Recommendation? Purchase advice for a fixed blade (for outdoors/camping) and a folding knife (camping/EDC)

T

TheAustrian

Joined
Feb 15, 2022
Messages
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Dear Blade-Forums-members!

My name is Vincent, I am 32 years old and am living in Vienna (a big city in Austria). During high school, I went on a foreign exchange year to Idaho and fell in love with the outdoor lifestyle and hiking and camping trips. Following this amazing year, back in the city and busy with finishing my education and simply having had other priorities over the last years, I did not really get to enjoy the outdoors all that much. Nevertheless, now that I am settled in a little in my life and having grown up, I have come to find myself cherish the outdoors again to get away from my busy work schedule and just free my mind.

As I regularly go on trips into the mountains (most of the time renting a small cabin and hiking from there) and I just recently became interested in knives (watching hours of Youtube-videos and reviews), I would love to get my first set of decent knives for both my outdoor adventures (fixed blade) and also as a knive I could carry in my bag everyday.

As a fixed blade camping/outdoor knife, I was thinking about a blade length of 5-6 inches to handle most tasks that could come up during a camping trip, including food prep but also chopping wood. Regarding a folding knife, I would love to have knife which is not too heavy but tough to fulfill every day and camping needs.

As you can imagine, being new to the whole knife-scene I feel very overwhelmed given the thousands of options. To give you a rough idea what I believe should suit me, I would say that for a fixed blade, I have been looking closer at the Esee 6 (I like the looks and the price point - at least if purchased in the US - seems appealing). Then of course being from Europe, I have read lots of great things about the Fällkniven A1, which is however almost twice as much as the Esee. Regarding a folding knife, I have been looking at the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 and Benchmade Knives (Bugout or Griptillian).

However, the knives I mentioned above are just some knives that seem to go into the direction of what I would like to have/need. Nevertheless, I am not hoping for detailed reviews on these knives as hundreds of them can be found on the internet, but rather for your advice, if my choices seem to be fine (and which one you would prefer) and also mostly for suggestions of any other knives that I currently do not have on my radar but which would maybe be an even better choice.

Regarding the price point I was hoping to find a fixed blade for up to around 200 USD and a folder for up to around 100-120 USD which should serve me for a long time (provided I take good care of them).

As knives are usually considerably more expensive in Europe than in the US, I would order my knives online and have them shipped to a friend in the US who I will visit this summer (before going on a 2.5 week camping trip through Idaho and Canada, where I would love to already use them).

Any of your comments, suggestions and advice are highly appreciated and I thank you very much in advance for your input!

Best regards from Austria,
Vincent
 
Hello Vincent and welcome to BladeForums.

1. Do you have a spare bedroom in your house/condo/apartment? I would love to visit Vienna! Vienna, Copenhagen, and Rome are probably my top 3.

2. Ok, seriously... I had an ESEE 5 but it was too thick, so I went with the ESEE 4. Great knife! I just like the length of the ESEE 4 over the 6. ESEE also have one of the best warranties in the business.
You will be probably get some suggestions for Kabar/Becker too. Also a great knife. I like the shape and dimensions of the ESEE myself more. PS : Make sure you get the newer, sculpted G10 handles. The older micarta ones weren't the most comfortable to hold imo.
Newer handle
https://www.bladehq.com/item--ESEE-Knives-ESEE-6POD-003-Fixed--105820
Older handle
https://www.bladehq.com/item--ESEE-Knives-ESEE-6P-B-Knife-w-Black--10383

3. I'm a big fan of Cold Steel (CS) knives and I think they offer great value for the money. I also love the patented Demko tri-ad lock. I'll recommend my 2nd most carried knife. (My first is the Spyderco Endura, maybe not the best camping/hiking choice imo). The CS Ultimate Hunter.
https://www.bladehq.com/item--Cold-Steel-Ultimate-Hunter-Tri-Ad--28916

Both knives would serve you well and come in under budget.

Good luck!
 
The ESEE 6 and Paramilitary 2 are a great outdoors combo. I've done some extended (2 weeks or so) hiking trips with my ESEE 4 and Paramilitary 2 and they did everything I needed. The ESEE 6 is great if you want to do some chopping.

For a smaller fixed blade option in a stainless steel (if that is a concern) I would recommend the Ruike Jager. It is the smae size as the ESEE 4, and the steel is stainless, very tough, and holds a good edge. It is only $70 as well, however, it doesn't come with the excellent ESEE warranty.

The suggestions for a Cold Steel folder is a good one. The Ultimate Hunter, Recon 1, American Lawman are all great options.
 
As for a fixed blade I can recommend the LKW Libra Knife Works) Crusher, available in different lengths. Handmade from O1 tool steel, micarta handles, full tang and made in Poland. So you don't have import issues. It are really great knives and don't cost to much.
As for the A1, the handle is much to small.

I als can recommend the PM2 as folder. I own three. Weak point perhaps is the thin tip. This doesn't make the knife usable for hard use with the tip.

Hope this helps!
 
TheAustrian said:
Dear Blade-Forums-members!

My name is Vincent, I am 32 years old and am living in Vienna (a big city in Austria). During high school, I went on a foreign exchange year to Idaho and fell in love with the outdoor lifestyle and hiking and camping trips. Following this amazing year, back in the city and busy with finishing my education and simply having had other priorities over the last years, I did not really get to enjoy the outdoors all that much. Nevertheless, now that I am settled in a little in my life and having grown up, I have come to find myself cherish the outdoors again to get away from my busy work schedule and just free my mind.

As I regularly go on trips into the mountains (most of the time renting a small cabin and hiking from there) and I just recently became interested in knives (watching hours of Youtube-videos and reviews), I would love to get my first set of decent knives for both my outdoor adventures (fixed blade) and also as a knive I could carry in my bag everyday.

As a fixed blade camping/outdoor knife, I was thinking about a blade length of 5-6 inches to handle most tasks that could come up during a camping trip, including food prep but also chopping wood. Regarding a folding knife, I would love to have knife which is not too heavy but tough to fulfill every day and camping needs.

As you can imagine, being new to the whole knife-scene I feel very overwhelmed given the thousands of options. To give you a rough idea what I believe should suit me, I would say that for a fixed blade, I have been looking closer at the Esee 6 (I like the looks and the price point - at least if purchased in the US - seems appealing). Then of course being from Europe, I have read lots of great things about the Fällkniven A1, which is however almost twice as much as the Esee. Regarding a folding knife, I have been looking at the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 and Benchmade Knives (Bugout or Griptillian).

However, the knives I mentioned above are just some knives that seem to go into the direction of what I would like to have/need. Nevertheless, I am not hoping for detailed reviews on these knives as hundreds of them can be found on the internet, but rather for your advice, if my choices seem to be fine (and which one you would prefer) and also mostly for suggestions of any other knives that I currently do not have on my radar but which would maybe be an even better choice.

Regarding the price point I was hoping to find a fixed blade for up to around 200 USD and a folder for up to around 100-120 USD which should serve me for a long time (provided I take good care of them).

As knives are usually considerably more expensive in Europe than in the US, I would order my knives online and have them shipped to a friend in the US who I will visit this summer (before going on a 2.5 week camping trip through Idaho and Canada, where I would love to already use them).

Any of your comments, suggestions and advice are highly appreciated and I thank you very much in advance for your input!

Best regards from Austria,
Vincent
Click to expand...

The ESEE 6 is an excellent choice for your intended purpose. The Ka-Bar Becker BK7 would also fill the same role nicely. There are so many good choices that I think at some point you have to pick one and try it. It's unlikely that you'll find the knife for you on the first or even the 10th try, regardless of how much good advice you get. The best way to try them and see.

For folders, are you set on a single blade? For camping you might really like a Victorinox Forester or Trailmaster, or one of the RangerGrip series like the 55 or 79. They have saws that are very handy.
 
Welcome friend, here are my recommendations:

Fixed: Benchmade 202 Leuku
Folder: Leatherman Wave +

Booooo Dergyll that's not a real folder!

Ok fine. Benchmade Bugout, Para 3 LW, etc. I think a multitool would go a long way than having 2 dedicated knives. A bigger SAK (hehe) would work just as well.

Good luck!
 
Thank you all for your very helpful input so far and welcoming you in your forum!

Unfortunately, I do not have a spare room in my apartment, but am happy to give some suggestions or maybe even a little city tour if any of you ever comes to Vienna!

What I take for now is that it looks like I would not go wrong with the Esee 6 and should look for the new 3D handle given the better ergonomics (however, I am not a huge fan of the currently available color options (bright orange, bright green; OD green might work in real life, however on the product photos, I don't like it that much). As I will have to order the knife online and most likely won't have a chance to send it back, I am a little hesitant on this choice. On the suggested Becker BK7 I don't like the plastic handle very much, would definitely prefer something like G10 or Micarta.

I had a hard time finding a lot of info on the LKW Crusher even though it is from Poland. Could you please maybe provide me with a link to the manufacturer and/or a website that sells these knives?

I am sure, the Cold Steel knives (Ultimate Hunter, Recon, Lawman) are great knives. As I would like to carry the knife in my bag also when back home in the city, they might look a little too outdoorsy / aggressive (I hope you understand what I mean). I would prefer a little simpler/sleeker design.

And what I forgot to mention before: I have a Leatherman Charge which I currently bring on trips with me for smaller tasks or when I am trying to keep the weight low but still want to bring a knive/tools.
 
Check out the KnifeConnection (EDIT Typo!) knife builder. You can get a plain black blade with a variety of handle options. The have a *newer* micarta option for the handles listed but I don't know anything about them. I like the contoured G10 myself. It is a few extra dollars but you have more options. You are still under budget.

For the folder. Do you have a blade length restriction in Vienna?

Maybe a Buck 110/112 TRX in CPM S30V? I might look like a more *traditional* folding pocket than some others. If you are coming here this summer, the 112 will be out. Buck also has a great warranty FWIW.
https://www.bladehq.com/item--Buck-112-Slim-Pro-TRX-Lockback--140123
https://www.bladehq.com/item--Buck-110-Slim-Pro-TRX-Lockback--140101
 
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If you are not hunting, and expect to encounter wood work, consider throwing a small axe in your bag. It has saved me on more than a few occasions. I personally find a small axe more useful than a fixed blade unless I’m dressing game. And I agree with a multiblade of some sort as can openers, punches and wire cutters can all be very helpful.
 
gazz98 said:
For the folder. Do you have a blade length restriction in Vienna?
Click to expand...
No blade length restriction. Automatic knives are prohibited, just simple (spring assisted) flippers are fine.

The Buck knife look nice, I will do some more research on them, thank you!
gazz98 said:
Check out the KnifeCenters knife builder.
Click to expand...
I wasn't able to find that. Or did you maybe mean the Knife Connection Knife Builder? At least that's what came up for me on Google :)

Bringing an axe is usually not necessary. Usually, the cabins I rent provide an axe on site for chopping wood. The fixed blade should be an "emergency option" in case no axe is provided (which has happened to me only once so far and that - according to the landlord - was only because his axe was stolen by a guest recently).
 
TheAustrian said:
I wasn't able to find that. Or did you maybe mean the Knife Connection Knife Builder? At least that's what came up for me on Google :)
Click to expand...

Doh. Typo on my part. I fixed it. Yes, the Knife Connection knife builder. You can add a ferro rod, etc too if you wish.
 
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May I ask what type of uses you have for the fixed blade? My suggestions would be dependant of the use and needs you would have. Would it mostly used to process wood and harder use? Or more for food and small chores around camp and only used for wood and harder uses on a rare occasion??
 
TheAustrian said:
Probably more hard use and not so much for food I think.
Click to expand...
I would say you are on track with the Esee 6 with that as a primary need. I can say that for processing wood and longer hard uses the newer Esee 6HM with the fuller handle scales is far more comfortable for me.

I think for those needs I would go with the Esee over the Fällkniven. Becker knives would be high on my list also, but the 5 to 6 inch is kind of in between their BK16 (4.5" range) and BK7 (7").
 
For an outdoor fixed/folder combo for $200/$100 (US), you really can't beat a Buck 119 and Buck 110 (in their basic/standard configurations).

Zw


MTAuanBn


Both are classics and you can buy them for about $150 retail.
 
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Another that I haven't yet tried, but hear really good things about and am going to get at some point would be the Terävä Skrama 200. Several people I know swear by the larger Skrama 240 for a chopper and this one would fit that 7 inch range and looks to be a solid product. And it may be available closer to you. It has the different blade profile but if being used more for processing wood and larger tasks the tip wouldn't be missed. Just another option to consider.
 
Mora Garberg. Decent price but sturdy. Much better ergos than on any of the ESEEs and has scandi grind wich is liked in the bushcrafty community (makes great feathersticks!). Strikes firesteel from spine. Two sheath option.
 
A.L. said:
Mora Garberg. Decent price but sturdy. Much better ergos than on any of the ESEEs and has scandi grind wich is liked in the bushcrafty community (makes great feathersticks!). Strikes firesteel from spine. Two sheath option.
Click to expand...

Always a great choice and a fantastic value. It might be a little small for the OP based on his specifications.
 
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