What is the best method of carry while using hipbelt on backpack?

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RWT

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What is the best method of carrying while using a hipbelt on a backpack? I am thinking drop leg, but I feel like a dufus using a dropleg on a 4" blade. I finally graduated to a decent pack and am using the hipbelt more often- cambelbak trizip. I already have a blade attached to the pack and having one on the hipbelt of the pack defeats the purpose of a "quick kit" if I am seperated from my pack which is about 50% of the time. So what is the best method for carrying a 4" blade with firesteel/very small tin on you pants belt while still allowing the use of a pack with a padded hipbelt? Pics if you have them. A neck set up is not an option. (that is what is on my pack currently). I am looking for suggestions as it appears I need a custom rig. Kydex or leather w/ cordura it does not matter.

>>>MODS- move this to whatever forum you see fit; unsure of where to get the most bang for post

My pack
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Current grab and go set up inside of pack- thrown in pocket when needed
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Broken out contents
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Blade I want to carry on belt with tin & firesteel. Current sheath is a becker BK16 that does not fit well. Straps are to short and I hate the rattle.
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Pants with cargo pockets? Cabelas Trailhikers are great but run long (I usually wear a 34 inseam but wear a 30). Carhartts older cargos are great and my favorite but the new style is a low rise waist. Duluth Tradings firehose cargos are perfect for woods bushwacking but heavy for light use. Riggs Rangers are nice but fit a bit tight on me but are a good halfway between light cargos and the firehose canvass.
 
I carry my Muk at ~10 o'clock in a David Brown Kydex with a tec-lock at a 45* angle. This places the sheath directly in a small pressure void between the pack and the hip-belt and I find I forget the knife is there. My pack is a Gregory Z30 but I have tried it on a few other packs as well and it has worked great. One of the main things I like with this is that I still have access to my pockets, something that sometimes dangler sheaths prevent.
Good luck finding the right solution.

P.S. I love the Boss Street handle, great looking and I bet a lot more comfy. :thumbup:
 
You won't feel like a "dufus" if there's more than just a 4" blade on your drop leg platform. Put a pouch on the same platform with your cell phone or some other EDC type kit you'll be using all the time.
 
Seems you're going to HAVE to get something with a bit of drop to get past the hip belt.
I bet one of our leather or kydex benders could come up with a modified drop that puts the knife a little further south.
I've had the same issue, and my current solution is pocket carry--small knife on one side, small kit on the other.

Which Busse is that? A rehandled CABS?
 
Tin and fire steel in pocket.

Knife in custom sheath around neck Mors Kochanski style?

I don't know the weight of your Busse so I am just throwing this out there.

-Stan
 
Sorry, gotta recommend carrying your fixed in your pack and have a decent folder clipped to your pocket...I'm willing to bet that 99.9% of the time while out hiking, you will not need your fixed "in a hurry". You will , however, sometimes need your folder to use quickly. Despite what you may have heard, the
likely-hood of you becoming separated from your pack are pretty slim unless you fall into some rapids or ditch your bag over a cliff for some reason. Either way, you could make do with your folder in a pinch.
 
two ways of carry come quickly to mind, that help when wearing a pack.
First, I can use a sheath that hangs below the belt. I had Armorall Leather make this for me. I can change sheaths that fit the belt hanger, or I can hook the sheath up to an over the shoulder strap.
belthanger.jpg

Second method, is an over the shoulder carry for one of my packs.
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Still can't figure out how to reply with a quote.

I currently carry my Drifter in my pocket so I always have something, but that is the limit of weight I want in my pockets due to the heat down here. Currently I am carrying all my fixed blades in my pack.

I would like to see the Dave Brown set up if you have a chance to take photos.

Yes this is a Busse CABS rehandled by the custom shop. It is very heavy now compared to how it was from the factory, but worth it. Ilove the blade shape but the original scales were so thin I could not comfortably use the knife for any lenght of time. Arthritis sucks! This one now has man handles and I love it. I mod'd(first ever mod so I learned alot) my BK16 to be of similar girth.

BK16046.jpg
 
I sometimes use dangler style sheaths for my knives, I stick the sheath in my front pocket so it doesn't flap around (I tend to use 4" blades with molded leather sheaths).

With knives that have kydex sheaths (I use G-clips or Tek-Loks), I just clip the knife to the rucksack's hip belt. I've sewn loops of nylon webbing to hold my knife just in the position I like it. When I'm not carrying my pack, it just takes a second to move the knife to my belt.

I tried carrying a neck sheath and found it quite uncomfortable.
 
Just set up a sheath with a frog so it hangs 3-4 inches lower than normal. That should put it below any belt that might be in the way.
 
I use a little single pocket butt pack, the kind with a 1 inch belt attached. Most of the time I have the little one with the pouch forward and above my backpack hipbelt. When I am carrying a sheath knife, the whole rig rides below the hipbelt like a cowboy buscadero gun belt.
 
I carry on my shoulder strap or on my pack there is a piece of webbing that goes around the outside of my hipbelt and I carry it like I would on a normal belt. I like to keep a knife in reach in case I fall or get stuck or trapped. I like to have access to a good, sturdy blade in case I get tied up or am unable to move much.
 
I use a medium sized "fanny pack" made by Eagle Creek and I wear it in front. The straps are thin and I can wear it securely just below the hip belts on my Gregory backpack. It holds my lighter, flint, a couple of folders, multi-tool, sunglasses, first-aid, sunglasses, and pepper spray. I also rigged it to carry my fixed blade horizontally in the back of the bag because there is a zipped compartment on the back for tucking the hip straps into if you want to use the bag with a shoulder strap. I put the sheath in there and secure the bottom and top of the sheath to the hip straps with paracord. Works great and I always have my essentials on me because I never take off the fanny pack. In camp I just swing it around so it's behind me...
 
Im an army recon Cadet of the Hungarian Defence Forces, and i always carry it that way, with a drop leg extender, it works well, cause not dependent on ur gear, and always on you, doesn't matter what the day brings;)

Only drawback, not too confy to sleep with it:)

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RWT said:
What is the best method of carrying while using a hipbelt on a backpack? I am thinking drop leg, but I feel like a dufus using a dropleg on a 4" blade....
...I am looking for suggestions as it appears I need a custom rig. Kydex or leather w/ cordura it does not matter.
Click to expand...
Drop-leg is the way to go, and you'll look a lot less of a "dufus" than the guy with the knife upside-down on his shoulder-strap or on the underside of his pack.
You don't need a custom rig, just using straps/zip-ties/ or cordage you can easily drop any sheath with handle-backing to a good spot on your thigh, then strap/tie it to your leg at both the hilt and tip for minimal profile (prevent snagging). That said, Busse knives don't come with shop sheaths, so you'll be buying something special anyway, right?

Also, have you considered that a <4" fixed-blade is kinda small for most tasks where a fixed-blade would be suggested vs. a folding knife? With a 3-4" bladed folding knife in your pocket, etc. a similar sized fixed blade is overly redundant. But, if just carrying the fixed-blade, the CABS works well with a dangler sheath that can be slipped into your pocket puukko-style.

Zozo*HC* said:
... i always carry it that way, with a drop leg extender, it works well, cause not dependent on ur gear, and always on you, doesn't matter what the day brings;)

Only drawback, not too confy to sleep with it:)
Click to expand...
:thumbup:
I'm only a civilian, but I find that drop-leg works well whether walking/running/climbing/swimming/sitting/standing/crouching/jumping, and yes even laying if you position yourself right or use a hammock ;)
 
Either lashed to your pack but Then it'is hard to access

I prefer horizontal on my packs waist belt
 
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Anything greater than 5" and I find it to large to dress game. So the 4"ish works for me. If I need bigger I have a BK9 or 12" Ontario in my pack if I am going to a place that needs that sort of tool. I am really looking to have just blade to get me home in the event of an unexpected challenge and a folder does not give me enough confidence. It is looking more and more like a drop leg may be the only comfortable answer as long as I use a hip belt

No knocks on using the drop leg, just whenever you see them in this part of the country they are with much larger knives.
 
RWT said:
Anything greater than 5" and I find it to large to dress game. So the 4"ish works for me. If I need bigger I have a BK9 or 12" Ontario in my pack if I am going to a place that needs that sort of tool. I am really looking to have just blade to get me home in the event of an unexpected challenge and a folder does not give me enough confidence. It is looking more and more like a drop leg may be the only comfortable answer as long as I use a hip belt

No knocks on using the drop leg, just whenever you see them in this part of the country they are with much larger knives.
Click to expand...
Drop leg works very well for larger knives as well, giving the user easy access. For the smaller knife, you needn't drop it so low as to be exceptionally obvious, many puukkos are dangled to the same height as most pockets so that the knife can be slipped into the pocket (front or rear) while suspended from the belt, or if the sheath has a clip it can be clipped inside or outside the pocket like the CRKT Stubby Razel sheath. A NiteIze eCLIPse can be affixed to a plastic sheath or a removable strip to give a sheath a clip. I prefer to drop mine lower and keep it outside my pocket (need that space for other things), but it also usually has other items attached to it (e.g. multitool, tin-kit, etc.). If it is a shorter knife and you don't want a leg-strap running across your pocket, I recommend a stiff belt and stiff sheath backing (e.g. Kydex) to keep the knife from flopping & swinging as you move. However, stiffer sheaths are less comfortable imho.

And I'll definitely admit, one looks a little funny with a low-hanging drop-leg rig bearing minimal gear, esp. next to someone carrying a large blade, etc. ;)
 
I am a fan of inverted shoulder strap carry as seen on many Vietnam movies.
 
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