Pick a knife to live in my kit bag

Mikel_24 said:
"I don't want to spend a lot of money on it".... then lists a Benchmade Bugout!

While a nice knife, I don't think it justifies the price. Get a KABAR Dozier Hunter in D2 instead, costs 1/4 to 1/3rd of the Bugout and are about the same size. Or a RAT2 in D2.

I suggest you choose a big locking SAK (Soldier or OHT). Decent blade, nice saw, etc.

Mikel
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I was likely going to be selecting from knives I own, including a Bugout. I did go with a SAK that I already owned.

My plan for the kit was
A. Supplement the knife/light I always carry
B. If I am pantsless or something, I will have enough gear without my edc.
 
Blues said:
I'm not sure I like where this conversation is heading.
🤣
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🤣 You dirty old man. There are plenty of PG ways to wind up pantsless.



Once I set up a tent too close to a small stream that turned out to be a raging river in disguise. We bailed out of the tent in our boxers with just what we could grab as it washed away. When we found the tent wrapped around a tree downriver, our clothes were not In immediately wearable condition. But with a a kit like I am putting together here, we would have a flashlight and the stuff to make a fire and start drying our clothes and warming up.

I am smarter than that now but stuff happens.

Edit, also if I’m in a swimsuit without pockets
 
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DMG said:
🤣 You dirty old man. There are plenty of PG ways to wind up pantsless.



Once I set up a tent too close to a small stream that turned out to be a raging river in disguise. We bailed out of the tent in our boxers with just what we could grab as it washed away. When we found the tent wrapped around a tree downriver, our clothes were not In immediately wearable condition. But with a a kit like I am putting together here, we would have a flashlight and the stuff to make a fire and start drying our clothes and warming up.

I am smarter than that now but stuff happens.

Edit, also if I’m in a swimsuit without pockets
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Maybe not "pantless", but sometimes you just might need to go commando.
 
Goodness! After five pages, I hope we've found the answer. Since I got some time to kill, I'll add my .02 cents. If I could choose only one, it would be a multi-tool of a favorite flavor. If I could do two, it's the multi-tool and a Mora 510. I greatly appreciate the skilled survivalist and bush crafter who can build a primitive society in a few short weeks with just a Mora and a hatchet, knows all the best recipes for beetles, grubs, and homemade insect repellent, knows all the best bush shelters, and edible or medicinal plants. Over the years however, I have developed an even more profound appreciation for the bush pilots and boat operators who can fix a fuel line, loose wire connection, unplug an impeller, etc. and have us back at the cabin in time to crank up the oil heat, put a steak on the grill, and crawl into a soft bed with my latest hardcore adventure novel.

I've been weathered in a few times, and honestly every single blade I've had on me did just fine. I can recall one night we went places we shouldn't have on our snow machines. (That's Alaskan for "Snow mobile") We got stuck in a mountain blizzard and the only knife I had was a SAK Adventurer. I was able to cut boughs to keep us off the snow, build a barely functional wind break, and cut kindling for a small fire. I would have loved to have had a saw, axe, set of pruning shears, etc. but...the SAK did get me by....barely. I'm pretty sure if it had been more than a night I would have found and exceeded the limitations of that poor thing. We huddled in, ate some extra food I'd packed, and started the ten mile walk home thru calf high snow. With impeccable timing, he troopers finally got a bird in the sky when we were about 1/4 mile from the road.

Of course, it's often really hard for us to relate to one another's perspectives. Somewhere out there, someone is not quite grasping mountain blizzards, just as I struggle to grasp a flash flood in the deserts or survival in the Everglades. I guess that's yet another factor that keeps it all interesting?
 
DMG said:
This kit has served me well but it needs some small pliers.

Last week my wife, son and I were walking with our 2 dogs in the woods near our house. It was getting dark soon and we were maybe a half mile from home when one of our dogs ran into the woods and came out of the bleeding from the mouth and very upset. He had roughly 15 porcupine quills in the roof of his mouth. He was pawing at his mouth to no effect. I made him sit and with my edc Reylight in my mouth for light and the Swisstool that happened to be in my pocket because I was working in the yard earlier, I opened his mouth and removed them all in under a minute. He is a smart dog and we have had him since he was a puppy so he sat there and let me pull them and went back to his normal self immediately. The blood even more or less stopped. I am still surprised by how quickly got over it.

If I hadn't had the Swisstool, we would have had to try to drag him home as he pawed at his mouth and potentially pushed the quills into his sinus cavity or even eyeballs so it was very good that i had the swisstool. Rather than leave it to luck next time, I think I need to add some small pliers to the kit. I'll look at what I have in my toolbox that I can add to the kit.

Any suggestions?
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My goto camping/hiking blade-saw-pliers tool is the leatherman sidekick.

sidekick-fanned.jpg

You can find them used on ebay for $35. I always have a mini-sak in my pocket for the tiny scissors. I leave the large swiss army knife in the glovebox.
 
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