Need help choosing survival knife

[shangchi108]

If I can't get "it" done with those items above then I shouldn't be going in the first place...

You're right about that, considering that what you've described weighs about ten times as much as any SAK, and about five times as much as any multi-tool. I would say the opposite is a taller claim; if I can't do it with just a small SAK or multi-tool, I probably shouldn't be out there.

 

[whiskeyfox]

I've never had the need for a multitool... One of the guys on youtube summarizes it nicely to say that the "meat and potatoes" of a multi-tool is the pliers - so i thought, "why not just include a set of pliers?" i got the sturdiest most compact i could find which were the craftsman ones, i can give the model #... to be honest, they probably weigh as much as a leatherman wave. The sawvivor is 10 oz, the busse is 8-10 oz, and the izula is about 3 oz. So we're looking at 2-3 lbs of tools which i don't think is extravagant vs a 6" plus heavy duty blade or axe plus and multitool.

 

[viva la]

Seems like I'll be getting the esee 6 then. Just to clear things up. I already have a really nice leatherman multitool and am not interested in carrying a machete. Please don't tell me I can't handle the weight. An extra pound on my belt isn't going to make or break things. I routinely hike with a pack that weights about 50lbs.

no offense. But you haven't hiked 2,759 miles in one straight trip. A week in, 2 weeks tops, you will be looking to drop every ounce you can. 50lbs is HEAVY for a through hike.

Another thing that worries me is you tromping around with this big blade, chopping down trees because you can. A big part of the AT is a pack in/pack out and leave no trace mentality. If everyone brought a machette or a large blade, the trails would become crap. There is really no need for anything that big (as others have stated already).

But really, thats fine...again, no offense...but 2 weeks in you are going to be looking to lose whatever weight you can. I am sure someone will be happy to take the ESEE 6 off your hands in exchange for something much smaller...and I know you said you carry 50lbs, and thats nothing for you...but IMO that is just bravado talking...50lbs for 2 weeks is no problem...50lbs for 6 months, something entirely different.

 

[mainewoodsman]

But really, thats fine...again, no offense...but 2 weeks in you are going to be looking to lose whatever weight you can. I am sure someone will be happy to take the ESEE 6 off your hands in exchange for something much smaller...and I know you said you carry 50lbs, and thats nothing for you...but IMO that is just bravado talking...50lbs for 2 weeks is no problem...50lbs for 6 months, something entirely different.

I made the same point earlier in this thread... the way I look at it, it is his back.

Once, on one of my hikes to the summit of Mt Katahdin, northern end of the AT and Maine's highest mountain -- a pair of hikers pulled out LARGE cans of austrailian beer. These guys looked at us and said you must think we are crazy. I said, heck no, you carried these 24 or 32 oz beer cans up here then you deserve to drink them.

To each his own, I would like to hear if he is still carrying 50+ at the end of the journey though.