California hiking - fixed blade for bushcraft or defense

gamma_nyc

gamma_nyc

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Dec 1, 2007
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672
Gents,

Vacationing in California next month...

I looked up California knife law and it seems like i can carry any size fixed blade as long as it's not concealed. (please tell me if you know different).

Baseline knife (that i already own) would be a barkriver gunny hunter.

however, my wife said "can you please bring a gun or knife in case of mountain lion?". Gun is out the window thanks to commiefornia laws....I know, i know, not much chance of that happening....but good chance to score a knife : )

Tell me your top picks - here are my top picks so far, in preferred order:

Bark river Cub: https://barkriverknives.com/?p=333
CUB3V-od-green-burlap-yellow-liner-dlt-449.95__12435.1671114066.jpg


Spartan Tactical Trout: https://spartanbladesusa.com/shop-all/spartan-harsey-tactical-trout/

Spartan_Harsey_TT_Black__78775.1644858944.jpg


Winkler Woodsman: https://winklerknives.com/collections/frontpage/products/wk-woodsman?variant=7311052177431

WKWoodsmanProduct1.jpg


I wouldn't mind trying something in magnacut, otherwise 3V or 80CRV2 are good for me. S45VN ok, but wouldn't want to pay a premium for it.


Uh, oh, there's that darn mountain lion 😆
licensed-image
 
Supposedly bear spray is effective against mountain lions. Cheaper than a good knife and has a range of 30-40’. Just make sure your wife doesn’t spray you instead of the lion!

http://www.luxurylite.com/#bigstik
As an alternative, consider the alloy version of the Luxurylite Bigstik hiking pole with Texas toothpick (spear) attachment. Pointy and gives you 4' longer reach than a knife.
 
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Sounds to me like she's giving you the opportunity to buy a new knife. If there's a fixed blade you've been wanting, buy it. Tell her you bought it to protect her while in CA.
I wouldn't give too much thought to buying a knife just for self defense unless you're into martial arts/knife fighting.
 
Depending on where you go hiking and how far you might go in, I’d highly recommend being prepared to spend an unexpected night out.

That said, shelter and fire are the priorities. For riskier/longer hikes, I like to carry a saw and/or larger fixed blade that can do some chopping for emergency shelter making.

For defense knives, I also like more of a finger guard.

Take a look at the Winkler Highland Hunter and the ATC Rifleman’s Knife. Or for something big, take a look at Work Tuff Gear.

Let us know what you get!
 
You are right about the CA knife laws, but check out county laws, too, they might be more restrictive.

Sounds like you are looking for a 4-5“ blade and have a ~$350 budget. You could try to score a DEK1 or DEK2 at next Friday‘s CPK sale. Otherwise, your Winklers look good.
 
I’ve lived and hiked regularly in the lion country of the southwest for most of my life. We have come across quite a few kill sites where the lions ambushed and then eaten deer. Usually this is near a watering hole or the bottom of a steep gully but it even happens in relatively flat desert too. They have never once bothered us in any way. Your biggest danger is exposure to the elements, lack of water and poor navigation. Get those covered and Bob’s your uncle.
 
Bring water, water, water. Many, probably most, have no idea how much water they waste. Navigation is a must. The only animals that I've seen in my camping and hiking have been one coyote, one bear and several cows. I was never near enough to any of them that a knife would have or even could have been used. When hiking or camping I carry a Mora Companion.
 
Oh, the lions are definitely there .... this was in our neighbors yard in Nov 21, ~ 20 yards away from our front door:

_DSC9855-X2.jpg


And we just had another kill 2 months ago, a few feet away from the above. We live in the middle of the (populated) Bay Area. Have never seen a lion myself, but neighbors have and people post lion night videos on nextdoor all the time, and occasionally one ends up in the trees in the middle of a Bay Area downtown, or dead on the freeway (you can google).

Don't think a knife would help much. Then again, the OP has green light to buy one, so who am I to stop him :)

Roland.
 
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If you're really so worried about mountain lions, then you can just throw rocks at them... a single rock is evidently good enough to thwart an angry mother chasing someone away from her baby mountain lion cub.

Mountain lions won't typically target fully grown adult humans as prey. That would be very unusual. They will sometimes try to get small children.

You're not going to be in a knife fight with a mountain lion. If it really wanted to getcha then it would sneak up on you from behind. Just stay clear of thick cover and look back every now and then, and you're gonna be perfectly safe.

Leave them alone, and they'll usually leave you alone too. Don't be stupid and don't go out of your way to be an 🤬hole. Rules for nature, rules for life.
 
Wow,
Didn’t realize all these great replies were landing! Thank you guys 🙏

The mountain lion is more of a joke between us. To my wife it is a little more real. Believe me, I’m not going knife to claw with a lion 😂 …but ninja’s are another story.

I’ll post up some of my current inventory later…Bark River Bravo 2, gunny hunter, winkler belt knife, winkler contingency, Fallkniven A1….
 
I just read a outdoors book that showed stats of animal kills in Finland. There was no reports of wolf killing anyone, bear had killed one and snake has killed one. But the terrifying fact was that horses had killed eight and cows (?) had killed 12 people. Bees had killed 23. So in that matter if you hear horse going around you better duck and hide!
 
Ok, so here is my current considerations from my collection.

Which would you vote?
 

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gamma_nyc said:
Gents,

Vacationing in California next month...

I looked up California knife law and it seems like i can carry any size fixed blade as long as it's not concealed. (please tell me if you know different).

Baseline knife (that i already own) would be a barkriver gunny hunter.

however, my wife said "can you please bring a gun or knife in case of mountain lion?". Gun is out the window thanks to commiefornia laws....I know, i know, not much chance of that happening....but good chance to score a knife : )

Tell me your top picks - here are my top picks so far, in preferred order:

Bark river Cub: https://barkriverknives.com/?p=333
CUB3V-od-green-burlap-yellow-liner-dlt-449.95__12435.1671114066.jpg


Spartan Tactical Trout: https://spartanbladesusa.com/shop-all/spartan-harsey-tactical-trout/

Spartan_Harsey_TT_Black__78775.1644858944.jpg


Winkler Woodsman: https://winklerknives.com/collections/frontpage/products/wk-woodsman?variant=7311052177431

WKWoodsmanProduct1.jpg


I wouldn't mind trying something in magnacut, otherwise 3V or 80CRV2 are good for me. S45VN ok, but wouldn't want to pay a premium for it.


Uh, oh, there's that darn mountain lion 😆
licensed-image
Click to expand...

With such critically important, high stakes task before you, I think the only possible solution is to buy all of them on your list, test them, and then carry those that serve your needs best. The rest you can admire occasionally when you get home from your trip.
 
Shame the Spyderco Temerance 2 isn’t still un production. It was designed specifically for this purpose. Outdoors use and occasionally fighting off mountain lions and bears.
 
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