Knives necessary in the outdoors?

I don`t pick fights, but I have had to defend myself. When out and about I ALWAYS carry a knife. Just in case.

You never know.
 
Beef

Yes - unless young and foolish and will walk in a heatwave anyway. Of which I have been guilty on several occasions.

My last big walk was a foolishness the other way - walking pole to pole in in blizzard. Which as you know is atually a somewhat hard expereince to achieve in Oz. And the only major differenece in gear was carrying thermals, beanie, gloves.

In that area spent most of my time on the Jenolan side. Wild Dogs, Mt Solitary circuit, and some surprisingly untravelled walks on the other side of the Katoomba ridge. I remember walking up the Jenolan caves river and "schools" of trout scattering away from me in the shallows. Had to walk in the water as the old Paddy Pallin trails had long since dissappeared

Though friends did Kanagra Falls and really enjoyed it.

Caried a sheath knife on my first walk and a SAK on every walk
 
udtjim said:
JK made a series of these fire kits, It has a pocket sheath but he made a sheath with a Belt/pocket clip as well.
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Excellent little knives. Mine is a great EDC knife for in the city and in the woods. The kit lets me open packages, start fires, cut threads or rope, etc. I would go so far as to say that on most outings, it is all that I need.

DSCF2418.jpg


But it doesn't avail me much when it comes to prepping a good fire while snowhoeing in deep powder, clearing downed tree limbs away from my hiking trails, or food prep (it works, but it's a bit small!). For those tasks - and just because I enjoy carrying and using it - I bring along a nice fixed blade. And I use it. Often.

Since I find it (a) useful, (b) enjoyable to carry and use, and (c) a good way to combine my love for the outdoors and my enjoyment of cutlery, I don't spend too much time wondering about whether carrying a fixed blade is necessary. Everyone else's milage may vary, of course.

All the best,

- Mike
 
I would not want to be without a knife of some kind, I would rather have 3-4 if in the woods. 1. fixed Blade 2. SAK 3. Multi tool 4. One handed folder. I would like to have one of my folding Saws.


RickJ
 
PatriotDan said:
Beef, if I was to come to your neck of the woods and do some hiking, would you recommend me to bring a knife with me? Also, what kind of knife would you recommend to a foreigner coming for some nice few days tourist hiking?
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Hi Dan,
we've got some interesting knife laws here. You can't carry unless you've got a valid reason, ie. work or knife related hobby. And even then it's up to the discretion of the officer. So preferably something completely non threatening, like a Hello Kitty SAK or something! But I guess they'd never know you were carrying unless you were waving it about.

I think a small SAK and light sheath knife like a mora or similar is handy round here. Nothing by Tops, with black tanto saw backs ;)

If you head over, I can recommend some walks.
 
You don't need a knife while hiking, and a sak is a fine option for those who choose to be the guy that everyone else who didn't bring a knife is going to ask to use his when the want or need arises that they should have brought their own.

You don't need shoes either, so just go barefoot, and you can borrow somebody elses shoes when you have to walk across something uncomfortable.
 
Bumppo.......

LMAO.... coffee..... nose.... choking.... your fault.... I'll be smelling Nabob all night, now.... thanks.



Rick
 
I need to go take a poop - do you guys think I need toilet paper?

Die thread, die.
 
Hey, I got my 3 or 4 quality responses. I'm a happy man. You guys keep it going, not me :)
 
I live in Southeast Asia and trails can completely disappear in a matter of months here. We can sometimes barely make them out and have to hack through to get to where we want to go if we're using a marked trail on a map. There are tons of wild roots and vines everywhere that you can get trapped in, and when scrambling up a steep hill or mountain where the dirt beneath you is constantly crumbling and slipping, having a knife can help you free yourself before you end up clutching onto anything that will stop you from sliding downhill while one of your feet is trapped. :) That can get really uncomfortable.

If confronted by a wild dog, wild boar, python, cobra or illegal immigrant camping out in the jungle and left with no alternative, it's nice to have a khukuri or machete on hand to give you at least some kind of chance. We can't have guns here.
 
I've been thinking a lot about this since the OP posed the question.

For me the bottom line is that you never know what you're going to encounter. If you feel safe/prepared with a SAK, that's great, I like to have something a little more robust JIC.
 
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