Recommendation? Outdoors/construction/edc blade. One knife to rule them all!

While I love my Spyderco K2, great knife for big mitts.
In that environment, for needed corrosion resistance, I’d lean towards a Caribbean Leaf or Pacific Salt both in plain edge.
As you know any choice of folder is second to a fixed blade for the roles you described.
 
Look at a D2/Aluminum/G10 451 . Big, strong, smooth, button lock just at your budget.
Airborne 1 said:
Sir, If I was going into the situation you find your self in ,a folder would be the last knife I would take. Going into the wild with a folder as your primary can and will come back and bite you.
Your budget will buy all types of fixed blades that are far more serviceable "in the bush ". Imho
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unwisefool said:
Fixed blade all the way with a slicey folder for detail jobs
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Seriously?
PontiacGTFO said:
No batoning or stabbing through a car door, as I have a Becker BK2 for that.
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Buck 110 if you're decided on a folder. but a FB like an F1 (VG-10 will do you just fine) might be better. Good luck on the Wet Coast, from a fellow Canuck. Keep an eye peeled for ecofreaks.
 
This has been mentioned before but in my current collection of folders I usually grab the Cold Steel Recon 1 spear point in CTS XHP if I’m facing hard use.

It’s a really tough package with a high performing steel, and actually disassembles pretty easily. The Triad lock is very strong, and the G10 is very grippy. Plus there are no liners to corrode. The clip is very tight, which will help lessen the chance of it getting accidentally pulled out of your pocket.

It looks like you’ve been considering it anyway...I imagine it or the Ultimate Hunter would serve well in that environment.
 
Put a Buck 301 in your pocket (3 blades are better than one. No one blade is ideal for every task), and a Mora Number 1 or 2 on your belt.

For time spent on the water, or when you're going to be working a lot with rope (or leather, for that matter), you might want to consider a Marlin Spike for those days.

There is no law or rule that you can only carry one knife, or have a knife for special tasks.
 
OP: The Adamas is a seriously overbuilt knife, and it is also a lot of fun. However, given that your fixed blade is a BK2, if it were me I would be thinking of a slicier folder. I have both the Adamas and the Crooked River, and both have the same sized lock - beefier than the usual Axis lock. Between those two I’d take the Crooked River, which has the 4” blade and a handle to suit very large hands.

More importantly, I wish you every blessing in what you are setting out to do. Good luck and go carefully. :thumbsup:
 
Kizlyar Supreme Ute comes to mind 1st... simple beast, affordable, and well enough to handle well enough anything, (incl. opening a beer without problems).

A Buck 110 in a configuration of your choosing or a DpX Hest would be next...
 
I have to second to Cold steel Ultimate Hunter. I've been in the construction trades for about 45 years now and have always carrying a large folding knife. Some of work better than others but we seem to be in a pretty good place these days with the affordability to utility ratio of what you can buy.

I have carried, used, or handled almost every knife mentioned on this thread. I can't stand any kind of frame lock knife as with continued use with sweaty hands the frame lock always gives me hot spots. It's hot and nasty down here in South Texas for long periods of time and even though I do a lot of rough work I hate to work gloves. I sweat a lot and use hand tools all day long, so no frame locks or misplaced pocket clips for me.

Had a couple of other Cold Steel products, but like most Spyderos, the flat scales were not comfortable for long use as they were too slender to grip (I have very large palms) and use for extended periods. My size palms, I can cover an entire 4 1/2" easily.

Just bought the Cold Steel UH, and can't get it out of my pocket. It's light, has an excellent blade grind for work, is surprisingly slicey, has that incredible Triad lock, a perfect size pocket clip and great steel. Maybe the most important aspect of this knife though is how comfortable the handle is. It is comfortable to hold, comfortable use, and it is sculpted g10 instead of just flat scales. The scales are plenty big and fill my palm with a little bit left over. The handle doesn't get any hot spots, the clip is out of the way when using the knife and it is very comfortable to use with light work gloves. For me I find it hard to get a knife the size that is a slicer with a blade that is sturdy enough to stand up to some kind of light damage that inevitably occurs during the work week. This one takes battle damage well, and is easy to sharpen.

And unlike my liner lock knives, when I have on work gloves I sometimes have to take them off in order to close the blades. Not so with this one, like just about any other lock back thumb press gets the job done. Been using it out in a field now for about 3 months and absolutely love this knife for all kinds of reasons. Out of my 30 or so "work and camp" knives, if I was taking off on the adventure you describe and could only take one of them I would take this one.

And you can probably find it delivered to your door for about $125 to your door! I bought this knife in blaze orange scales as it will be going out hunting and camping with me. Spent too much time working for a knife or other tools that have been dropped in the grass when hunting or hiking that required a lot of time to find them. The orange should take care of that.

Robert
 
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I really think for salt water use/fishing you should get a second knife - they get dull and dirty really fast. All my fishing knives are used only for - fishing.

Best option for this would be fixed thin blade, good for slicing and simple to clean. A folder is last thing I would use for prepearing baits and cleaning/filleting fish.

I have Fallkniven F2 for this and it's best utility knife I can imagine, and a few Moraknives which are also great but much cheaper.

Good luck with your trip, sounds like it's gona be much fun
 
You already have a few capable knives but for your situation I would go with a CS Recon1 and a SRK.
You should come in 80 bucks under your limit.
 
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Fox FKMD FX-516 B.R.I.

https://www.bladehq.com/item--Fox-Knives-FKMD-BRI-Liner-Lock--47643

My reasons for getting this knife are pretty much the same as yours, except for the large hands part. My hands are just medium-large but, I need a robust folder for outdoor usage, something that's equally capable of both slicing and chopping. This one looks like it would do well at both. It's listed on Amazon right now for $160-170 and looks like a lot of knife for the price. Deploys with either thumb studs or a flipper tab. Comes with tools that allow you to replace the glass breaker with a flat tip (included).
 
My first “hard use” folder has been a ZT0350 and I had good experience with it
I now have a M390 version of this particular model

I have recently tested/abused a PM2 and IMO it can take as much as a folder can be used for.
I have put a s30v to the limits and I now have a s110v and I am sure I can trust it for anything

I would pick either of these models for you have described
 
Cold Steel SR1 - half the price of the 4Max, and the next strongest Tri-ad. I like it better than my 4Max (carries better) and Manix2 XL (a lot stronger).
 
I would think that an Adamas and a Pacific Salt (serrated) would do you well. With some careful shopping (maybe pre-owned) you could get both close to your budget.

The Cold Steel offerings in whatever style and shape you like are rugged and provide good value IMO as well.

While the Adamas may be beefy and overlap the BK2 in some respects, I assume that you may not always have the BK2 on your person but will just about always have a folder - I could be wrong, just assuming.

Also, while not mentioned, a good multi-tool is all but essential afield. Most of the larger Leatherman tools have a nice slicey blade or two for the slicey dainty tasks for which the Adamas is not best suited.
 
Cold steel Recon 1 or voyager all the way, or really any cold steel folder. There are more glamorous knives out there, but if I was going to take one folder into harsh conditions As you describe it would be one of these. Reliable super strong lock, great steel choices, excellent cutting geometry for almost every task, and COULD perform many functions of a fixed blade do to the lock and overall robust construction, in a pinch of course. And with your budget you could buy two.
 
I think if you already have a fixed blade then it would be hard to argue against something like a 3-layer SAK or belt-carried multi-tool. Then factor in some kind of small sharpening stone like maybe a DMT Dia-Fold. Perhaps even a folding utility knife.

To each their own but I will never understand the desire to perceive folding knives as "beasts". As said, a camp axe and nice general purpose folder are a good plan. The wilderness of North America was tamed and settled on camp axes and cheap, thin butcher/skinning style knives. Again, to each their own and surely not picking at those who see things differently. Just my own view.
 
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