Suggestions on hiking knives you opinion

N

Naw89

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Feb 12, 2016
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Hello everyone I'm new here and looking to buy a hiking knife. I find myself getting pretty overwhelmed with all that are out there. I have been looking at the kabar marine but cant decide so look for some thought on that knife. pros cons or any other knives you guys may recomended. I am also looking at skeleton knives since they have a little thinner profile. Kabar has a kittle smaller neck knife but not sure if it may be a little small for primary use. looking forward to your recommendations thank you
 
What do you use your knives for while hiking? What climate/environment? Is it just a day hike, or are you setting up camp? All these will make a difference.

My first "outdoor knife" was a USMC Kabar. I liked it a lot, and still do, but on a day hike these days, the knives most often found on my hip are the Kabar Becker Bk16, or a Condor Bushlore.
 
I like and recommend any ESEE knife you like the looks of. Personally the 3 and 6 and izula are my favorites. But I like the swamp rat line too. Mostly the older res-c models. Keeps them very light. But the Falkniven F1 is probably my the ultimate hiking knife. Super light and small but big enough to do any task and also perform emergency survival knife. Great hunting knife too. Defiantly consider it
 
I live in ohio so more wood like conditions and I do alot of long distance day hiking/over night but I am going on my first long term hike about 5 days so I am looking for a knife I can pretty much throw anything at and how do the esee hold up I don't generally put alot of trust in something I can get at Walmart not for survival lol
 
Start with a Mora, a swiss army knife and if you will think you'll need to process wood a folding saw and a fiskars hatchet to round out the set.

They aren't heirloom knives, they are purely utilitarian, but with them you'll have all your hiking and camping needs covered without investing too much and after seeing how well they work you'll have a better idea of what your needs are when you start looking for your next purchase.

For most knife tasks while hiking a kabar is going to be overkill and at times it will draw unwanted attention, if nothing else I would suggest something more along the size of the kabar mk1 or Becker tweeners, they will be lighter, less clumsy and get in the way less while strapped to your belt or pack
 
What are your thoughts on the kabar neck knife it is the smaller version of the kabar and an even smaller version of the kabar short it's blade is 3 7/8 overall 7 7/8 inch and it's a skeleton I was just a little worried it might be to small
 
Naw89 said:
What are your thoughts on the kabar neck knife it is the smaller version of the kabar and an even smaller version of the kabar short it's blade is 3 7/8 overall 7 7/8 inch and it's a skeleton I was just a little worried it might be to small
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If you are referring to the kabar 1117 I have one and while it is a fairly small knife its plenty big for the majority of outdoors knife use. The real issue is the handle, it is without exception the most uncomfortable handle I've held. Wrapping it with paracord helped a little but I think it will need scales to ever feel nice

I would strongly recommend the Becker bk14/bk24 over it if you are looking at smaller skeletonized knives
 
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I have the BK-14 and BK-24. They are fairly useable knives for small tasks. If you get one, install scales/handles on the knife as it makes it much more user friendly. I find these "uncomfortable" to use without the handles except for such things as opening letters and boxes. Personally I like the Blackjack neck knife better with a leather sheath; it is on my buy list. You can do most cutting tasks with one of these knives.

I like the BK-16 for a hiking knife. I have a BK-16, but I tend to carry the discontinued BK-15 when I choose a Kabar Becker. This size is very convenient and you can do most any normal knife task with one short of chopping. Splitting kindling is no problem.

The Condor Bushlore was mentioned. It is a good inexpensive knife. I have the original and current version. It is plenty of knife for a hiking knife.

As mentioned above, a Mora is a good inexpensive choice but I like a little bit heftier knife such as the BK-15 or BK-16. These are the Becker "tweeners" mentioned above.

The ESEE 4 is a good all around knife too. I prefer the Beckers, but the ESEE's are good knives.

My standard hiking knives are a Victorinox swiss army knife (SAK) and a BK-15 or the BK-16. If you camp, get a folding saw.

I'll be honest with you. If you are concerned about weight, just carry a SAK. I use mine more than any fixed blade I own. The BK-16 is a very practical hiking knife.
 
Thanks much both look nice blade seems a little small but sacrifices must be made I was really only looking at skeleton knives due to the profile and seemed less likely to get in the way I normally just carry a folding spyderco this is my first venture into fixed blade so really not sure if that is even that big of an issue
 
Why the becker over the usmc short it's the same over all length at 9.25 but you get an extra inch on the blade like I said this is my first fixed blade and I hear a lot about the becker and just wondering what sets it apart thanks
 
A Mora Companion is a good choice too. They are light and very functional.

Only you know what your tendencies are hiking in terms of cutting stuff. With carrying your tent, cooking stove, and so forth you hardly need a very serious knife at all. Many long distance hikers just carry a Vic Classic knife. They are just too small for me, but that is what they carry because they seldom cut anything. They Spyderco is probably plenty of knife as well.

Bought a small Condor Two Rivers Skinner knife (4") in the last few weeks and I'm quite pleased with it. It would do everything you need doing and it is stainless steel. It is a fairly new knife from Condor and runs about the same price as the BK-16. It will probably be on my belt on my next hike just so I can get a better feel for it. There are literally hundreds of reasonable choices......

Or get the BK-16. You will likely be very happy with it. There is a reason they are so popular. They are not big bulky knives and they are plenty strong. The Beckers are popular because they are in 1095 carbon steel, easy to sharpen, are not expensive, and are very handy or at least the middle sized ones are.

Whatever you choose, I would use it a bit before venturing out for 5-days so you are more confident with the knife.

Some carry the USMC bayonet type knife (I believe they call it a utility knife now.). Nothing wrong with it.
 
Naw89 said:
Why the becker over the usmc short it's the same over all length at 9.25 but you get an extra inch on the blade like I said this is my first fixed blade and I hear a lot about the becker and just wondering what sets it apart thanks
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The Beckers are tougher and the blades have a better cutting geometry, IMO.

I never have been a fan of the short kabar, I like the regular but when I held the short the handle was just too small, if they would have just scaled down the blade and left the handle full sized I would like it more. I personally feel that if they would have started reproducing the mk1 first the short kabar never would have been made.
 
I've done many many hikes, i have never needed a knife.
But I bring them anyways!

In my opinion, any blade should suffice.
 
When I hike, I like to go as light as possible. I still want capable knives I can trust to hold up. Moras are great, but I carry a Marttiini Little Classic and a Victorinox Hiker. The Victorinox Farmer is just as good or better. The two combined are very light weight and will take care of all of your needs. The saw blade on the SAKs is useful. The sheath on the Marttiini is better than any Mora sheath.

Joe
 
Hello, I'm a big fan of Roselli knives. I've have the Carpenter and have "made" knives from Carpenter and Grandmother blades (basically carve handles and epoxy the blades). I gifted the knives I "made" (pretty nice knives btw). I think they are really good value knives, along with the many other puukko type knives. For my uses, they are solid, have good (enough) steel, take a great edge, and hold the edge reasonably well.
 
Lately it has been a Helle Harding.. I have a SAK Wenger 18 in the pack too.. John :thumbup:
 
Naw89 said:
Hello everyone I'm new here and looking to buy a hiking knife. I find myself getting pretty overwhelmed with all that are out there. I have been looking at the kabar marine but cant decide so look for some thought on that knife. pros cons or any other knives you guys may recomended. I am also looking at skeleton knives since they have a little thinner profile. Kabar has a kittle smaller neck knife but not sure if it may be a little small for primary use. looking forward to your recommendations thank you
Click to expand...

Naw,

My best recommendation is to go the major online bookstore and order "The Backpacker's Handbook" by Chris Townsend. It is far and away the best overview of backpacking equipment and technique. It is even better than Colin Fletcher's "The Complete Walker", IMO. It is shorter, more concise and Townsend moves more towards lightweight choices without going overboard.

The second bit of advice I can offer is keep packing lists for both your day hikes and your overnight trips. If you're like the rest of us who've been through the just getting started phase, we tend to compensate for our lack of experience with a "just in case" mindset for packing, which leads to too much. Too much food. Too much clothing. Too much knife.

The third bit of advice since you leave in the northeast (roughly) is to order a Batchstovez 2.0 alcohol stove for about $15. Get a simple foil windscreen with it. Then, boil water once a day for 2 weeks or so in your back yard. If you do this, you will gain confidence and experience with one of the most important pieces of kit - your stove. This will allow you to walk all afternoon in the cold rain with utter confidence that you will have a warm meal once you're in camp.

My preferred backpacking knife selection is the Leatherman PS4 Squirt and Opinel Inox #10 (or #9).

Outdoor Carry by Pinnah, on Flickr


For ultralight trips, the Squirt is enough. The blade is sufficient, the scissors help with bandage prep and the pliers can drive a needle and thread through packstraps and can fix zippers. Note, on UL trips I rely on prepackaged or precut foods and use my spoon to spread things like peanut butter. When weight is not paramount (most times) I carry the Opinel. It is light enough to always be in my pocket and does great with food and wood.

If you want to stick with what is usually on the shelves at Walmart, I would recommend the Gerber Dime to replace the Squirt and the Buck 721 Slimline to replace the Opinel. The Buck's steel is really excellent, it is very lightweight and the blade shape will deal with food well and the Dime is a reasonable replacement for the Squirt.

Hope this helps
 
I recommend a mora companion for cutting, boker tech tool, and a hatchet similar to the Gerber bg hatchet but don't buy that one I have it and I wouldn't pay a dollar for it if I could.
 
I won't hike with anything larger than a 4.5 inch blade. I'm just not compromising on the weight. I prefer a 3.5-4 inch blade for hiking. My mora companion sees alot of trail time. I also like the becker bk14 and the esee izula.

A large knife gets awfully heavy as the miles start to add up. I'd rather have a small blade and a folding saw over a large heavy fixed blade (I think I'm in the minority on that here on blade forums). Big knives are fun to use, but not fun to carry. If you have appropriate gear, you shouldn't need a hulking blade to save you in a survival situation. Ohio has a fair amount of wood that is just lying around and required little additional processing.
 
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