Spyderco Forums

yowzer wrote:I think the Warrior would make a pretty good camp knife if the spine was flat instead of sharpened, and the crossguard was removed.

Well, obviously different things work for different people ... for me, the other things that don't work are the finger-groove handle, the high point (other than a skinner, I can't think of much a drop point won't do better in the field), the overly curved spine and edge... and I'm not thrilled with the grind, or the negative angle from handle to blade. I don't have any general objections to those features, but for me, none of them are right on a small-medium camp knife. If you could make those features work with just an unsharpened spine and no crossguard, more power to you!

Joe

SnowCrash wrote:I'm kinda iffy about spending $200 on a really nice looking blade only to end up putting scratches on it when using for camping....maybe i should just stick to a kabar or something- don't get me wrong, i've been drooling over the temp2, but its just too nice imo

I got mine for $70 as a factory 2nd. I see your point, but why not use it?

Hi,
Here's my two cents as an avid backpacker and camper...

If you want a knife for general camp duty (food prep, whittling) the Moran drop point is excellent. Light, balanced, corrosion resistant, and comfortable.

If you want to do more extensive carving, you might want to try a Mora or the Bushcraft if you can afford it (Mora's are really inexpensive, the Bushcraft is not -- both simply work beautifully).

If you are processing wood by batoning, you need a heavier knife and preferably a longer blade. The Hossom's are good (Warriors and Wonders still has some). Of course, a big knife equals more weight and less general utility (I love my Hossoms; I would hate to carve anything with the big one!).

So, let us know what tasks you have in mind while camping and maybe we can be more help. If you're just prepping food and carving hot dog sticks, grab a Moran or a Mora.

All the best, and stay safe in the great outdoors!

Thanks for all the input guys, I just pulled the trigger on the temperance 2....just couldn't resist that beautiful blade and AMAZING sheath! If I end up having to split wood I'll grab myself a cold steel recon like originally planned :D

Also, since this is my first fixed-blade aside from a kabar I previously owned, what do I have to do to take care of it? I heard I'm not supposed to store it in its sheath for long :confused:

That's for carbon steel knives and leather sheath, you could get rust that way. With SS blade with thermoplastic sheath there's nothing to worry about.

While camping, I bring my Military and Pacific Salt. That way, no matter what I am doing, I have the perfect utility tool close at hand.

Has anybody routinely used the Street Beat for outdoor/camping use? It's on my to-buy list, but I would mostly use it for outdoors use. How does it perform in that setting?

For camping I would go with Tenacious.
Massive enough for camp works and not so expensive that one would afraid to use it for some more abusive tasks.

For camping tasks I would carry my Buck 110 and/or Military, and for harder use my Muela Gavilan.

And of course I'd never leave at home my Victorinox Forester!

what kind of camping stuff are you talking about?

I use a ESEE Izula for splitting wood. It works well, even though it is on the small side. The compact size makes it easy to carry, but creates a little more work when working on big pieces of firewood.

I also carry a spyderco dragonfly or a case peanut for all other camp chores like food prep, cutting cordage, or opening packages.

From a spyderco lineup the bushcraft looks like the way to go for splitting wood and is probably a lot easier to work with than my izula

Wisehybred wrote:wow, no one has said Military. I use my orange military specifically for camp use :)

Roger that, Wisehybred. The orange Millie combined with my FRN Delica or Persistence is perfect.

In addition, my youngest son is in Cub Scouts - and the local Council does not allow the kids or leaders to carry fixed blade knives for safety reasons (they can be used for cooking/food prep, however). Not sure if this is the same for other Councils, but this limits my choices to folders... He's "graduating" to Boy Scouts next year, so this won't be a problem much longer. Then I haul out my trusty Buck Frontiersman.

TedP

For camping I usually have a couple Estwing hatchets along with a Swamp Rat SOD, but the G-10 E4 covers most anything that really need done.

As much as I hate to admit it, the Mora Craftsman 780 is the absolute best knife for the money for a fixed blade. I bought (2) for around $30 total off ebay, used them for deer butchering this year and was highly impressed. (Busse AD gets the Dressing duties.)

I think the Temp 2 would do an excellent job as long as your form and choices were reasonable in batoning and survival tasks.

Catcherman
Mora Clipper
GB Small Forest Axe

phillipsted wrote: In addition, my youngest son is in Cub Scouts - and the local Council does not allow the kids or leaders to carry fixed blade knives for safety reasons (they can be used for cooking/food prep, however). Not sure if this is the same for other Councils, but this limits my choices to folders... He's "graduating" to Boy Scouts next year, so this won't be a problem much longer. Then I haul out my trusty Buck Frontiersman.

TedP

Ted, I know that our council did not allow "sheath" knives for the Boy Scout summer camps. According to the BSA Guide to safe scouting "Avoid large sheath knives. They are heavy and awkward to carry, and unnecessary for most camp chores except for cleaning fish"
http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Hea ... gss09.aspx
Not sure if the Frontiersman would be "large" by BSA definition. My son carried a BFC Blue SE Native from first class on. Now he mostly carries a Blue Native III that I had engraved for eagle scouts or a Blue Rescue 93 with the notch on the spine of the blade.
Good luck to your son (and you) throughout scouting.
Chris

SA Wetterlings 20" Axe, Bark River Golok with a Canadian Special piggy backed on the sheath when car camping. If I'm going light then a Bark River Kephart and a folder. If I'm hiking, a Bark River Necker strapped onto my pack and a folder

if i had it all to do over again i would get a bill moran drop point. you know what i may do it over again.