Knife recommendation for niece to take on Appalachian Trail?

This has gone beyond reason. Fixed blades, strobes, bear spray, saws? She doesn't need more crap for a dayhike than a thruhiker does for 6 months on the trail.
Check out the Zebralight H51w or fw. Practical low and medium modes that are all a backpacker needs outdoors and more, single AA, lightweight, compact. One of the H2 mode options is a strobe.
She needs a realistic first aid kit, not that thing with some bandaids and aspirin. I'm big on athletic tape and ACE bandages, since they treat a plethora of injuries, including the most common strains and sprains.
 
lmalterna said:
nothing replaces numbers, having a friend or two is a better bet for a lady.
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+1. The best advice yet.

You've got all the bases covered in this thread as far as gear goes: knife, mirror (not only for signaling, but also for checking for ticks, cuts, splinters, etc.), tweezers (get a good pair like Uncle Bill's or Tweezerman), flashlights, chem lights, whistle, etc. But for a single female on the AT, a friend is the best bit of gear she could possibly bring.

I remember reading a story a few years ago about a woman who hiked almost the whole trail by herself. When she got home and developed her film... there were pictures of her sleeping in her tent at every one of her rest stops. Someone had followed her the entire way, snuck in her tent at each stop, and took pictures of her with her own camera at night. If your niece insists on going alone, tell her that story.
 
pink benchmade griptillian . the grip is a quality blade and it comes in a variety of colors including pink for the little miss . i plan on getting my niece one when she turns 12 in 8 years
 
Well, except those few that hike barefooted with nothing but a shower curtain and a granola bar. ---- I love it! LOL A buddy of mine was day hiking one day middle of the week and down the trail comes an asian dud, buck naked- just sneakers and a pack. When he realized he was not alone he ducked inot the bushes and threw on a pair of shorts hanging on his pack- not sure it was just more comfortable or maybe he was drying his laundry...

I am gear heavy and know it. I usually have wife and kids with me so I have to carry for them. I never go with less than a small buttpack with two bottle pockets though. If only for the water. Even if alone, I do not notice somethign under 5lbs around the waist and good stuff can be had inexpensive and still come in under 5 lbs. Most womens purses weigh more than that.

Bill
 
I found that I cannot backpack anymore, but I do get a lot of interesting ideas from reading those sites. And by no means am ultra-weight reducer in my packing since I almost exclusively let my canoe carry the weight now, but reducing unused baggage makes sense no matter your method of locomotion. Local clubs and colleges are another place she might find like-minded individuals to day hike with. And who knows, she may like it well enough to start doing overnighters as her experience and confidence level builds. Kudos to you for helping her along the way. :thumbup:
 
I have to agree with owen, this is getting ridiculous. It's the A.T., not the Amazon.

At most, she may need a basic SAK like a bantam or recruit. Don't worry about firewood, light a fire anywhere but at a designated shelter and your next 6 months accomodations will be free in that place with lots of bars on the windows. No open fires at all. You won't need a saw, hatchet, ax, or any lumbering tools.

Signal mirrors are useless, as are strobes. The thick forest makes the trail invisable for most of it's length. Even if she breaks an ankle, wait 15 to 20 minutes on any given weekend, and someone will be along. It's the A.T. It's a weekend meca for the city back packers within 200 miles of it at any point.

Bear spray may actually be worthwhile. The A.T. has a history of robberies and assaults, and even murders. It's too close to major cities and way too close to many small towns where the locals have a tradition of going up and messing with the 'tree hugging back packers". Bear spray will do a number on a would be predator.

She should carry and use some sort of hiking staff or treking pole. Trails are rocky and uneven footing. Lots of people get ankle injuries if they are not careful.

She won't need more than 3 to 5 pounds of gear in a comfortable day pack. If she gets inot the weekend trips, there will be more of course, but you did say day trips, right?

On the A.T., she's more at risk from other people than mother nature. Google Granny Gatewood. If a senior citizen grandmother can hie the hole lenght of the A.T. with a gunny sack over a shoulder, a day hiker should not get hung up on carrying all the toys.
 
I know about a half a dozen or so that did the whole AT, some carried a normal size sak, and 1-2 carried the little keychain models for scissor, tweezer, etc. Weight really really really matters when you are hauling it for 6 weeks, and everyone needs a comfort item or two but a knife doesn't really fill that void. Bigger knives are a luxury most won't care for due to weight issue.

Most of the packing i've done has been with a sak. Never really had problems, but I wasn't into knives that much either. Especially as a minimalist, it isn't a big priority.
 
If she's carrying moleskin - which she should be - small scissors are better than knives.

Have I missed the water bottle?
 
The Tinker is a great all around SAK. Don't let $10 sway you on a good choice. You can't go wrong with this knife. All the tools are quite useful from time to time. I use a SAK everyday. I carry the Adventurer every day which is sort of like a large tinker. I would feel naked without it.

I would consider a compass of some sort. The mirror could be used for signaling if necessary. I carry a Brunton, but there are lots of good choices.
 
tick-key.jpg

is a must for the AT. If even the mouth part of the tick stays in lime disease will remain.

Is she thru-hiking? If not it's nothing different than going to the local park and hiking... If I where a female I would not do it alone. Out of the majority of victims on the AT most are female and alone.

Whiteblaze forums for sure!

Fastest time = 47 days
 
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The signal mirror is actually a very good idea if she is solo hiking; not so much for signaling, but in case she gets something in her eye or a scratch or bug bite/sting on her face. If she is alone then she will need the mirror to deal with these situations. This has happened to me more than once on solo trips; it really is a good idea to have a small mirror for 1st aid purposes, so it may as well be a signal mirror. The little plastic ones weigh maybe 1/4 oz or less. The bear spray idea is excellent for self defence, and I agree an SAK is a great choice for a knife.
 
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