Is One Blade Enough?

[FAL'ER]

Wider, a question, how do you transport your keg of liquid refreshment on these long hikes. Cause I can see cutting back on some things but surely you bring beer.

 

[Widerstand]

Wider, a question, how do you transport your keg of liquid refreshment on these long hikes. Cause I can see cutting back on some things but surely you bring beer.

750ml, Old Crow in the plastic traveler bottle, then ill mail drop myself some to the post office if need be,

We need to keep this thread on topic so... I open that box with my one knife.

 

[BushOgre]

The reason I don't count food or water is cause those things are always changing and I have no control over them. The desert is going to something different then NW Washington in the winter. That said often I aim at 3-4 days of food and coffee, I also try to aim for 2 liters of water on me.

So like a liter of water is just over 2lbs so take a 10lb pack and add four pounds, as for food that's always changing for me.

I really just want to stress here that this is just me and how I see things.

Lets say you plan on going 50 miles on the trail, if you have 25lb base weight then you add food and water you could be looking at 35 or 40lbs, the more weight you carry, the slower you go, the more food you need, and then you have more weight so you go slower....etc. the less weight/the lighter the gear you have, the less energy you spend packing so you need less food and less water, so you go further...etc.

I think one of the biggest problems with conversations like is that people get confused with general camping/hiking/woodsmenship and going ultra light. If I am only doing 5-15 miles ill be the first guy to take all kinds of stuff, a pack of steal, frozen day old pizza slices, you name it!

Thanks, I was just curious. Here in the southern plains, water will generally be the heaviest thing I carry. It is either a drought or 80% humidity. I am always jealous of you PacNW boys. Beautiful country.

 

[Flexxx]

Alot of times when I day hike, I don't even use any of my blades but I like to have a couple with me just incase....

Seems to me the Bk7 is one of my favs for hiking, its lighter then the BK2, takes less room then the BK9 and does a little bit of everything good


Haven't used one yet, but I think the BK10 will be excellent for hiking-----oh oh wait the Tweeners are going to be my pack knives when they come out

 

[DerekH]

I have always been firmly of the opinion that if a few extra ounces is going to be enough to derail you, then you got bigger problems. I am the exact opposite of an ultralighter, in that I don't fret over weight obsessively. I will take what I want to take.

Can I go as far as the pro's? Heck no. Can I hack it for 20+ mile days? No idea, never tried, but I have this thing, it's called a penis, and someone once explained to me that having one of those means you don't get to act like a pansy. Could be wrong, but I always took that to heart.

 

[jarodmichael]

Can I go as far as the pro's? Heck no. Can I hack it for 20+ mile days? No idea, never tried, but I have this thing, it's called a penis, and someone once explained to me that having one of those means you don't get to act like a pansy. Could be wrong, but I always took that to heart.

Hahahaha! Love it. You'd be surprised how far you can go when the excrement hits the preverbial fan, or even when you just feel like pushing yourself to see how much you can take. However, I would never advise a 150lbs person to hoof a 65+lbs ruck. It's just not smart.

Disclaimer: All of my opinions and XP points are based on field/combat training, not long distance hiking. I have been taught you pack what you need and hoof it and quit crying.

 

[Widerstand]

I have always been firmly of the opinion that if a few extra ounces is going to be enough to derail you, then you got bigger problems. I am the exact opposite of an ultralighter, in that I don't fret over weight obsessively. I will take what I want to take.

Can I go as far as the pro's? Heck no. Can I hack it for 20+ mile days? No idea, never tried, but I have this thing, it's called a penis, and someone once explained to me that having one of those means you don't get to act like a pansy. Could be wrong, but I always took that to heart.

I feel like there is an undertone feeling that ultralight hiking is for people that are weak or not manly and you saying that just show how little you know about the subject, and to top it off you have never done it so how would you know what its like at all?.

It's a freeing feeling to know that you have 100% of what you need, you will be comfortable, you will be able to travel thru the woods with ease, and you will be able to see a lot of things.

It's fine it's not your thing but don't try to make it out to be that if someone cares about weight, and doesn't want to carry heavy pack that they have "big problems" cause that's inaccurate.

Ultra light hiking is its own world stop trying to compare it to other things.

 

[Magnaminous_G]

I have always been firmly of the opinion that if a few extra ounces is going to be enough to derail you, then you got bigger problems. I am the exact opposite of an ultralighter, in that I don't fret over weight obsessively. I will take what I want to take.

Can I go as far as the pro's? Heck no. Can I hack it for 20+ mile days? No idea, never tried, but I have this thing, it's called a penis, and someone once explained to me that having one of those means you don't get to act like a pansy. Could be wrong, but I always took that to heart.

Go ahead, then. Try 20 miles.

 

[jarodmichael]

Go ahead, then. Try 20 miles.

I've done 12 miles with a 35lbs ruck. Not antagonizing, just saying it can be done. Will you be sore? Yes. Do you need to practice? Yes. Rucking is completely different than hiking.

 

[Widerstand]

To get back to the original thread starters question. I 100% feel that you can get by with one knife, a small to medium one (come on tweeners!) for a multi-day backpacking trip, no matter how big or little your mileage is that you are doing everyday.

It's not about proving anything, its all about getting out and experiencing the wilderness. If you feel you can only do that with a lot of gear go for it, if you can do that with very little gear then go for it.

I love my big blades but I for one could not see myself needing a Machax on backpacking trip.

 

[jimh0220]

Never!!!!!

 

[upnorth]

I suppose we are all a little different, have slightly or very different needs, and that's cool. At 51, I don't see or feel the world around me the way I did at 20. I still enjoy being outdoors, sometimes even at -40 for a brisk half hour hike. The warden clomps around in her snowshoes. I've learned that I don't know it all and it's an on going process. I have admitted before that having a Brute on one hip and a full canteen on the other was a drag at times. I got tired of having plumbers crack while bush whacking with a metal detector. Tripping over snags, that jolt from a grassy hole being deeper than I thought while branches snag my detector headphones or hat. Spider webs across my face\neck. Wiping dripping sweat before it screws up my dust and dirt filled glasses. These are all minor and peripheral things that I push aside while being fascinated with my surroundings. But, it has an accumulative fatiguing effect on me after a while. One of my original inquiries on the Becker forum was to replace the Brute with something lighter. Now I have learned from all of you about different carry options and much more. I wasn't smart enough to think about strapping the Brute across my chest in some fashion or rig. So basically the different offerings in the Becker knife line, and info from B.F.'s has given me a variety of outdoor options. So I'll try to view the guy stuck in an office five days a week, the person with a physical disability, the individual simply getting older...........simply as they are. It is what it is. Thankfully we have varied options to suit individual needs. I take my hat off to those with the ability to do a 20 mile hike. I can't, but still enjoy my time out there. So I wish you all the best for your own individual dirt time. If it's in the backyard splitting kindling with that 9, then B-B-Q'd weenies for the kids later, she's all good.:thumbup: Were I'm at right now is a half canteen of water and the Magnum Camp on a pistol web belt. A light and refreshing change from my old set up, and it often meets my needs. I also run frequently with the BK-2. I have preferences, but no, I am not comfortable with one blade.

 

[NixKustoms]

There can be only one..............



Ok maybe not I just wanted to subscribe

 

[Haze240]

Ultralight backpacking is a huge industry. If you're one of the few that see it as "pansy" thats kind of like saying Ironman competitions are pansy, running for 3 days and nights in an endurance race is pansy, surviving off of MUCH less than you're carrying around is pansy. Could you hack it in the bush for a week without your becker? just an SAK or multitool... I'm 5'10, and 220lbs. I'm anything from ultralight, but when I walk into a place like Mountain Equipment Co-op (dunno if you guys have em in the states), I stand in awe of these guys that pack 2 weeks expedition worth of gear into a 40L backpack. That sleep in bivouacs the size of your sleeping bag during mountain-top storms, that see places nobody else gets to see, because theyre able to go 20, 30, 40 miles in a day, so by day three theyre already a hundred miles into the amazonian jungle, Or half-way across the rocky mountains. All surviving on a carefully planned and thought out equipment list. Would I ever rely on just an SAK when i'm in the wilderness? Hell no. If I get trapped by a boulder in a Utah slot canyon, I'm gonna pull out my Bk14, or even my CS Recon, and chop my arm off using a heavy duty, razor sharp blade. I would rather take out an extra metal cup, and put in a good, solid blade, because thats what makes me feel comfortable. That being said, I look up to ultralighters. Anyone able to survive for weeks in the wilderness with just the bare essentials is pretty impressive in my books.

 

[DerekH]

I feel like there is an undertone feeling that ultralight hiking is for people that are weak or not manly and you saying that just show how little you know about the subject, and to top it off you have never done it so how would you know what its like at all?.

It's a freeing feeling to know that you have 100% of what you need, you will be comfortable, you will be able to travel thru the woods with ease, and you will be able to see a lot of things.

It's fine it's not your thing but don't try to make it out to be that if someone cares about weight, and doesn't want to carry heavy pack that they have "big problems" cause that's inaccurate.

Ultra light hiking is its own world stop trying to compare it to other things.

I could honestly care less what you "feel" about what I write Wider. Sorry. Words on a screen, so don't be so defensive over something that believe it or not wasn't directed at you, or ultralighters.

Since people need to take things out of context to try and make it into something it isn't, let me clarify.

1. "I have always been firmly of the opinion that if a few extra ounces is going to be enough to derail you, then you got bigger problems."

Alright, so I pack, and I got 14 lbs of gear that includes only one bladed instrument to use for everything you would need a bladed instrument for. However, I lack either the strength to carry another tool that I need, or the knowledge and skill on how to get by with just the one tool I already got, or both. To me that says problem. Am I wrong there? The weight I end up with isn't the point of that at all, and has nothing to do with ultralighters or the other end of the spectrum. The problem is not being able to handle a small amount of additional weight that you need, due to lack of physical or mental ability, or both.

2. "I am the exact opposite of an ultralighter, in that I don't fret over weight obsessively. I will take what I want to take."

I really don't worry about weight. Cause I ain't an ultralighter. That is really just a statement of my own affairs, and really doesn't need to enter into things as anything other than an opinion. I don't fret over weight cause number one, I ain't an ultralighter.

3. "Can I go as far as the pro's? Heck no. Can I hack it for 20+ mile days? No idea, never tried, but I have this thing, it's called a penis, and someone once explained to me that having one of those means you don't get to act like a pansy. Could be wrong, but I always took that to heart."

As I am still fairly new to this whole outdoors stuff (less than two years worth of solid experience and practice) I know I cannot go as far as some of the people that have done this for awhile. I really can't. Could I do a 20+ mile day? Maybe. I am ridiculously stubborn, and because I am a man I am going to give it my best shot. Really all there was to that.

Do I have anything against ultralighters? Heck no. In my mind, if you can get by with less, great, good for you. You are better than me at this. And I can and do acknowledge this. After hearing Moose go on about him, I read a lot of stuff that Reuben has done, and I honestly believe that the reason he goes so light is not because he wants to, but because he has to. His balls, being so large and brass, must weigh a ton. Hence the lighter weight on gear.

(Seven pounds in the jungle for a week. Way tougher hombre than myself.)

So, in summation, can one blade be enough? For some, yes. For others, no. The answer depends on your level of skill, your experience, your physical conditioning, and ultimately whether or not you are comfortable with it.

 

[Murphnuge]

Great, another one I don't wanna be left out of. Maybe it's a Marine thing, but I can't fathom ever leaving for the woods with just one knife or evenwith an "ultralight" pack. I respect it if that's what you want, but I ain't into it. I'll suffer under a 90lbs. pack and be comfy when I settle down rather than travel with a light pack that allows me to skip through the trees and suffer at night. Really ultralighting is the reason I let my subscription to Backpacker run out. Again, I'm cool with it if that's what you want to do, but I ain't into it. Sorry had to edit this post, I didn't want Wider thinking I was ganging up on him. Really I have nothing against any hiking "school of thought", but I just prefer to have the stuff I want.

 

[BushOgre]

I liked across Alaska with nothing but a Man-kini.

 

[Haze240]

Can I go as far as the pro's? Heck no. Can I hack it for 20+ mile days? No idea, never tried, but I have this thing, it's called a penis, and someone once explained to me that having one of those means you don't get to act like a pansy. Could be wrong, but I always took that to heart.

dude, sounds to me like you're calling ultralighters...and women... pansies. Could be wrong. Expect backlash when you spout stuff like that lol

 

[jarodmichael]

dude, sounds to me like you're calling ultralighters...and women... pansies. Could be wrong. Expect backlash when you spout stuff like that lol

He addressed it:

3. "Can I go as far as the pro's? Heck no. Can I hack it for 20+ mile days? No idea, never tried, but I have this thing, it's called a penis, and someone once explained to me that having one of those means you don't get to act like a pansy. Could be wrong, but I always took that to heart."

As I am still fairly new to this whole outdoors stuff (less than two years worth of solid experience and practice) I know I cannot go as far as some of the people that have done this for awhile. I really can't. Could I do a 20+ mile day? Maybe. I am ridiculously stubborn, and because I am a man I am going to give it my best shot. Really all there was to that.

 

[FAL'ER]

Ultralight sounds real cool, but I'm fat, so I hide in bushcraft and take lots of blades and gear. I'd be willing to try it though. Still I'd have a hard time not carrying a pistol and at least a 4" fixed knife.