A knife in the woods comes in handy, but it doesn’t amaze me just how many co-hikers request to borrow mine.
I can’t stress enough why carrying a knife in your backpack is important for any wilderness activity.
Kershaw Leek is my favorite ultralight backpacking knife.
I’m asked, “What is the best pocket knife for backpacking?” My normal response is a clear but often irritating one, “it depends.”
Complete Buying Guide For Backpacking Knives
It is never a bad idea to take a knife with you on a wilderness activity, no matter how short/long your trip is.
A knife can be used not just like a regular utility but can work wonders in any unforeseen situations.
As a hiker, you want a light, reliable, versatile pocket knife on the trail. These seven knives will keep hikers happy mile after mile.
I don’t intend to piss you off, but asking what knife is very good for trekking or wilderness does allow for a “one size fits all” answer.
I’ve listed the key advantages of a knife wilderness backpacking (not just wilderness surviving), all that is left for you to do is determine which (if any) of these activities might use to you personally. You may then opt for a knife that is appropriate for your purposes, in addition to your tolerance for additional weight.
The “ideal knife” varies from person to person, depending on the use case.
You will know the ideal knife you as per your expectations, usage scenario, toughness, weight, and budget.
Folding vs. Fixed-Blade Knife
For dangling at the campsite or walking around the road, a knife is going to do the job just fine. But a few reasons are giving the below parameters a second look.
Folding knives uses a blade that locks, and there’s always a chance of cutting yourself due to negligence. If it slips, it may cause fair damage.
If you are doing any sort of work like cutting wood for kindling or cutting meals in a campsite. (The folding ones receive a great deal of crud)
Some say that fixed blades don’t have any moving parts, and are created from one piece of steel, so they will always be more durable than the finest folding knives.
And that’s true to a great extent.
Plenty of folks have notions of what they may want to use a knife to get some time out hiking or unrealistic expectations. Those expectations, either wrong or right, tend to affect their decisions significantly.
“I may want to construct an emergency shelter or cut an entire tree to get through an impossible terrain.” are a few of the common responses to this question I get. But, the fact is often far more unappealing and than people wish to acknowledge.
What do you use a Knife for? I asked “these” people. They’d say that usually use their knife for some time on a hiking or backpacking excursion. I will confess up front that these people had a tendency to prefer a more lightweight or minimalist strategy. When it comes to knives, even just an ultra lighter likes to believe they might want to slaughter a boar, construct a shield, or hack their own arm.
Top 5 Uses of knives:
After surveying more than 47 hikers, here are the top 5 uses they revealed.
- Opening cans, packets of food)
- cutting ropes AKA cords.
- Creating a spark (using fire steel)
- Splitting firesticks, preparing kindling and wood
- Cutting moleskin, blisters, cleaning nails
Muscular work, eh? That’s why most of you’d need a small, lightweight, yet durable knife for your outdoor trip.
There’ll always be those of you who like larger blades, or those of you who would like to plan for every scenario and take something substantial. I get it, and that is alright.
Nevertheless, I’ll suggest some budget knives that can do each of the items listed above (and more) and would be ideal for pretty much any backpacking or trekking trip you’ve planned.
There are literally infinite knives on the market. And many of these aren’t merely knives, but multi-tools, with all types of extensions such as nail-clippers, leather punches, and bottle openers.
There is no wrong or right choice on if you ought to find a knife or a magical instrument, however, there are a couple of facts to take into account.
If you are just backpacking, then you are not likely to use 85% of those gadgets onto a multi-tool (cough, or leather punch). If you are an automobile camper or go camping with your family for a week in a campground, it is wonderful to have something such as a multi-tool, since you can do a lot of things with it “Buy a knife Should you will need a knife, however. Perhaps not a multi-tool. Adventure author Wes Siler explained added gadgets into Popular Science as”complication over grade “A blade is just needed by A John Doe hiker/camper. It”could be sharpened and will remain sharp and will not rust readily,” said Murray, adding”It retains an advantage, and particularly if you are not overly hardcore, then you won’t need to sharpen it rather often.” (If you’re hardcore, carbon steel is extremely powerful )It is a lot simpler if the blade isn’t serrated Whenever it is sharpened by you.
Serrated blade
A serrated blade may appear cool, but it is difficult to sharpen, and also, based on Siler,” accomplishes nothing a correctly sharpened straight edge can not do better. It’s simple to go way overboard on a knife’s duration. “Sometimes ego becomes involved and individuals get a fantastic big thing in their own belt,” explained Murray. “Three to four-and-three-quarter inches is roughly as large as I’d wish to get and probably about as little as I’d wish to get, also.” Additionally, if you reside in an area like NYC, have it removed by the cops and then you would not wish to lose the money since it is within the limit. The issue to bear in mind when choosing a knife would be your weight. “Weight itself is far down the list of significant knife attributes,” said Siler. But the high quality of the steel apart, a blade with weight and thickness will be more powerful. Fisher explained, “If I am carrying out a knife and I’m likely to be outside for a while, I need something strong. If you intend on camping That can be a deal –branches to get a flame may cut. If Popular Science should happen to find the knife for you, we would get one made from stainless steel, approximately 4 inches, moderate weight, using a right edge, and also a fixed or locking blade (as your palms ).