Backpacking knife

P_A_S_1 said:
A SAK is great. I use the bottle opener the most followed by the blade for slicing up limes. Add a mora and you've got versatility and a practical pair at a pretty cheap price point. So cheap that if you lose them you probably won't care.
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I'm pulling the trigger on a huntsman, #8 opinel, and I'm looking for a mora now lol! My debit account budget is getting loooow lol
 
I like the extra blade on the huntsman. My sak has a Phillips screwdriver instead of the cork screw which I find I use a lot. Their scissors work really well too. Mora has so many choices, I got a pro s and a 2/0 just to see what the fuss was about. Imo as long as you stick to their low priced knives you can't go wrong. Grab a small field sharpener and your good to go.
 
Dud
P_A_S_1 said:
https://www.ramblinjim.com/articles/mora-knife-models-explained-and-compared/

Not sure if you've seen this but if your looking at mora it might be worth a glance.
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Dude, that link is actually wicked interesting. Well I got one more week to look, due to medical crap.. When I'm out of work because of it, I have to rebudget my account. I'm not complaining, it is what it is, but now I have 1 more week to gander now lol. I appreciate this whole thread. That link is something I'll look at more than once, cause I dig that stuff, and I'm sure that will help with my mora decision. I gotta stay away from here.. went from a sak, to a sak and mora.. if someone starts talking bowies, I'm introuble lol! Have a great day today, P A S, and everyone else whom sees this!
 
More than you have said you want to spend, but the Benchmade Griptilian is very good, large and small. Even better is the Doug Ritter Mini RSK. While I love my SAK, I don't have anything good to say about the cutting ability of the blades.
 
I don't backpack, but I do hike in fish a lot. I have really liked the bird and trout style knife in the back country. Keeps my fishing pack light and great for just about everything. Currently trying a spyderco bow river, little larger than I prefer and not as high quality steel. I am still looking for a replacement to my custom bird and trout that my nephew inherited on his first fishing trip.
 
If you plan to do any wood fires, I’d highly recommend getting the Silky brand F-180 saw, and just use whatever small pocket knife you normally use (or just your sturdiest folder) for the small, pocket knife tasks that come up. You’re nicely set for hard use fixed blades and your folder doesn’t need to be specialized imo. I used to bring a locking SAK with me but I found I never used most of the tools so I ditched it for that role...
 
For most of my backpacking, I've found larger knives are not necessary. Most of my backpacking does happen in areas where fires may not be possible due to fire restrictions, lack of firewood, or sometimes it is just wise to not have a fire for various reasons. A good folder of around 3 inches is fine. I like Benchmade Bugouts currently, but have rotated through many over the years. For fixed blades, I have occasionally carried a stainless Izula. Current preferred fixed blade is a Fairly Knives backpacker. Super nice light knife, more than enough to take care of normal backpacking stuff, and it will darn sure make trout ready for the frying pan.
 
C_Claycomb said:
More than you have said you want to spend, but the Benchmade Griptilian is very good, large and small. Even better is the Doug Ritter Mini RSK. While I love my SAK, I don't have anything good to say about the cutting ability of the blades.
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I have grizzly ridge, baby!😆 I know it's not the same as a Grip, but it's close enough, to me anyways😂 I'm going to check out some Doug Ritters, now
 
scdub said:
If you plan to do any wood fires, I’d highly recommend getting the Silky brand F-180 saw, and just use whatever small pocket knife you normally use (or just your sturdiest folder) for the small, pocket knife tasks that come up. You’re nicely set for hard use fixed blades and your folder doesn’t need to be specialized imo. I used to bring a locking SAK with me but I found I never used most of the tools so I ditched it for that role...
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Thanks for the advice👊 a Silky is next on the list, after a sharpener. I completely suck at using stones 😂
 
barleywino said:
If you're trying to shave ounces off your load, it's hard to beat the Benchmade mini bugout @ 1.5 ounces, $120 gives you a locking s30v blade which SAK doesn't. It doesn't have a saw blade but I find that it's worth carrying a separate longer saw, such as the Backcountry Access saw, just because longer saws are infinitely more effective (every inch helps) when you need to clear a downed tree limb blocking the trail or build a fire. Ps. You might want to avoid Fallkniven folding knives. I gifted my brother a Fallkniven Tre Kronor TK3 and he said after minimal use, the blade would no longer stay shut in his pocket and he was afraid to carry it. Their customer service is also notoriously nonexistent.
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This is what I carry, you can pick them up used for less the 100 bucks. I've also carried a SAK cadet/pioneer, a Spyderco Delica, mini griptilian, an Opinel No 6, among others. But honestly the mini bugout is the way to go, with an opinel No 6 as a close second as the budget option
 
TheJon said:
This is what I carry, you can pick them up used for less the 100 bucks. I've also carried a SAK cadet/pioneer, a Spyderco Delica, mini griptilian, an Opinel No 6, among others. But honestly the mini bugout is the way to go, with an opinel No 6 as a close second as the budget option
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I pulled the trigger awhile back, but now cause of the last few posts, I'm looking at bugouts😂👊
 
If you are going to "start backpacking" then a new knife is the very least of your worries. Unless you get overly involved in woodcraft/firecraft (which is not too leave-no-trace compliant, btw) you will be using your knife for very little. Any of yours will do. Or if you are set on buying another knife, by one of the bigger locking blade Victorinox SAKs with a saw (One Hand Trekker, for example).

What kind of backpacking are you going to do? Above/below the tree line? What other gear are you going to carry along? Do you already own a decent pack (sized according to the length of your outhings, day hikes, overnights, several-days...)? What about footwear? As I said... new knife should be at the very bottom of that list.

Mikel
 
I found a less common sak that is light and has a lot of good features that I wanted, the victorinox evolution s52.

I actually thought my skipper might do the trick and then I would grab a dedicated saw until I found this more obscure model. It will probably replace my harvester, hiker, and/or boker techtool from countycomm (exclusive in orange). It evens has a locking blade which is an added bonus I didn't realize when I ordered it. Also, the pliers are adjustable with two positions for grabbing those bigger nuts.

I love my other multi's but it's hard to beat the toolset for the weight on this guy. I really had a tough time finding any mid-size multi's under 7 oz and all of the mini-multi's didn't have saws or it was laughably small. The evolution s52 was also priced decently.

Some comparison pics. I like the 4.2 oz number, compared to the 8.5 oz of my leatherman wave. Not as svelte as the 3oz harvester (farmer with a pruner blade instead of can opener) but pretty respectable for the added tools.
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I often just carry a medium duty folder. I'm a big fan of the Cold Steel golden eye and spyderco military. My father-in-law who is a much more avid backpacker than I am only carries a buck 110 LT (a similarly sized buck before the 110 LT) and hasn't felt the need for more.

The moras are popular for fixed blades, the companion particularly I think. If you cook with wood then I think a fixed blade makes a ton of sense. I use alcohol and am experimenting with esbit tabs now.
 
bikerector said:
...I love my other multi's but it's hard to beat the toolset for the weight on this guy. I really had a tough time finding any mid-size multi's under 7 oz and all of the mini-multi's didn't have saws or it was laughably small. The evolution s52 was also priced decently.
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Again it depens on the kind of backpacking that you are going to do... I am guilty myself of also carrying a multitool when I haul a multifuel stove or randonee skis (which means winter outings, just in case something needs disassembly or tigthtening). But I got a Squirt PS4 for this as it is the ligthtest plier based multitool. Mechanical issues aside. I think that a SAK, in the woods, does not need much than a blade, saw, can opener and MAYBE... tiny scisors and awl/punch. I feel most of the SAKs are overkill (tool wise) for backpacking. If you want to go ligther/smaller, I would choose a Farmer.

Mikel
 
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