The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
I'd suggest taking bear mace with you if you're concerned about mountain lions.
Either way, if a sick/diseased animal does decide to go after you, the mace might not do all that much either.
But I would lean more toward the mace than a knife for the event of an attack.
You might want to consider a Swedish Mora knife:I'm looking for something about 3-4" blade, light weight, fixed blade but incased is something that won't come out easy and is secure enough if I crash, I won't stab myself. It will probably hang on the shoulder straps too. Budget is $75 max
Just Black Bears. Occationally they do injure someone, but in the history of New Mexico there's only been a single incident where a Black Bear killed someone. It was an elderly lady who had apparently been feeding the bear near her home.I take it some of you guys live around bears?