Overlanding and Fiddlebacks. I’d like your opinion!

[M4Super90]

My wife and I are taking an extended vacation (for us) this summer. We’ve been slowly outfitting ourselves for “overlanding” (http://www.overlandjournal.com/overlanding/what_is_overlanding/) and testing that gear in the surrounding national forests. If you are not familiar with the term, here’s some background info and a Journal and Forum devoted to it: http://expeditionportal.com/ Needless to say, it’s a gearhead’s wet dream. I try not to let my gearhead OCD get the best of me and allow the focus to remain on the travel experience. The trip we're taking this summer will be almost 3 weeks. We will start in Phoenix, go through Utah and Wyoming, with a short jaunt into Idaho and Montana. Along the way we have activities planned for Bryce, Zion, the Tetons, the Snake River, Yellowstone, and up to the lower end of Glacier National. We’re going to try to do as much of the travel off pavement as possible. While we have our “clean up” days in a hotel, more than 2 of every 3 days will be spent camping with our overlanding vehicle (shown below) in support. I think the diversity of environments will provide ample opportunity to test and play with my Fiddlebacks. However, we’re going as lean and mean as possible and I don’t want to take tons of stuff. I’m going to limit myself to 5. I know 3 of the 5:

1. Camp Knife (Duh!) - 3/16 SFT Emerald Shadtree
2. Bushcrafter Sr. - 5/32 SFT Ironwood
3. Bushcrafter - 5/32 TT Slate G10 or 1/8 SFT OD Micarta
4. ?
5. ?

A few notes to provide more insight:

I plan to use these knives for everything we do while we are out. I intend to do all tasks with several sizes of knives. One thing I have determined I’d like to do on this trip is see how many large tasks I can do with a small knife, and how many small/delicate tasks I can do with a large knife. The intent of this is some sort of reconciliation in my mind if I had to grab one, which one it would be.

The Kephart and the Bushfinger are not going. They are great models, but I’ve already spent a lot of time with them and the BC is my 4" blade of choice. Meredith's knife is the margarita Arete. It will be with us as well.

I don’t mind buying a few more knives (any old excuse right?) to get the right ones. Actually, models I do not have experience with would be great. The BC Jr. falls into this category and is a leading candidate. I will add one ore two alternates in case I can't acquire the top 5 should the choices be dependent upon a new acquisition. We're leaving at the end of June, so I do have some time to decide. I will be periodically bumping this thread until we leave.

Here's the request - I’d like to hear your opinions on what should go in slots 4 & 5. Please provide as much detail as possible, as well as past experience, for your reason/choice. As always, pictures are greatly appreciated. :thumbup:

Our FJ

Meredith demo-ing the "Stargazer" feature of our rooftop tent:

For reference here's a current collection shot. My knives are on the top row starting on the left at the Emerald Camp knife and stopping before the Orange Camp knife, and the whole bottom row. So mostly your choices are like BC, BC ,BC, BC, big BC.... etc

P.S. If any of you have ideas about must do things that would be in our travel path, I'm all ears!



Potentials list
1. BC Jr., scandi HB, scandi KEB
2. 1/8 Patch or Esquire
3. Karda - BCK, EDK, 3FK etc.
4. Leuku
5. Gaucho
6.

 

[Mistwalker]

I would suggest one of the Kardas for one with a fine point...just because I like pointy and you have your large and mid size knives sorted well.

 

[bonafide]

I prefer smaller knives .. just to keep something on my person at any given time for light/quick duties and according to your list, you're missing a couple.

Patch (you shoulda traded Phil for his - lol) or Hiking Buddy
Karda or Esquire.

 

[moogles]

I would want to have something dedicated for slicing and dicing and general food prep if I was in your situation. I've cubed potatoes and sliced onions successfully with all my bigger and thicker-bladed bush knives, but it's not the most efficient. I don't have any experience with one, but a 1/8 Ladyfinger is on my Fiddleback shopping list for this sole reason.

PS: Nice Yota. I'm slowly adding to my 4Runner, so it's always interesting to see what things others have chosen for their unit.

 

[Roemer1]

Great topic Phillip.
Mr. Brady is a good friend of mine and you would get good advice from him and the folks at Expo on this subject as well. I would second Mist's suggestion and put a karda or esquire in slot 5. Slot 4 could be anything in between, I would opt for the Bushraptor just because I am fond of the profile.
I would also suggest a good axe (if not already in your kit) so that if you get short on time or just need to knock out some fire wood in a hurry, your not limited to tools that may be a bit limited.

 

[necrolicious]

A 1/8" Patch knife would not be a bad choice for a trip like this. Handy little knife with a ton of versatility.

 

[solid4ever]

something small and scandi. I love using scandi on wood.

 

[M4Super90]

I would suggest one of the Kardas for one with a fine point...just because I like pointy and you have your large and mid size knives sorted well.

Would you go EDC Karda, BC Karda or one of the new smaller models like a 3FK? I like the EDC but think the longer handle on the BCK looks to be more comfortable. I know Kris had this opinion as well, thus I ended up with his EDK.

Mist - I'd like you to regularly visit this thread and type away with your thoughts. Your daily outing posts are many of the ones to which I refer, to watch all the ways you use the smaller knives. I do think that is a big gap in my repertoire right now as far as fixed. I've had several hiking buddies and I wished I could get my hands on one in Shadetree that is scandi. I keep hoping a scandi BC Jr. might pop up. I normally always carry a large folder that pretty pointy which fits most of the small(er) knife tasks.

 

[M4Super90]

Patch (you shoulda traded Phil for his - lol) or Hiking Buddy

The patch is on the short list, plus one of your sheaths). You need to get that Camp model that doubles them up under way!!

 

[M4Super90]

I would want to have something dedicated for slicing and dicing and general food prep if I was in your situation. I've cubed potatoes and sliced onions successfully with all my bigger and thicker-bladed bush knives, but it's not the most efficient. I don't have any experience with one, but a 1/8 Ladyfinger is on my Fiddleback shopping list for this sole reason.

PS: Nice Yota. I'm slowly adding to my 4Runner, so it's always interesting to see what things others have chosen for their unit.

My Lueku is a great slicer and may be a choice. I probably wouldn't go with the enclosed wench again. Pronghorn makes a great modular system but they don't have an FJ version yet.

 

[M4Super90]

Great topic Phillip.
Mr. Brady is a good friend of mine and you would get good advice from him and the folks at Expo on this subject as well. I would second Mist's suggestion and put a karda or esquire in slot 5. Slot 4 could be anything in between, I would opt for the Bushraptor just because I am fond of the profile.
I would also suggest a good axe (if not already in your kit) so that if you get short on time or just need to knock out some fire wood in a hurry, your not limited to tools that may be a bit limited.

Got the axe covered. Actually, I think I prefer a small hatchet to the Camp knife if I just could have one, but we're not limited really. I just want to trim down all the stuff we hall around (and pack, and unpack, and move off whatever I'm trying to get to...). We've been to the Expo in Flagstaff twice now and did the driving and recovery school the first time we went. That's a great group and a fun weekend. I'm surprised at how few knives you see there.

 

[Mistwalker]

Would you go EDC Karda, BC Karda or one of the new smaller models like a 3FK? I like the EDC but think the longer handle on the BCK looks to be more comfortable. I know Kris had this opinion as well, thus I ended up with his EDK.

Mist - I'd like you to regulatory visit this thread and type away with your thoughts. Your daily outing posts are many of the ones I refer to, to watch all the ways you use the smaller knives. I do think that is a big gap in my repertoire right now as far as fixed. I've had several hiking buddies and I wished I could get my hands on one in shade tree that is scandi. I keep hoping a scandi BC Jr. might pop up. I normally always carry a large folder which fits most tasks.

Hands full now, but I'll pop back in later. I found the EDK to be a good companion to the Camp knife though, but if you are thinking long term use with it then perhaps the BCK would be better. Actually I was thinking 3FK for less weight with all the other steel you are carrying, or since you are taking the BC Sr, maybe replace the BC with a KEB and have a mid range knife with finer point... just food for thought...

 

[Roemer1]

My D1...

 

[SA Condor]

Once you get experience from this trip, you should plan your next one to come on down to Bolivia

That's a serious overland trip! I've never made BBQ (although I do LOVE it), but we could treat you guys to some shredded Llama jerky and other local cuisines! Is that the ARB bull bar you have? I've got a Toyota Prado down here and I've always envied the ARB gear.

 

[M4Super90]

My D1...

Nice! :thumbup:

 

[sharpsteel6249]

your trip sounds fantastic....maybe a Hiking Buddy or Monarch would be a good choice to bring as something slightly smaller than what you have chosen so far or maybe something with a scandi grind??

 

[M4Super90]

Once you get experience from this trip, you should plan your next one to come on down to Bolivia

That's a serious overland trip! I've never made BBQ (although I do LOVE it), but we could treat you guys to some shredded Llama jerky and other local cuisines! Is that the ARB bull bar you have? I've got a Toyota Prado down here and I've always envied the ARB gear.

It's a Demello Offroad Baja Bar. All aluminum. Oddly enough, it weights less than the OEM bumper. Thanks for the invite. That would certainly be a trip for the ages. I think at some point we would want to do the run from the tip of South America to Alaska. But that's a retirement kind of thing. This trip is something we've been planning for about 14 months now. Its the first time I've taken off more than 2 weeks in a row in almost 10 years. But we do plan to take the longer trips more frequently in the future.

I definitely want to try Llama jerky!

 

[Kirkwood]

Would you go EDC Karda, BC Karda or one of the new smaller models like a 3FK? I like the EDC but think the longer handle on the BCK looks to be more comfortable. I know Kris had this opinion as well, thus I ended up with his EDK.

LOL... exactly! The BCK is where it's at. For me, the most comfortable handle on the sub 3" knives. The EDK is great for... well... every day stuff. The 3FK is about as long as the EDK but more curvy with a fatter butt. Wasn't feeling it... in this case.

Get a BCK!

My Lueku is a great slicer and may be a choice. I probably wouldn't go with the enclosed wench again. Pronghorn makes a great modular system but they don't have an FJ version yet.

I'd go with the Woodsman for food prep. But I think a 5/32" Leuku would work fine as well. Think a 1/8" Ladyfinger or Nessmuk would be good also.

For whatever it's worth, here's my list off the top of my head.

1. 12" Machete
2. Woodsman
3. Terrasaur (I just got this, but I love the way it feels and am excited to use it).
4. Patch Knife*
5. BCK

*Think I could be happy substituting a Hiking Buddy or (probably) BC Jr. here.

 

[swonut]

I'll second the patch and say that no Fiddleback spread is right without a runt to anchor the small end.

Should be a very cool trip. We spent two weeks last summer making the loop from Denver to Rushmore, Yellowstone, Brice, Capitol Reef... Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes, and a few others. You should have a sweet time.

 

[M4Super90]

My intent was to keep this to Fiddleback options, but as far as a small prep knife I have a Krein microchef in 3v that I have been using when backpacking for a long time. I wish Andy had something like this in his line. There's a few that are close. A 1/8 minimuk might work.