Last Minute Decision

[xceptnl]

I like the knife-and-tool themed orientation of your trip. I've never tried that, I should...sounds like fun. My backpacking usually minimizes camp time and maximizes hike time, but I should try a more camp-and-craft approach sometime.

I tend to camp more than hike for this reason. I like to camp, explore and most importantly cook!
Told myself if I ever hit the lottery, this is how I will spend my days...

[Bolster]

This isn't my perspective, but it is the perspective of many backpackers. Posting here for the sake of getting all sides of the story:

8. Knife – To be honest, the real reason that a knife made the list is so that I could remind readers of how relatively useless they actually are to the modern hiker, compared with common perceptions. Trust me, you won’t use it to defend against a bear, whittle a tool, or cut your arm off to escape a slot canyon. In trekking thousands of miles, the only thing I’ve ever used a knife for is cutting salami or the occasional fresh vegetable. Now I pack it in pre-sliced, so really, why do I even bring a knife?

https://www.outdoorresearch.com/blogs/s ... ile-hiking

[RustyIron]

That pretty much sums up my perspective. My primary use for a backpacking knife was for cutting food or food packaging. I’m a big fan of those Suckie Bags. You can throw them into your pack, and there’s no way they’ll accidentally open. However, there’s no way you’ll open it without a knife. I’ve never once needed to build a shelter or baton a log. The other possible uses are for cutting up materials to make splints, tourniquets, and bandages.

If there’s water, I’ll sometimes just have shorts, a shirt, sandals, and a Camelbak with a Clif Bar. On one such trip, many miles from the truck, a sandal fell apart. Hiking back with no shoe would have been a bummer. Ever watch Naked And Afraid? With my pocket knife I turned a t-shirt into strips that were used to repair the sandal. A Rambo-sized knife wasn’t necessary to save the day. The lesson learned was don’t be a cheapskate trying to squeeze every last mile out of the gear. It’s ok to buy new.

[R100]

This isn't my perspective, but it is the perspective of many backpackers. Posting here for the sake of getting all sides of the story:

8. Knife – To be honest, the real reason that a knife made the list is so that I could remind readers of how relatively useless they actually are to the modern hiker, compared with common perceptions. Trust me, you won’t use it to defend against a bear, whittle a tool, or cut your arm off to escape a slot canyon. In trekking thousands of miles, the only thing I’ve ever used a knife for is cutting salami or the occasional fresh vegetable. Now I pack it in pre-sliced, so really, why do I even bring a knife?

https://www.outdoorresearch.com/blogs/s ... ile-hiking

I know this isn't your view Bolster - we are on the Spyderco forum afterall - but I have to disagree with it. I generally cook with fire and use it for warmth. I don't usually need a knife for this but if everything is wet a knife can be the difference between being able to get a fire alight or not. Even if you are not intending to use one when you set out, a fire can save your life if things go wrong.

Also, pre sliced food loses freshness and goes off much more quickly than non sliced so you are more likely to get sick if you are out in warm weather or for an extended period. Not to mention it tastes worse.

My Salt with no clip weighs 1.7oz.

Dan

[vivi]

This isn't my perspective, but it is the perspective of many backpackers. Posting here for the sake of getting all sides of the story:

8. Knife – To be honest, the real reason that a knife made the list is so that I could remind readers of how relatively useless they actually are to the modern hiker, compared with common perceptions. Trust me, you won’t use it to defend against a bear, whittle a tool, or cut your arm off to escape a slot canyon. In trekking thousands of miles, the only thing I’ve ever used a knife for is cutting salami or the occasional fresh vegetable. Now I pack it in pre-sliced, so really, why do I even bring a knife?

https://www.outdoorresearch.com/blogs/s ... ile-hiking

It's all relative to what you're doing, and where.

If I was trying to hike the AT as quickly as I could, I'd rock a Victorinox classic or a razor blade or something.

My two recent trips though? They involved hiking severely storm damaged mountain trails in designated wilderness zones.

Many trails are still completely ****ed and you can't hike them even if you packed a 24" machete and a chain saw.

I found legit uses for the small cold steel kukri machete I brought. It hammered tent stakes, cleared some of the more minorly affected trails, helped establish new camp sites, etc.

My last outing, five days and four nights, I brought an SRK. Complete overkill for a lot of backpacking trips, but I sure was glad I brought it when I got 40 hours of straight rain and thunder and temps dipped into the 30's at night. It made starting fires so much easier.

There's no one way to do things.

I do ultralight trips on my bicycle and would bring a Pacific Salt or Catcherman for basic food prep, but honestly could get by with a vic classic if I bought pre-sliced food. I do bushcrafting overnighters where I build my shelter, start a fire by friction, etc. Different tools work best in each scenario.

I've seen knife nerds scoff at ultralighters who realize no they don't need a fixed blade to go for a walk down a trail. I've seen ultralighters scoff at the idea of taking a knife on a bushcraft themed trip.

Both groups need to realize they're each right - but they're doing different activities.



Catchermans are only 2oz and are very handy for food prep.



One night I ended up having to quickly setup my tarp in the dark during a thunderstorm. Used my SRK to hack away at some inconveniently placed thorns that night. Got a tiny ding in the belly from hitting a rock, but it'll sharpen out.



I was really happy to have such a sturdy and versatile blade with me. It helped a lot getting past some tight spots on trails and getting fires going.



Catcherman helping me make steak tacos. Even though I overcooked the meat they were good.



I cook on wood fires every night. That takes different skills and tools than what most backpackers do.




There were tons and tons of downed trees across trail like this, didn't photograph even 5% of them. Without something with a little heft to chop like the 3V SRK, it's a lot slower to get through. I either have to walk around, which can be dangerous on narrow mountain trails, or undo my pack and retrieve my folding saw. Much quicker to do a few snap cuts with a stout fixed blade.



Catcherman did all the food prep.



SRK handled everything else.



Everyone hikes their own hike. I wouldn't dream of carrying the SRK on an ultralight bike tour, but if anything I would have liked a slightly bigger knife this trip. Maybe next time I'll take a Recon Tanto......

For what I did, the SRK was the ultralight option. I would have been much better served with a full sized machete for a lot of the trip.