when it is comfortable, otherwise an EDC like my Izula goes in my front pocket. Haven't tried a dangler sheath yet, but I will. Its only a matter of time!

Baldrics are a great carry method though. I just use a piece of braided paracord (nothing fancy like some you see here, just the pony tail type braid with three pieces of paracord) joined to a carbiner. It works fine. Doc Canada uses simply uses a spare leather belt as his baldric and that works out fine for him. Plus he has a spare belt.....Good God - I went through 4 belts in the last year!!!! Some day I'll learn and pay the $50-$70 for a quality one...
 
I just carry the big knife in the pack while I am hiking. If I am going to do things that require the bigger knife, I am going to take off the pack anyway. After the pack is off, I get the knife out and use it as needed.
 
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