need great knife for backpacking

P

pbspencer

Joined
Sep 29, 2008
Messages
1
i go backpacking alot and am really enjoying it but i keep having to borrow knives from my friends (which usually suck).
So i need a great survival knife that is very hard, durable, and especially not brittle. so far ive narrowed my search down to a rat7, a fallkniven a1 or a2, a swamprat or a busse. tell me which one you think is best and any other suggestions. also which would be better for a rat7, 1095 carbon steel or d2 tool steel
 
looks like you posted in the wrong subforum. i think you were probably aiming for WSS...

i suggest starting with a victorinox farmer model with alox scales. after using that for a while you will better know exactly what you want from a knife and you can go from there.

if you are set on a fixed blade go for a mora from ragweed forge or SMKW for the same reason.
 
Siguy made a couple of excellent suggestions, I often go into the woods for a good while with nothing more than those two and am never lacking.

What is a rough price range for you?
What kinds of things do you use a blade for?
 
Its hard for me to admit, but most knives that we talk about (and I own) are too much for 'backpacking.' There isn't much I can't do with a small folding knife, and find that other tools like a saw gets used more than anything.

Knives are cool and useful in certain situations, but for backpacking/hiking on public land that is at least somewhat local, you don't need much.

I would buy a Mora to get started. They are cheap and work great and you will see how much you really use (or dont use) a fixed blade and can go from there.
 
That's sort of why I like the smaller ones. Fallkniven F1, Barkriver Northstar, The Koster Bushcrafts, Skookum. I feel kinda silly with the really huge ones cause a blade about 4" is fine for anything.
 
Definitely stick to a blade ~4". The ~7" knives you named are nice, but whenever you use them you'll either be wishing you had a smaller knife, or a hatchet, depending on what youre doing. Unless it's splitting wood thats <4" diameter, thats about the only thing I find them to be perfect for.
 
I understand that you been backpacking atlist a few times already... What do you use your knife for??? what are your needs from a knife??? I carry a Mora 511 and never looked back. I prepar food, cut chop sticks and sometimes just kick back and sharpen a stick for no reason. Never had to sharpen it on a trip its light weight and just plain works. Now i do hike where its warm and i use a camp stove. If i had to go where its cold and i needed to make a fire. I would still carry my Mora but add a nice Hatchet.. Which i think some guys on here carry a small knife for everyday use and a Hatchet for bigger jobs..

sasha
 
For backpacking most of the time you want light weight, some durability for wood splitting if you are in a wood gathering area, and suitability for kitchen work. I tend to go with a SAK and a medium sized fixed blade with a thin blade that doesn't weigh too much. There's a lot of good options out there for that.
 
As long as you aren't an "ultralighter" it would be hard to beat, IMO, a SAK farmer paired with a Swamprat HRLM. Those 2 are my constant woods knives whether i'm hunting, hiking, fishing, it doesn't matter. Truth be told the SAK farmer gets used far much more frequently than the HRLM but there are times when the farmer just won't "cut it".
 
An SAK is a good suggestion, any of them with the metal (Alox) handles would get my recommendation. Lots here like the Farmer, and so do I, but I say choose one with the tools you want.

As far as a fixed blade, a Mora is probably a good start. They're cheap, at least. Can't say anything about performance as I have never used one. If you want to get a pretty serious knife, I'd go with a RAT Cutlery RC-3. Light, but capable of about anything you'd do while backpacking. If you're more patient, you should check out some of the custom makers seen frequently on this (Wilderness and Survival) forum. They make some fantastic knives for good prices.
 
I also recommend a Mora. Inexpensive and I don't think there's much out there that can outcut them. Once you've played with that for awhile, you'll know better what you want and will spend your bucks more wisely (that is until you're addicted like the rest of us............. :o)

Doc
 
My first fixed blade was a Mora2000, and I had a kershaw Junk Yard Dog folder, and a LM multitool, that was before I got the fever. Now as soon as I see a knife I have to have it. Watch out! Once you turn to Dark Side you won't want to turn back.;)
 
Oh yea pbspencer, Welcome to blade forums. If you have the funds check out the Rat Cutlery RC-4.
 
If you wanted to go with a folder only, get the Outrider model from victorinox. So nice, so handy. I use every tool on that thing - most of them daily. (Then again, I'm in a shop a lot)

Moras are great inexopensive fixed blades. Whatever you do on a fixed blade, give yourself a little length- the difference between 3.5 and 4.5 inches in food prep is huge
 
how about a blackjack grunt!
for 20 bucks, you can´t go wrong.
If I had to choose one knife to go backpacking, it would be a F1.
I have the A1, and I rarely carry it because it is too big.
 
vic2367 said:
1095 carbon steel

in case you need too start a fire,,
Click to expand...

This only applies if you are going to get sparks with a piece of quartz or flint. Then the sparks are small pieces of steel cut out of the knife.
Compare this to old style firemaking, then the metal part was not a knife but than curly metal thing.

If you are using modern type firesteels (Light My Fire etc) the knife material has no importance whatsoever. Then it is the "sharpness" of the thing you scrape with that matters.
Knives like those from Fallkniven are great for making sparks. They are almost made to work together. Both the firesteel and the F1 knife have roots in the same military organisation.

Anyway. My suggestion for camping knife is one of these:
Fallkniven F1 4"
Fallkniven S1 5.1"
Fallkniven H1 4" specialised hunting knife but excellent for bushcraft.
RAT Cutlery 3
RAT Cutlery 4
Bark River Aurora
Bark River North Star
Bark River Mini North Star

I myself use an Fallkniven H1 and I am very satisfied with it. It splits wood with ease and makes lots of sparks and keeps a wicked edge. Although the H1/3G is even more wicked. Yes it feels quite heavy because it is almost 1/4" thick, but it doesnt matter. You can also just buy a bunch of Mora knives, then you dont have to be so careful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top