Wow there is some smug mean people in this thread. It was a legitimate question that some rude people somehow got offended by. Maybe this dude had limited experience in the field and needed advice. I know this is an old thread but im shocked of the audacity of some bitter A-holes. Skills are everything in the bush, but someone asking advice about some equipment is not a reason to show how much of a smug connoisseur you are.
I think the larger issue is that, as marcinek said, a ton of threads/people like this pop up... Not all of them just like this (after all we later learn the TOPS was a gift and OP was just asking for opinions, not thinking of buying it for use in the woods.) But he was correct in saying that the apparent sentiment of "big knife transmits survival skills directly, Matrix-style" is high here.
I grew up on a farm and know about "farm life" but that doesn't translate to woods/wilderness/survival life, so I can't really comment on threads like these much. They probably are a bigger deal to those that do see and can comment on them all the time.
I don't think it's truly a matter of being smug, but rather, these are seem frequently and, in their own way, the users here, even those that come off as smug, want people to learn skills and be as safe as they can be, and not go off with any half-baked notions. Just my two cents.
Marcinek mentioned a guy who can start fire with damp wood and only needs a small 4" fixed blade. I honestly wish I had 1/4 of those survival skills. Wish I could say I'd do okay in the wilderness and that farm living translates well enough. But I doubt it. I have uber respect for the people who can actually do that stuff. To me personally, it's like watching a master martial artist (another thing for which I have immense respect) at work. Great stuff.
