Stranded in the wilderness: knife or MT?

If I had to choose, I'd choose the multitool. The saw and awl are just too important for me to give up over a heavy duty knife. Plus, with my Leatherman, I get both a serrated blade and plain edge.

Luckily, I do EDC a multitool and small fixed blade too! And if needed, the diamond file on my multitool can sharpen my fixed blade.
 
Stranded in the wilderness: knife or MT?
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I would definitely vote for a fixed blade knife, specifically a Fallkniven A1. It's good for anything; shelter making, dressing game, food prep, firewood processing or defense. It's small and light enough to be carried for days, but large enough for the toughest tasks. I have three multi tools however that don't often see any use. Ideally I would choose three tools, a Fallkniven A1 and F1 and a Gerber 400 multi tool but the OP said choose one, so it's the A1.
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Realistically, I have a multitool (Vic Spirit) on my person almost all the time anyway, so it would be there in a wilderness emergency. I would not feel ill-equipped with it as my only tool in the woods, but I would be sure to think things through and use it carefully.
 
One of the bigger locking SAKs. The one-hand trekker or the one-hand fireman. The awl, flat screwdriver, and saw are worth giving up some blade length for. They're also suprisingly tough. I've battoned (split off shavings for kindling) with SAKs before.
 
OwenM said:
I stopped carrying a multitool in the woods, because I never used it for anything, whether primitive camping or hiking. I'd rather have practically any fixed blade over 3".
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+1 My multitool hasn't left the house in years.
 
Whatever you have in your pocket will be fine. I realize this is "blade forums", but way too much emphasis is put on having the perfect tool for every possible scenario.

If you get stranded, you don't have a choice of what you'll have with you, so any blade will work. It won't be optimal for everything, but you'll make do. The smallish knife in the MT will work to build a fire and shelter, and the fix blade or folder will work for other non-knife related tasks. It really doesn't matter what you carry, just make sure you have access to some sort of cutting tool.

While I'm on a rant, the whole survival knife thing is overblown too. There is no such thing as a survival knife. If you are out backpacking or whatever and you get stranded or delayed due to weather or other problems, then you may be in a survival mode, but you are really just in an extended camping/bushcraft/hunting/fishing trip. Whatever blade you had with you at the time will be fine. You don't need to break out a special survival knife to continue.

On the other hand, if you were going about your daily non-bushcraft business and suddenly found yourself in a survival situation, then you wouldn't have your special survival knife with you either. It would be at home in your outdoor kit. You might have a MT or small pocket knife, and that's fine. That will work fine. No need for the 14" chopper or machete. If you actually thought that your regular routine might manifest itself into a full blown survival situation to the point where you thought ahead to pack your survival gear, then maybe you should think again about putting yourself in that much danger. You should probably stay home and plan for another day.

I never leave the house without a MT and folding lock blade, and I feel more than prepared bladewise for almost everything that nature or work can throw at me.

BB
 
If I had the choice, in a bushed out situation I would allways pick a FB over an MT even though I carry one on me as EDC along with a knife. :D
 
I EDC a Leatherman Charge TTi and a Lone Wolf T2 Harsey Ranger, I believe between the 4" blade on the Lone Wolf and the 2 blades and saw on the Leatherman I could definitely build a debris shelter and fire(at least here in South Florida).
 
not that experienced here in the bush, but from what I'm gathering the more time I spend in the bush, all you 'really' need is a machete.......

I've weighed it out time and again, and I'm slowly realizing that's all I really need.. Period.......
 
I have a self contained fire starting kit taped to the sheath, or in the pouch of my larger F.B.'s. If this is a concern for you, grab a couple of lighters and seal them in a small food zip bag along with your multi tool. Now tape them to your knife sheath. Now they will NEVER be forgotten or left behind. I include a small container of dipped cotton balls and fat wood strips, but suit yourself. It's hard to lose\forget something that is taped to your primary gear.
 
beeperboy said:
Whatever you have in your pocket will be fine. I realize this is "blade forums", but way too much emphasis is put on having the perfect tool for every possible scenario.

If you get stranded, you don't have a choice of what you'll have with you, so any blade will work. It won't be optimal for everything, but you'll make do. The smallish knife in the MT will work to build a fire and shelter, and the fix blade or folder will work for other non-knife related tasks. It really doesn't matter what you carry, just make sure you have access to some sort of cutting tool.

While I'm on a rant, the whole survival knife thing is overblown too. There is no such thing as a survival knife. If you are out backpacking or whatever and you get stranded or delayed due to weather or other problems, then you may be in a survival mode, but you are really just in an extended camping/bushcraft/hunting/fishing trip. Whatever blade you had with you at the time will be fine. You don't need to break out a special survival knife to continue.

On the other hand, if you were going about your daily non-bushcraft business and suddenly found yourself in a survival situation, then you wouldn't have your special survival knife with you either. It would be at home in your outdoor kit. You might have a MT or small pocket knife, and that's fine. That will work fine. No need for the 14" chopper or machete. If you actually thought that your regular routine might manifest itself into a full blown survival situation to the point where you thought ahead to pack your survival gear, then maybe you should think again about putting yourself in that much danger. You should probably stay home and plan for another day.

I never leave the house without a MT and folding lock blade, and I feel more than prepared bladewise for almost everything that nature or work can throw at me.

BB
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finally some common sense, you don't plan on being stranded, you just get stranded, it is an unforeseen circumstance, if i was planning on being stranded i would bring a pick up truck full of gear, or i would not go.

you will have what you have with you. whether it is in your pack or in your pocket. i carry some layers of items, in my pocket always is a one handed trekker with a military match on a chain attached to the knife. this is the smallest kit i could imagine that would let me get by in the woods. if i go into the mountains i carry a larger fixed blade on my belt, sak in my pocket, lighter, film canister with pj cotton balls, spark-force and wetfire tinder, in my pack is either a gb hunters axe or a knives of Alaska brown bear combo. a Wyoming saw goes along also. cordage, garbage bags, tinder, Vaseline cotton balls, extra gloves extra hat, a small siltarp or sportsman's blanket, food , first aid kit. if i cant get by with this gear, i guess i am out of luck.

and yes i have been stranded for a week on an Alaskan hunt dropped off and could not get out for a week due to some high winds and heavy weather, but i had a great tent, Coleman stove, lots of canned food and some freeze dried stuff, water was everywhere. i also had some good reading material so i could have stayed for 3 weeks with no discomfort. so was i stranded or did i just stay longer than planned?

alex
 
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frankly, I can't imagine being in the 'wilderness' in the first place, with just a multi tool or just a knife.
If I am in that sort of place, I have my pack with me.
 
When you said MT I thought you meant Microtech.

I used to carry a LUDT as my only knife in the wilderness.:thumbup:
 
My main MT is a Leatherman WAVE. I very rarely carry it in a purely wilderness situation.

The thing is if you are going to the wilderness in a vehicle of some sort or are in a camp with a relatively high degree of technology a MT is solid gold. For primitive techniques you don't really need pliers and screw drivers etc. For getting the ATV back up and running you don't need much else and my WAVE has gotten me out of too many jams not to come along for at least the ride out to the bush.

The lack of a MT could very well be the start of your wilderness survival ordeal because your vehicle left you stranded. If I am on foot or in a low tech situation I prefer to leave the MT out of the pack. ATV's, outboard motors, 4x4 a quality MT should be considered the bare minimum. Even if the MT won't let you fix the vehicle it could really help in taking it apart to cannibalize the parts for other things. Mac
 
If I had the choice I'd choose a large fixed blade knife (well I'd choose an axe actually but that wasn't the question).

It seems to me that a fixed blade would come in more handy at the start of a survival situation when you just need to get a fire going and a shelter built before it gets dark. A multi tool might be useful if it turns long term for making traps I guess (if it had a saw), or making things from found materials but if you didn't get that fire started or shelter built then you may not get the opportunity to do that anyway.

I'm not saying it can't be done with a multi tool though, I'm just saying I think a fixed blade would work better for the really important things, so that's what I'd choose.
 
When I recommend a multi-tool as a survival tool, some folks seem to have a hard time seeing how it would be useful in the wilderness.
So I usually give them a few ideas to get to the creative juices flowing....

Pliers:
Cracking nuts, breaking shells, cracking exoskeletons (think crab legs), shaping metal (for homemade fishing hooks and fishing lures, etc...), removing splinters, removing porcupine quills, removing sea-urchin spines, removing cactus needles, peeling bark, clamping a severed artery, clamping a fuel line or water hose, primitive dentistry (think Castaway, way better than a rock and an ice-skate), untying wet or frozen knots, removing fishing hooks, holding fishing line without cutting your hands, retrieving things from tight spaces where the fingers will not fit, handling things that you don't want to touch with your bare hands, etc...

Screwdiver:
Any type of prying, cracking, or scraping where you wouldn't want to risk damaging or dulling your cutting blade (clams, mussels, turtles, coconuts, rocks, ice, etc...).

And of course the multi-tool really shines at modifying or creating other tools and useful items out of equipment on hand or stuff found.



Allen
 
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Nikkogi said:
Yeah, I agree with that. I am one of those guys who think that the best survival knife is the one they have with them. The 2 lb chopping machine with a 5/8 in. thick blade isn't doing much in the drawer, LOL!
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Yep a lesson I've learned also. BUT, the heavy duty 3 inch bladed fixed-blade (a DPx H.E.S.T.) that goes where I go is capable of quite a bit. I do still tend to keep a m.t. available in an urban environment...just not so much in the woods.
 
I would be happiest with a big chopper or survival style knife..but I love my Leathermans. I am on the hunt for a nice TI Charge or the MUT..you can do a lot with a saw and small blade IMO.
Edit: In my pocket..at ALL times is my SAK Farmer..so I guess thats my go to blade.
 
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Mannlicher said:
frankly, I can't imagine being in the 'wilderness' in the first place, with just a multi tool or just a knife.
If I am in that sort of place, I have my pack with me.
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Not that this plays by the OP's rules..but I feel the same way..My BOB is in my Jeep with me at all times..and If I am heading into the woods, I put it on.
Inside is a Leatherman, SAK, pocket chainsaw, and Fixed blade. Also 5 ways to start a fire..and 3 ways to navigate. Plus bino's and cordage and water..so I should be good.
Also, in my Jeep I have a cruiser Axe and extra clothing and a mora.
Not to mention...all my tools, which would come in pretty handy..like my hand saws ranging from 2 coping saws to 3 flush cut saws and Japanese saws..and one cross cut hand saw, 16"'s long.
Hammers and prybars and nails...Oh my.
 
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