What knife should I bring on my backpacking trip?

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supertac916

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I'm heading out on my annual backpacking trip with some of my buddies into Desolation Wilderness and trying to decide what knife or knives to bring. I live in California which is extremely dry and there are no fires allowed due to the conditions. In all reality the only purpose of the knife would be to clean trout, cut tent pegs, and a emergency tool.

I'm looking at bringing one of the following as my primary knife

- Survive GSO 5.1
- Survive GSO 4.1
- Fallkniven F1 or S1
- Ratmandu
- Infidu
- Bark River Bravo 1
- Bark River Bravo 1 LT

Secondary knife:

- Bark River Necker II
- Bark River Gunny Hunter in CPM3V
- GSO 3.5
- Esee Izula

I'm not planning on bringing a hatchet, saw, axe, or other tools, since the fire restrictions. I would only start a fire in the event a emergency or if I find a island in the middle of a lake that is clear. Found one of those last year:) I appreciate your input because I'm sitting and looking at the knives trying to decide what one to bring. That's my short list too..lol
 
In general I wold take one thin knife for the trouts and food prep and one shorter stronger blade for the utility tasks.
 
Gso 4.1 or bravo 1 LT and then something small and light. Maybe a Mora, or an opinel. Of the small ones you have... Maybe the izula?
 
I'd go uber lightweight and simple: opinel 6/8 and a mora. Add a 8" strip of leather with some 220 grit sandpaper glued on one side and polishing compound loaded on the other side for a lightweight strop/convex sharpener. You'll be set for a while with that, and that entire setup will weigh less than some of the individual knives you posted above. My .02.
 
Backpacking- take one small and light knife. You don't need to be Paul Bunyan. I've done a lot of backpacking with only a gerber lst.
 
One of any from the two groups will do you fine IMO.

Just pick your favorite from each group.
Hope you have a great time !
 
If it were me I'd bring an esee 3 as my main knife then a small trout and bird knife along with a folder. Hopefully someone brings a small axe or hatchet.


Mike
 
Out of those I'd bring either the Bravo 1 LT or the F1. Those should be more than enough for the tasks you mention without being too heavy or cumbersome.

Instead of a second knife, I'd bring a SAK or multitool with features that might help you adjust or fix your gear.
 
The s!k 5.1 because..well it'll handle absolutely everything and it's actually very lightweight for what it is.vand secondary the izula because it varies your blade shape a little bit and you can get those lite things razor sharp very easily. Personally I don't think I could ever go into the woods with just a mora or opinel, simply bc I would feel underprepared. That's just my brain, though, I do understand and appreciate why many people would
 
I would go with the Fallkniven F1 or ESEE-3.

I'd scrap the overbuilt and relatively heavy duty small fixed blades as a "secondary" knife and just bring a SAK, my preference for the woods and trails is the Tinker. It is extremely light and flat, has Phillips and flat screwdrivers, can openers, as well as two separate straight blades.
 
If you are truly backpacking lightweight is the only efficient way to go. You've got lots of good knives to choose from so pick one that suits your tasks and needs, pair it up with a SAK or multi tool and enjoy the outdoors. :thumbup:

Damn fire bans. We have had a fire ban as well all summer so far so as well which kind of makes outdoor evenings a little less "eventful" :grumpy:
 
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Save yourself some money and get a Kabar Becker BK-15 and carry a folder for smaller tasks.

If you don't want to save yourself some money, go with the Fallkniven F1 or Bark River Bravo.
 
Desolation wilderness is one of my favorite go-to's, you're going to have a great time!
I love the name because it keeps the crowds down, but really it's not very desolate nor remote.

You definitely won't need two fixed blades. The fallkniven is a great option that will be more than sufficient and save you some weight.
I really like pukko designs for backpacking, although this year I've been using a CRK OPK.
If you feel it necessary to bring a back up, try an SAK/leatherman with pliers, scissors, saw.
 
It sounds as though this may not be your first trip but you don't mention your experience, how long you'll be out, the rest of your loadout, average terrain or potential weather conditions. Truly, your statement that "In all reality the only purpose of a knife would be to clean trout, cut tent pegs, and a emergency tool.." concerns me. :)

If your main goal is to go as "light" as you can and that is first and foremost, just take the necker, a pack of razor blades and maybe a piece of broken glass. In which case I hope everything goes as textbook as you envisage, nothing unforeseen occurs, the weather is sunny and mild and you have plenty of opportunities to glimpse faeries dancing in the meadows.

If you want to go what I would consider intelligently and properly equipped for the true wild and its contingencies, limited by only the list you provided my choices would be either the Fallkniven or the Bravo 1 (if you're sure handle will be comfortable for you over hours of hard task work [my only contention with the Bravos is a smallish, slick handle but that's due to my hand size.] They're good knives). Your choice.

Again, chosing only from the list you posted, my secondary would be the Izula which should easily suffice. If you want to spend more money go with the GSO.

Only other thing I'll say in that regard is that I'd strongly recommend pocketing some kind of SAK in addition.

Before I get fire-bombed here let me state that I really have an aversion to this "how light can I go" stuff when trekking into true wilderness. I know of way too many disasters that have befallen people who, for the sacrifice of a single pound or two on such trips have fallen into some nasty, nasty outcomes...even had to be rescued. But that's just me. I assume the feeling of accomplishment to such folks when they ARE successful at this somehow outweighs big risk.

And don't forget, often the need for a tool for a bit heavier wood work (the hatchet, saw, axe or "other" you say you are leaving at home) can occur for many other reasons than just the need for a fire.

Good trip to you and the best of times. :)

justsomedude said:
Desolation wilderness is one of my favorite go-to's, you're going to have a great time!
I love the name because it keeps the crowds down, but really it's not very desolate nor remote....
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:rolleyes: Geeze....wish I'd read this before I wrote all that. I guess that's why I'm not familiar with and never done the "Desolation Wilderness." OK, I'm done. Sorry, Supertac.
 
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I did many backpacking trips with nothing more than a Leatherman PST or a Victorinox Tinker.

I would want light as possible. A Mora around my neck and a Victorinox Farmer as a backup.
 
No fire and no real need for shelter. I'd pick the lightest one that's comfy to use. This is the type of trip something akin to a mora would be good at. Something that can do food prep and a little whittling on the side.
 
Shotgun said:
No fire and no real need for shelter. I'd pick the lightest one that's comfy to use. This is the type of trip something akin to a mora would be good at. Something that can do food prep and a little whittling on the side.
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It's better to have and not need then need and not have imo. There are always emergencies and unexpected situations that can happen. Plus, a fire ban stops you from having recreational fire not life saving ones. If I were freezing to death because I fell through the ice exc. the last thing would be worried about is a fire ban lol.
 
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