Accually, I own both a LMF and the Sog. I also own a Ontario Pilot Survival knife. The main reasons I listed the problems with the two knives because I wanted to see if maybe none of it really mattered. I accually put the Ontario in my bag before I switched. And with the knife being in the bag thing, when SHTF, Im going to put it on my belt. The reason I switched out the Ontario for the Gerber is because I felt that the Ontario was more of a survival knife than a tactical knife. The Gerber, after I took a look at the website, doubles as a tactical and a survival and so does the Sog. After some consideration, I truly the believe the Sog is strictly a fighting knife because of its history. Not saying you couldnt use it in a survival situation, like you were saying, you use whatever you have on you. I felt the Gerber met the requirments for a survival more than the Sog did. I dont even know why I listed the Sog as my choice, I mainly got it because of its history. And with the Gerber, you get leg straps, makes it alot more versitile. More or less, after your comment, I believe I will keep the Gerber with me. I also want to add that I too keep the Ontario for outdoor use. Excellent knife. Also Id like to thank you and the other commenters for the advice.
Dude, I think you are either very young and hung up on the cool sounding marketing terms like Tactical and Survival, or you have been perhaps hanging out with the local Ninja's for too long.
You need to drop the facination with the words Tactical and Survival as both are marketing terms designed to attract young/enexpierenced/or uneducated knife people to buy thier blade over the next maker's.
For your SHTF bag the primary things your knife should be are,
Full Tang (No Exceptions on this one, some may argue differently however it is stated by many sources Full Tang)
Easy to maintain (you need to be able to field sharpen, keep from rusting)
4"-8" blade length (there are many opinions, mine is that it is better to have more than necessary than to have less than needed)
Fairly thick spine 3/16" is ideal (might be you need to pry, dig, or baton)
Ergonomic (you don't want hotspots to develop or blisters)
Quality sheath (you need to be able to safely carry it, and have enough retention to not lose the knife)
Design needs to fit the intended or anticipated tasks (skinning, carving, and cutting are the primary uses. Things like self defense and combat are unlikely and therefore are not super important)
Other things to consider
a back-up knife in case you lose the primary,
smaller or larger knife for other tasks your primary does not excel in (this could be your secondary knife)
If you choose Carbon steel for your primary your secondary should maybe be stainless
If you choose a large fixed blade your secondary could easily be a quality Multi-tool or Folder.
If you choose a small fixed blade your secondary should be an Axe, Tomahawk, Kukri, Machete, or other large blade.
Carry some sort of saw, even a SAK saw is better than nothing.
Stop focusing on the words used to sell the knives and pay more attention to the overall design and function of the knife and you will be much more prepared for disaster.
) Will those two work for camping? They won't kill you (what would?) and they might be fun to play with, but they aren't particularly effective leisure outdoors activity/camping/hunting/field knives.
