Who has a Chris Reeve Pacific?

SHAKEandBAKE · May 7, 2013

Hey guys,

So I've been looking for a fixed blade for summer backpacking and have been looking at the Chris Reeve Pacific. I know that anything Chris makes is going to be awesome but as popular as the sebenza's are among other things, I haven't been able to find a bunch on the Pacific so I figured I'd ask the opinions of those who have one on here. Thanks in advance for the replies.

nyefmaker · May 7, 2013

I have one and of all the military knives that CRK makes, its my favorite. I have had the Neil Roberts, the 5.5" Green Beret and the Pacific. I sold the Neil Roberts because I am just not into recurve blades. Plus the blade was more on the slimmer side. The 5.5" GB was nice, but I like my shadow IV's much more and the blade shape is similar to them. The Pacific has a nice big blade, good serrations, and the most comfortable handle of the 3, plus if you wanna choke up on the blade, it has a large choil area that makes it comfortable. Out of the ones I have tried, I like it the best hands down. That's why I sold the others and only kept it. Its a keeper for sure. Plus, the Spec-Opps Brand sheath is beyond excellent as well. If you want a good backpacking/camp knife, I think it would be hard pressed to find anything better.

knifeperson · May 7, 2013

I have one too and agree completely with all that nyefmaker says. I love the Pacific; it is a great knife functionally and really a thing of beauty too. If you like knives, you'll love the Pacific. And the sheath is awesome. All that being said, it is very heavy duty and robust - perhaps overkill for backpacking IMHO. I put mine on my pack when I got it and carried it awhile but took it off.... it is big and heavy because of it's design. I switched to something lighter and smaller that I think is perfectly adequate for backpacking use.

nyefmaker · May 8, 2013

knifeperson said:
I have one too and agree completely with all that nyefmaker says. I love the Pacific; it is a great knife functionally and really a thing of beauty too. If you like knives, you'll love the Pacific. And the sheath is awesome. All that being said, it is very heavy duty and robust - perhaps overkill for backpacking IMHO. I put mine on my pack when I got it and carried it awhile but took it off.... it is big and heavy because of it's design. I switched to something lighter and smaller that I think is perfectly adequate for backpacking use.

I do feel its light for its size though, perhaps because it feels so good in hand and is very well balanced.

Fooj · May 9, 2013

SHAKEandBAKE said:
Hey guys,

So I've been looking for a fixed blade for summer backpacking and have been looking at the Chris Reeve Pacific.

I've got a Pacific. Love it. It's a great camp knife. Unlike my esteemed colleague nyefmaker, I prefer my NR to the Pacific because I prefer blades w/o serrations, and I like the recurve on the NR.

I don't tend to think of either the Pacific or the NR as a true backpacking knife, where weight-savings is the name of the game. For backpacking, I'd choose the Professional Soldier http://www.chrisreeve.com/professionalsoldier.htm . I carry one in my cycling pack. It's as tough as nails, and it's lighter and thinner than a large Sebenza. I hardly know it's there.

nyefmaker · May 9, 2013

I dont really care for serrations either on a knife. They are always a big turn off for me, that and recurve blades, though I will say the NR does have a milder recurve than most. I just think the Pacific, despite the serrations, has a big enough blade in other places ( belly and body ) to make up for that. I still and always will feel that serrations weaken a blade, especially deep ones. But the Pacific's are shallow and a unique design. Both the NR and the Pacific are great field knives for the outdoors and I think they are better than either size of the GB. I did ask CRK at one point if I could buy a Pacific without serrations, but was denied because its not the norm. I have carried both at different times attached to a smaller maxpedition shoulder bag and never knew they were there.

Fooj said:
I've got a Pacific. Love it. It's a great camp knife. Unlike my esteemed colleague nyefmaker, I prefer my NR to the Pacific because I prefer blades w/o serrations, and I like the recurve on the NR.

I don't tend to think of either the Pacific or the NR as a true backpacking knife, where weight-savings is the name of the game. For backpacking, I'd choose the Professional Soldier http://www.chrisreeve.com/professionalsoldier.htm . I carry one in my cycling pack. It's as tough as nails, and it's lighter and thinner than a large Sebenza. I hardly know it's there.

Here is a review I did on the Professional Soldier a few years ago. Its a great little knife.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...Soldier?highlight=professional soldier review

Fooj · May 9, 2013

As always, insightful comments, Nyefmaker. Great PS review, BTW. I must have missed it first time around.

One additional difference between the Pacific and the NR is re: grip. Everything on the NR is smoother -- the thumb ramp, and each of the features on micarta handle. If you use the knife non-gloved, and/or you're an infrequent user like me, you'll probably appreciate that fact. I use camp knives hard, and have never had hot spots with my NR. In fact, the NR thumb ramp is too "rounded" for my tastes. They don't provide significant traction. The Pacific handle features and thumb ramp, in contrast, have a lot of bite to them. Especially if you're wearing gloves (which Bill Harsey informs is the use model for which the Pacific was optimized), the Pacific grip is perfect from a non-slip point of view. When I use it hard w/o gloves, I can't use it for long w/o ripping up my hands.