If you were stranded in the middle of nowhere (heavily forested), and could only have one of your knives (no machetes, swords, kukri's etc) which would you choose and why. It has to be a knife you own, not one you fantasize about etc.
I'm never really in the middle of "nowhere". I'm usually somewhere and when I'm deep in the woods, that somewhere is owned and managed by some
body and that somebody sets the rules of how the land can be used.
Most of the time I'm deep in the woods far from roads, I'm in USFS lands, often designated Wilderness Areas. Typically I access these places on hiking trails, either by backpacking/climbing or by ski touring. This means two things..
1) I'm carrying a pack that contains my "10 essentials" kit.
2) I'm neither the first person nor the last to visit this remote place.
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I'm over 50 now and am going to harp on this second point just a bit. I've had the fortune to hike in what I consider to be among the most beautiful hiking spots in the US, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, for over 30 years now. That's 3 decades. Enough time to see changes that weren't visible to me when I was young.
Impact from hikers sucks. That's the short version of this. I've seen areas closed for recovery and have watched them sort of recover, sort of not recover. I've seen too many spots denuded of dead fall and have found too many poorly made and abandoned fire rings. IMO, if people want to survive a weekend outing in the remote parts of New England, the priorities are (not in order):
1) Carry a tarp, good clothing and a stove and know how to use them.
2) Know enough 1st aid to stabilize fractures and stop bleeding wounds.
3) Know how to *read* a map and *see* trails well.
4) Respect weather and be smart enough to retreat early.
5) File hiking plans with a trusted loved one and stick to it to initiate rescue if truly needed (and just as importantly, to avoid needless rescues). For me, this means a 24 hour buffer in case I get pinned down for some reason.
If people do this, being "stranded" either means an incapacitating injury needing rescue or an extra night in the woods.
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In this context, a knife is a part of a larger backcountry kit.
I carry an Opinel, usually a #9, sometimes a #8. I also carry a Leatherman PS4 Squirt for bandage prep and minor repairs. Closely related, I carry good splinter tweezers, a heavy needle and a heavy curved upholstery needle (for gear repair).
(I carry a Micra for EDC and the PS4 for hiking)
edc-pair by
Pinnah, on Flickr
In the deepest of winter and if I'm going to a place where I know that fires are permitted, possible and non-damaging, I'll carry a Silky folding saw and perhaps, for kicks and grins, my Schrade H-15.
The Schrade is just a lot of fun. But it's extra weight and not needed to survive really.
H 15 drop point 2 by
Pinnah, on Flickr