What is your knife/tool style or system in the out of doors?

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Nikkogi

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We all have our reasons for what we carry and why we carry it in the woods. All of these knives/tools equate to a style. What selection of tools do you carry with you in the biome you inhabit most. For me in New England, it's the Temperate Deciduous Forest.

When I'm in the woods camping or hiking I like the security of being prepared. I am by no means a minimalist who carries a folder, canteen, and firesteel.

Typically, a carry a good multi-tool. This is usually a Leatherman Charge, Victorinox Spirit, or Leatherman Juice Kf4. The Spirit gets carried the most for the awl, chisel, and just the myriad of different tools you have.

I also carry a good folding knife to supplement the multitool. The three I carry the most would be my Ritter Grips (either Large or Small), Benchmade 940, or SOG Flash 2.

Lastly, I carry a good fixed blade knife. Depending on the time of year, the blade length is varied. If I anticipate a lot of splitting and chopping I will take my RD-9 or RTAK II. If I think I'll be doing some batoning I'll take my Cold Steel SRK. Lastly, if I don't anticipate batoning, I'll take my smaller SOG Field Pup.

This combo of a feature rich multi-tool, good folder, and a tough fixed blade works for me.

I am very interested in your "style" or "system". :)
 
I carry a hatchet(estwing), ~5.5" fixed blade and a multitool(sog power assist or swisschamp).
 
I am also in New England. My set up changes with the seasons.

In the spring-fall it is a 3.5"-5" scandi on my belt, a Vic Farmer in my pocket, and my ESEE-5 in my pack with a folding saw.

In the winter the ESEE-5 would be replaced with my GB small forest axe or S&N Camp axe. The rest pretty much stays the same.
 
Ehh, a 9"+ Chopper, a smaller 4-5 inch fixed blade(Sometimes left out), a pocket fixed blade and a SAK farmer. I usually have a saw with me as well.
 
5" fixed blade and hi-visibilty fire striker are my two most important. Also have SAK swisschamp for all the little stuff, and my 1st aid kit.
 
I live in the cold, rainy, and mountainous pacific northwest.

*Pack Axe at about ~20" length
*Light Duty Fixed Blade under 4"
*Folding Saw

My axe does 75% of my work while hiking and backpacking. Shelter is the most important thing to have in a rainy climate to keep yourself alive, followed up by fire. Hypothermia is what kills you out here. An axe solves both of those problems faster than any other tool. The axe is, in my opinion, the most important and useful tool to have in my environment.

The fixed blade is used for basic stuff like making stakes, splitting kindling (easier to split pencil thin sticks with a knife than an axe), feathering sticks, etc. It's on me at all times unlike the axe, and can be used in an emergency as my "survival" tool, even though I don't prefer a knife for that. Also it's comforting to have a knife on your belt when you are in bear and cougar territory, even though it probably wont do much.

The saw is used on smaller limbs and branches from trees that I've taken down. It's safer to limb a tree with a saw than an axe, especially when you are cold and tired. I also sometimes use it to section my downed trees to create a flat surface on the blocks of wood to more easily split. The saw is non-essential and I mostly carry it as a back up.

I do not believe in carrying a large fixed blade survival style knife. There are better tools for the job (machete, saw, axe). A knife is first and foremost a cutting tool; there is a better tool for any task beyond that. Trying to carry a one tool solution "jack of all trades" kind of knife seems ridiculous to me. You want to chop? Get a tool designed for it.
 
Upstate NY - Temperate Deciduous Forest

EDC: Spyderco folder (might switch to an Izula eventually) sometimes coupled with a SAK.

Woods: ESEE 4 or F1, Mora, Wetterlings SFA, SAK Huntsman, Laplander folding saw.

I do not personally believe in a "one tool for all tasks" philosophy. I like to have a selection of tools depending on the task at hand. I don't mind carrying extra weight.
 
Traditional bowie with 11" blade, 3 blade stockman, and a folding saw in my pack as a backup.

I add a hawk if i think i'm going to do alot of chopping as it's quicker than the saw.
 
:)
tonym said:
I am also in New England. My set up changes with the seasons.

In the spring-fall it is a 3.5"-5" scandi on my belt, a Vic Farmer in my pocket, and my ESEE-5 in my pack with a folding saw.

In the winter the ESEE-5 would be replaced with my GB small forest axe or S&N Camp axe. The rest pretty much stays the same.
Click to expand...
Where in New England are you?
 
it all depends on the trip or outing i'm undertaking. in central tex. we do'nt have much use for axes. on some trips i may take the mini-granfors-bruks or a ferhman or a siegle with a decent sized folder. when i'm in a boat i always carry a one hander like a spydie or benchmade. on our local lakes many people have trotlines strung across the bays & creek channels.falling in the water & getting tangled in nylon cordage is something one should anticipate.--dennis
 
Most of the time I am carrying my Becker BK2, Kershaw folding saw, Leatherman Wave, and my small Kabar Dozier folder. For me this combo covers everything I need.
 
i mix things up tdepending on my mood

For awhile its been a victorinox forrester on my belt
A large knife like a bk9 or Khukri or machete
with a mora in my bag

but sometimes
I'll rock a mora
a fiskars hatchet
and a vic forrester.
 
Busse B11 (stripped)
Sawvivor 18 inch and spare blade (in factory sheath)
Lone Wolf T2 Harsey Ranger
Leatherman Charge TTi
Off the Map "the Bushcrafter" if I remember.
 
Another one here from New England (central Mass).

When i normally go hiking/backpacking in the White Mountains, and i always carry atleast a Victorinox Huntsman, and normally a Mora (however the Mora will now be replaced by my new Ahti Metsa).

However in late autumn/winter/early spring i also bring along my Wetterlings Large Hunters axe.
 
My system is like this:
- front righ pant pocket - Vic alox pioneer on a single lanyard tied to my belt.
- front right coat or vest pocket - cold steel medium twistmaster, no lanyard.
- left hip on my belt is the fixed blade either BK2, SRK or USMC Kabar.
- right hip is for a holster
 
Nikkogi, I like the idea of a "system" over picking that one or two tools. Everybody's situation, location, experience/skill and preferences are going to be different. One's system maybe a simple SAK, others may have an Gransfors axe and saw.

collecter said:
My system is like this:
- front righ pant pocket - Vic alox pioneer on a single lanyard tied to my belt.
- front right coat or vest pocket - cold steel medium twistmaster, no lanyard.
- left hip on my belt is the fixed blade either BK2, SRK or USMC Kabar.
- right hip is for a holster
Click to expand...

Since I carry a pistol when out, I also carry my fixed blade on my left the majority of the time. I much prefer a smaller blade when carried on the belt (4-5") and I really like a horizontal (cross-draw) sheath.

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My son carried my folding saw for me on the last backpacking trip we did. I'm trying to get him to trim his sytem down a little:D Either a SAK or multi-tool but not both...too much weight for even a short 4-5 mile hike in.
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I often carry a chopper and folding saw if I'm out for more than a day or two. My staples have been either my BRKT Golok or Gransfors Bruks SFA along with a Bahco or Silky folding saw.

Although my fixed blade does the majority of the work, I really like the "wave" feature on Emerson knives...for simple cord-type cutting tasks, with one hand, I can quickly get my knife and, make the cut and have in back in the pocket; very handy for simple cutting tasks.

ROCK6
 
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