What is a good all around knife for camping and hiking?

S

survivalnoob

Joined
Jul 14, 2010
Messages
29
Hi all,

A friend of mine asked me a question about knives but I didn't have a good answer for him so maybe you all out there could help him out. My buddy's knife that he used for camping and hiking broke after 20 years of use and now he's looking for a knife to replace it. He is a one knife kind of guy. He's looking for a knife to basically last him another 20 years. He doesn't want to spend more then 200 dollars for it, less would be better of course but not more then 200 dollars. All help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.
 
For the price range of $200, you could buy several Becker knives. They are one of the best in the business for survival knives, all from the $40-$80. Your friend could buy 3 of these knives and have a whole lineup that would last him a LIFETIME!! Have him look up the BECKER BK-02, BECKER BK-09, BECKER BK-14. The total cost of those three knives would be around $200.

They use VERY durable 1095 steel, with a no nonsense construction.
 
Fallkniven A1,S1,or F1 , Esee 4 or 6, any Bark River knives, Becker magnum camp. All are amazing knives. Some Bark River's might be too much $.
 
There are so many to choose from. To narrow that down, focus on the duties that the knife will need to perform. Then look at blade geometry, edge, heat treatment, and then the handle ergonomics.
It's difficult to decide with all the choices, much less deciding for someone else.
ESEE, Becker, Bark River, Fiddleback, ML, JK, Grossman, TOPS, the list goes on and on...
Many would say the BK2. If he is a one knife, no axe, etc.. kinda guy, well.
 
A Fallkniven F1 is a great camp/hike/hunt/all-around knife that has the quality to last your friend the rest of his life. The price is well within his budget, too.

If he likes a larger knife, the Fallkniven S1 might fill the bill.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
BK-2 all the way. With the extra money, he could buy a fair bit of camping gear. This one won't be breaking on him any time soon (unless he does something dumb like throwing it).

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Beckerhead #42
 
I was looking for the same thing, and did a lot of research here on this forum and elsewhere. There are a lot of choices, and I narrowed mine down to the Bark River Bravo 1 and the Fallkniven F1. In the end, I couldn't decide and got both. I then saw a new knife from Blind Horse Knives that seemed to also fit the bill in the Large Cascade, and got it too.

All three are very nice, and any would do the job well. But if I had to pick only one, it would be the Fallkniven F1. Perfect size without being overbuilt, solid as a rock, comfortable grip, excellent steel and nice convex grind.

Two more I wish I could spring for that would be right up there in the running would be these:
 
What was his previous knife?
ESEE or Bark River would be my choice, which model depends on what he would be using it for while camping/hiking.
 
In my opinion stick with ESEE I would also say Fiddleback but they are bard to get. I would not choose Bark River. ESEE is simply awesome and affordable. Once you buy it you will never have to buy another to replace it if it breaks. You can break it on purpose and they will replace it for you
 
When i was looking for a utility knife, i choose a Cold Steel Trailmaster. For the price, i'd probably still choose the Trailmaster for a 1-knife battery, but i like larger knives if i can only have 1.

If your friend isn't into larger knives it would be hard to argue against the ESEE 4 - it seems a pretty nice blade with an exceptional warranty. I'd prefer to never have to *use* a warranty, but it's nice to have for a replacement.
 
Check out the exchange here for some of Scrapyard Knives offerings. Many good choices there. Fallkniven is also a solid choice IMO.
 
For $200 he can get any number of quality blades. Others have posted good recommendations regarding brands. I would add to that list Swamp Rat and Scrapyard.

One of my favorite general purpose camping/survival knives is the Swamp Rat Ratmandu. After that, staying within the $200 price mark, would be ESEE. I've never used Bark River or Fallkniven knives, but have read nothing but good things about them, and based on all the glowing reviews I wouldn't hesitate to pick one up.
 
Fallkniven F1 and a Becker BK2.

200 smackers, tax included.

Bark River is nice.

Blind Horse is nice.

Sugar Creek is nice.

Gray Wolf is nice.

All of us were one knife owners, then we bought another.
 
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Thank you all for the great suggestions.

My buddy just called me today to inform me that he decided to save some money to get a new backpack and just ordered himself from amazon a Kabar short plain edge. I have a BK-2 and Bk-11 myself and love them both, but I'm not too familiar with the other Kabar knives. I hope he got a good knife. Again thank you everyone for all your suggestions.
 
can't go wrong with a kabar for general outdoors use, I'd say. Not as flashy or fancy as others, nor as highly recommended. But a solid knife, with a great steel.

if it was good enough for our marines and navy in WWII, I'd say it's good enough for just about anyone else
 
Unless they are into high quality knives, its unlikely they will spend $200 plus on a knife.
 
How big a knife does he need? Unless he needs a large knife, a Rat RC3, or even Izula should work fine. Save the other $100 for whatever.
 
BBQ BOY said:
In my opinion stick with ESEE I would also say Fiddleback but they are bard to get. I would not choose Bark River. ESEE is simply awesome and affordable. Once you buy it you will never have to buy another to replace it if it breaks. You can break it on purpose and they will replace it for you
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I'm sorry but that last comment kind of pissed me off. (You can break it on purpose and they will replace it).

That would be pretty screwed up for someone to do that.:mad:
 
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