What is the best camping knife for $100?

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bfbisa

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Jan 15, 2007
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Going camping soon and wanted to buy a new knife. Right now I only have a ka bar usmc fighting knife and I sold my Tom brown tracker to a friend. I was thinking of spending $100 or less. I have some ideas, as you might imagine from my previous posts, but any suggestions?
 
I would take the K-Bar and keep saving money for a knife that you really want. :)
 
If you already have a ka-bar, you're better off investing that money into a multitool like Leatherman Wave or any 111 mm Victorinox.

Edit: Ok ok, if you insist, look at ESEE Knives (formerly Rat Cutlery) and Fallkniven.
 
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Take it from me . . . . save yourself alot of time and money and use the kabar until it falls apart. Its a vicious cycle of buying everything and eventually going back to what is comfortable and easy to replace.

I have been buying, using and collecting for some 30 years and find myself going back to the well worn kabar that I don't stress over. But thats just me :)

Dan
 
Thanks for the responses. You are all right. I should use the ka bar, it has never failed me. You all know how it feels to want another knife I'm sure.
 
bfbisa said:
Going camping soon and wanted to buy a new knife. Right now I only have a ka bar usmc fighting knife and I sold my Tom brown tracker to a friend. I was thinking of spending $100 or less. I have some ideas, as you might imagine from my previous posts, but any suggestions?
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Buy a Mora - less than $15 and great for food prep or carving tent pegs or whatever.

Keep the USMC knife.

Buy a chopper - this one cost me $46:
IMG_8364s.jpg

11.5" blade - chops & batons well.

About $60 get both the Mora and the chopper, add in your current knife and you are pretty well set without breaking the bank. If you don't like those suggestions then why not? What are you wanting to do with the new knife?
 
Another option is to branch out to different sheaths for your kabar. May sound corny, but might keep the interest up so that buying another knife doesn't consume you. Buying a new knife for many is like the day after Christmas, the thrill can go away quickly.

As you can see, I kind of have a thing for that particular blade :)

IMG_0697.jpg
 
bfbisa said:
Going camping soon and wanted to buy a new knife. Right now I only have a ka bar usmc fighting knife and I sold my Tom brown tracker to a friend. I was thinking of spending $100 or less. I have some ideas, as you might imagine from my previous posts, but any suggestions?
Click to expand...

A new knife for camping?

Some suggestions:

ESEE (fka RAT Cutlery) RC4
Fallkniven F1
Ka Bar Becker BK2 Campanion
Ontario Ranger RD4
 
For my camping purposes the scout group's shared machete and a small knife have been all I really need.

That said, I know how you feel. In your situation I'd take the Spyderco Aqua Salt. I love FRN, especially the way Spyderco does it.
 
bfbisa said:
Going camping soon and wanted to buy a new knife. Right now I only have a ka bar usmc fighting knife and I sold my Tom brown tracker to a friend. I was thinking of spending $100 or less. I have some ideas, as you might imagine from my previous posts, but any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Anything from the KaBar Becker line:

BK-7.ForSite.Large.jpg


Or, RAT Cutlery:

3629.jpg
 
Although the Ka Bar is all the knife you'll ever need for camping (IMO), the itch to buy a new knife may never go away til you do so....that's how it works for me, anyway.
For camping, I would suggest something that would compliment what you already have...a folder and a hatchet.
 
To me a camp knife is one designed to...obviously...handle the common chores found in camp. This means food prep, notching poles for a shelter, cleaning fish or game, and the myriad of other common cutting chores. A folder can do all of this but can be a pain to clean for food prep...especially after using it to clean fish. I would suggest a pair of Moras so one can be kept for food prep and the other for everything else.
 
If you want to spend $100 dollars on any knife, I think you would be hard pressed to find a better one at that price than the Fallkniven F1.
 
Absintheur said:
I would suggest a pair of Moras so one can be kept for food prep and the other for everything else.
Click to expand...

That's what I did - Stainless clipper for food prep and a Carbon Craftsman for everything else. But then I got a Kukri for chopping batoning - add those 3 together and it is still less than $100, great value IMO.
 
first off - the KaBar will continue to do everything you want to do, just like it has for years.
second - the itch to buy someting new, but within a budget, is strong. Try a Condor Rodan and Kukri? Should be able to find the pair for less than $75 delivered and use the other $25 in your budget to buy a slab of extra thick cut peppered bacon and a couple of nice steaks for the camping trip. :D
 
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