Suggestions on hiking knives you opinion

[pinnah]

Yep. And Colin Fletcher in his Complete Walker talks about getting by with a Vic SD Classic and considered breaking off the nail file in a fit of weight consciousness! I always got a kick out of that. Then I found just such a knife in my brother's junk drawer, done by mistake when he was prying something open. The scales had cracked and were falling off, the toothpick and tweezers long since lost. It was a Colin Fletcher special, a skeletonized SAK with only knife and scissors. It's around here somewhere. I'll post a pic sometime.

Zieg

Heh. Before Chris Townsend, there was Colin Fletcher. And before there was Colin Fletcher, there was Harvey Manning, first author of "Freedom of the Hills" and author of "Backpacking One Step at a Time".

From an early version (#2) of Freedom of the Hills

"For special purposes a hunting knife is superior, as are double-bitted axes, cavalry sabers, Gatling guns, and dynamite, but a modest mountaineer contents himself with a modest blade." (p.27)

He advocated a simple boy-scout/SAK type of knife.

 

[strategy9]

Yes, I also went through my "weight weenie" phase for a long time. Then one day I just had laugh at myself and it kind of dawned on me that maybe instead of drilling holes in my toothbrush to shave a fraction of an ounce, I ought to stay in better shape and lose 10 or 15 pounds ... ;-)

Yes!!! One of the bonuses I received through the army infantry, a 60 lb pack and a 10-20 mile hike at my own pace, with my own breaks, in regular civilian hiking attire, is a gravy walk provided I stay in shape, (which I do), as I remember all too well doing 12 milers+ in full battle rattle, often going against the stop watch, (and never once missed the objective).

And I don't think I've ever actually had a 60 lb pack as a civilian, nor have I ever went hiking with helmet, plated body armor, and multiple loaded 30 Rd clips attached to me, so these shave a 0.25 oz here and a 0.16 oz there ideas never strike me (personally) as necessity, as I do tend to over pack, "just in case", and I've never had a probablem carrying my load.

 

[Professor]

This question comes up often. I have done a lot of long-distance hiking, and WEIGHT is the paramount consideration. My hiking/backpacking selection usually includes a Mora fixed blade (Clipper or Companion - the Clipper is lighter, but the Companion is a bit more sturdy), a Spyderco Delica, and a small multi-tool (e.g., the Leatherman Juice S2).

Unless you're hiking in to base camp and building shelter to stay in for a week (as opposed to hiking every day - both adventures have their pros and cons), then you will want a larger blade with more camp-craft capabilities. In those cases, when I know I'm gonna build shelter and fires, I usually opt for a collapsible saw and a BK-7, BK-9, Ka-Bar USMC Survival/Utility Knife, or similar.

I think you and I are cut from similar cloth, Sir. Having done some long hikes myself on most of Virginia's beautiful AT, I'm all about weight consideration. It's funny, there's some places (eateries, supply posts) along the AT in VA where thru-hikers dump off unwanted (heavy) gear, and it's interesting to see some of the stuff they unload.

For me, an extended hiking trip is gonna dictate either a Mora 510 or my trusty BM Mini Grip 555, or perhaps even both. As my EDC, the 555 is hard to leave behind, but the truth is that the Mora will do everything I need a knife to do on a hike while being ultra lightweight, strong, and weather resistant (no leather).

 

[strategy9]

For some clarification, I'm not trying to imply weight is not a consideration. Absolutely one should not pack what one doesn't need, or what one can't carry. I'm not gonna pack a Coleman propane grill, and a half dozen backup folders, but given a good frameback, I don't count ounces, in as much as, I'm not worried about an extra pair of socks and underwear, or specifically rationing out my trail mix and jerky for only x-amount per day when I can carry the whole bag, or even 1 extra folder + a 5 oz folder in my pocket or even an extra pound for a largish do-all chopper strapped on top of my pack, "just in case".

Trying to find ounces here or there to shave a 35 lb pack down to a 29-30lb pack for a 3 day hike, for me at least, is a non issue, when I know I can carry 40+ without issue. If anything I'll typically trim the wife's load down and add some of her load to my own.

An example of "why": in the military we were doing a 25 mile road March, full gear, roughly 50-60lb packs, when about halfway through our 240 gunner, (a big. 225lb "Tight End" type) was falling behind significantly, his weapon and pack were significantly heavier then mine, an m4 point man, but yet I, who had more of a DB build at around 190 lbs, fell back to meet him, 200 meters or so, and stopped to swap packs and weapons, and still made up the ground to rest of our unit without problems and finished without issue carrying his load; (he slowly made up the ground). Point being, i know my capabilities, as should everybody, as everybody is different, and while I'm not in "as good" of shape as I was back then, I'm far far from out of shape, and I see no need (again, speaking just for me personally), to count ounces here or there, so long as I know the poundage of my pack is well within my range. And i know that even a 40 lb load in a well built frameback is well within my range and causes me little issue to carry on longer treks. My breathing if anything is what causes me the most issue, regardless of weight, because even though i still run 2 milers regularly, and am quite good as controlling my breathing, I'm also still a half a pack a day smoker, (down from years of 1-2 packs a day), which carrying that extra tobacco, again, adds even more weight

 

[Velitrius]

Was in a Navy SAR squadron in my youth.

Had a mountain bike, a full on CroMoly steel job that must have weighed 20-ish pounds.

Was thinking about dropping that weight by getting an aluminum or titanium frame bike... Then thought "Hell with that... I'll just drop 10-15 pounds myself!"

Well, at 50 years old, dropping 10-15 pounds is quite the ordeal...

Proud owner of a new aluminum frame Trek mountain bike now.

Dropping the weight of my bike took 11 minutes... dropping the weight off my a$$ would likely take 10 months.

Drop the weight of your packs, bruddahs.

 

[cburke]

Hard to go wrong with a BK16. I hike a lot in FL and my BK16 always comes along on my pack. I also have a Kabar Kukri that I carry on my pack and then I have a cheap old Kershaw Brawler folder. That little thing has taken everything I could throw at it.

 

[cbach8tw]

From what I have been reading, stay light, stay in shape and do not be too obsessive about a few ounces here or there, but know your limits, and do not overpack the pack. Use the experience to find out what works for you and fine tune it. One thing I enjoyed reading a few years ago was Chuck Yeagers book about the good life, he liked to go off for trips with his friends, he talked about getting in shape, and if brand new gear like boots, break them in in first rather than on the trail. There is a lot of good advice by people who have a lot of experience, listen and adapt for your needs. Now, my knife recommendation is stay with a SA, maybe the Farmer or one with a small saw,and a light weight Mora Or even the kabar shortie or Becker tweeter. Keep us informed on your choices.

 

[Herlock]

Hi! For one day hiking, here in the Alps, if I am planning to set up a small camp for lunch (tarp, fire, etc.), I go mostly with the F1. If I plan an overnight (very rarely these days, unfortunately) or just like to have a camp fire running long , I pair it with the X5 axe or the Felco 600 foldable saw. If it’s a one day hike with just a short lunch break (involving no camp fire or if we eat out at one mountain hut), I go with one of my folders. I always have a multi-tool or a SAK in the back-pack anyway (consider we hike rather travelled, marked trails here and there are a always a few mountain huts manned on the way or nearby and, nowadays, rarely we hike more than 8-12 km/day).

As far as the weight, I agree to be conscious not to carry unnecessary stuff but I don’t get obsessed with one/two kg more here or there either . One knife or another doesn’t really make such a difference, unless you run ultra-marathons or plan very long hikes.

 

[22-rimfire]

As far as the weight, I agree to be conscious not to carry unnecessary stuff but I don’t get obsessed with one/two kg more here or there either. One knife or another doesn’t really make such a difference, unless you run ultra-marathons or plan very long hikes.

Pretty much the way I see it as long as the choices are reasonable for the circumstance of the outing.

 

[strategy9]

From what I have been reading, stay light, stay in shape and do not be too obsessive about a few ounces here or there, but know your limits, and do not overpack the pack. Use the experience to find out what works for you and fine tune it. One thing I enjoyed reading a few years ago was Chuck Yeagers book about the good life, he liked to go off for trips with his friends, he talked about getting in shape, and if brand new gear like boots, break them in in first rather than on the trail. There is a lot of good advice by people who have a lot of experience, listen and adapt for your needs. Now, my knife recommendation is stay with a SA, maybe the Farmer or one with a small saw,and a light weight Mora Or even the kabar shortie or Becker tweeter. Keep us informed on your choices.

Well put... Pretty spot on...

My go to 3 some:

SAK Huntsman - Mora Companion - BK5
+whichever locking folder I fancy at the time.

 

[The Zieg]

I also agree with the consensus here about these knives. I'm always amazed at how robust my Mora can be, but my BK-15 is not very heavy at all and it's just about indestructible. And given that I'm already carrying fishing tackle (albeit lightweight fly fishing gear), it's not like I'm going ultralight. Last big trip I made was to a string of alpine lakes at about 12k' here in Colorado where we pitched camp and stayed for several days. There was some gear I wouldn't have carried had we been walking with full pack every day. So like Herlock says about hiking in Europe, it depends on the way one travels. I personally consider that BK-5 to be like Manning's "cavalry saber", but if I were going in about five miles and staying put, I'd be glad to have it. And at the other extreme, when travelling in the Alaskan bush for weeks on end, I had a Gerber coffin handled bowie on me 24/7. And yeah, I still considered myself a Colin Fletcher devotee at the time.

I guess we make some strange decisions, inconsistent, emotional, and ultimately fun.

This is a fun thread! Have fun with whatever decision you make, OP!

On the Bettles River, east of Sukakpak Mtn and west of Wiehl Mtn, Alaska 1991. Somewhere in that old Gregory pack is a big Gerber bowie and S&W .41 magnum. Ultralight my eye!

Zieg

 

[ScreechOwl]

Here is a light weight knife that still has a good size blade. It is my Western Puukko model. I can also make a dangler for you.

Something a little more heavy duty but still light.....

Here is another way to hike and my favorite way....

 

[awareunlikeu]

Yes the Master Hunter in 3V is absolutely amazing! I have ABUSED the shit out of mine just to see what it can take and have went through logs with it batoning and stabbing hard wood trying to break the tip off! It just keeps going! 3V is def my favorite steel for hard use, and has long as you bring some DMT sharpening squares that are no larger than a credit card, sharpening 3V is quick and painless! I would say the Master Hunter or the SRK, once its released in 3V! Esee knives are all excellent as well!

 

[22-rimfire]

I also agree with the consensus here about these knives. I'm always amazed at how robust my Mora can be, but my BK-15 is not very heavy at all and it's just about indestructible. And given that I'm already carrying fishing tackle (albeit lightweight fly fishing gear), it's not like I'm going ultralight. Last big trip I made was to a string of alpine lakes at about 12k' here in Colorado where we pitched camp and stayed for several days. There was some gear I wouldn't have carried had we been walking with full pack every day. So like Herlock says about hiking in Europe, it depends on the way one travels. I personally consider that BK-5 to be like Manning's "cavalry saber", but if I were going in about five miles and staying put, I'd be glad to have it. And at the other extreme, when travelling in the Alaskan bush for weeks on end, I had a Gerber coffin handled bowie on me 24/7. And yeah, I still considered myself a Colin Fletcher devotee at the time.

I guess we make some strange decisions, inconsistent, emotional, and ultimately fun.

This is a fun thread! Have fun with whatever decision you make, OP!

On the Bettles River, east of Sukakpak Mtn and west of Wiehl Mtn, Alaska 1991. Somewhere in that old Gregory pack is a big Gerber bowie and S&W .41 magnum. Ultralight my eye!

I like the BK-15 a lot too and it is not a heavy blade. I guess folks just love their drop points too much and sales sagged for Kabar on that one; hence they discontinued it. Yes, to the 41 mag!! If I'm worried about creatures, my 4" M57 Mountain Gun is usually the one I choose for such occasions. Bit heavy, but.... what can I say?

 

[strategy9]

The bk15
Or
Baby bk5


I'm seriously considering a custom sheath to house both together.

 

[22-rimfire]

Strategy9, I think I will just have to get a BK-5 before they are dropped even though it generally is too large a blade for me. I have handled them, so I know exactly what they are like. Too large a blade?.... I like them too; the Condor Moonshiner and Kumunga appeared in the last year for me.

 

[afishhunter]

SAK or a camp/scout/Army Utility knife. Or your normal EDC.
Most hiking today is in a National Park or possibly a Wildlife Refuge. Do you really need a Ka-Bar Marine Fighting Knife or its ilk in a National Park filled with other people on the same established trail(s) you are on?

 

[The Zieg]

SAK or a camp/scout/Army Utility knife. Or your normal EDC.
Most hiking today is in a National Park or possibly a Wildlife Refuge. Do you really need a Ka-Bar Marine Fighting Knife or its ilk in a National Park filled with other people on the same established trail(s) you are on?

Exactly. Even on that high-up fishing trip here in Colorado there were lots of folks on the trail up to our camp.

Zieg

 

[22-rimfire]

I was out yesterday with my trusty BK-15, SAK, and Leatherman Squirt PS5. Didn't use the BK-15. Seems to be typical for me. Everything I normally do on a hike can be accomplished with a SAK. So, choosing a hiking knife is mostly about what kind of knife you want and then carry it. If you decide it's too heavy or cumbersome, or you seldom use it, you stop carrying it or you get another.

 

[NH Hunter]

For me when im hiking I always have a fixed blade on my belt. For years it has been my boker argintinian clip point. Recently I picked up a cold dteel master hunter in san mai - im impressed.

For me in the woods I want a sturdy fixed point in 4-5 inch as primary knife. I have bigger knifes on my emergency bags, but if im grabbing those ill already have my edc foldr on me aswell.