You're overthinking your outdoors knife

Your backpack blade can be remarkably simple

Page through any outdoors magazine/website and it won’t take long before you stumble upon an article or advertisement about cutlery. The glass cases in Bass Pro Shop can easily entice you to drop multiple Benjamins on a blade, but would it serve you any better than a simple inexpensive one from the shelf? Not only that, but are the wide array of features, points, sheath styles, and designs completely arbitrary in the woods?

I have a simple philosophy for outdoors knives: keep it simple, but keep it effective. There are really only two knives I need; a backpack/hiking knife, and a deep woods/camping knife. Over the years I’ve built a small collection of knives that I obtained for work, daily carry, hiking, camping, and fishing among other activities.

Micro Blades

(clockwise from top left) SOG Snarl, 5.11 Sidekick, 5.11 Farro

While this class is by no means the smallest knife you can find, they’re quite small and stubby. The primary purpose of a micro fixed-blade is for tactical self defense knives, and their usage in the backwoods is extremely limited as a result. The 5.11 Farro bears a flint striker in the handle, and its light weight is enticing to hikers; I also like the simplicity of the Sidekick’s molle sheath. But ultimately these stubby tactical knives, however cool they look alongside your pocket dump, are better left at home if you’re venturing into the brush.

Multitools

Gerber Suspension (left) and an unnamed generic multitool from my dad

For a lot of outdoors types the vaunted multitool is the pinnacle of bushcraft cutlery. Combining multiple items into one pocketable device seems like a no-brainer, and for fishing I often will throw the Gerber Suspension in my tackle box almost purely for the wire cutters built in to the base of the pliers to snip fishing line. But for every other activity, I’ve never felt like I wish I had a multitool instead of a pure knife. The array of tools on upper echelon versions is impressive, but they’re all just micro versions of tools and don’t do the job as good. If you’re worried about cutting down small branches, a pocket chain/wire saw is much more effective and just as packable as the pitiful 2.5-inch saw on a multitool. For fishing and backpacking these may be the G.O.A.T. But for the hiking and overlanding that I do, I can go without it on a trail, and I keep an actual full-size tool kit in my overlanding rig. For me, multitools are a pass.

Pocket knives

(left to right) S&W SW607S, Milkwaukee Fastback, Gerber Paraframe, Kershaw Analyst, S&W M&P 2.0 Rescue, Kershaw Shuffle

There is a vast plethora of folding pocket knives to sift through, but the above picture is my collection of various knives that have all at one point been my daily utility blade. The red Milwaukee Fastback was my best friend when I was a heavy line automotive technician, and the featherweight all black Kershaw Analyst has been my everyday pocket carry for years. But for day hikes and active trails, I pocket the FDE (flat desert earth) M&P Rescue. The rubberized grip, window breaker pommel, seatbelt cutter, spring assisted opening, 1/3 serrated edge, and tanto tip make this a do-all for any cutlery needs I may have. On a hiking trail the number of times you’ll need a knife will be extremely limited, but you still want to have a solid one if you ever do. Combining features that don’t complicate the knife in a grippy and solid package that’s still lightweight and pocketable makes the Rescue the only knife I grab when I head beyond the grid.

Fixed blades

Gerber Ultimate Survival (left), unnamed double-edged knife from a county fair ten years ago

For the reasons I stated above of why I carry the M&P Rescue, I’ve never found myself needing a big fixed-blade knife. I got the Gerber Ultimate Survival knife to try out for backpacking trips, but I felt that its utility didn’t really justify its added weight and bulk versus a solid pocket knife. If I was a more avid hunter I imagine that a big fixed-blade would be far more valuable, but for my outdoor lifestyle it’s just oversized and unnecessary. It looks cool strapped onto your pack or dangling from your hip, but I’ve never been in a situation where I needed a full-size knife instead of a pocket knife.

Let me clarify; I’m not saying that the M&P Rescue is the definitive ultimate backwoods blade. My point of this article is that a simple $30 pocket knife is the one that I grab for 99.9% of activities, and across countless camping, hiking, fishing, and overlanding trips, it’s never let me down. You can throw hundreds of dollars at a Benchmade, Spyderco, or Leatherman, but most adventurers won’t take advantage of the vast majority of its features, and a cheaper knife will suit them just fine. Just get a normal pocket knife that’s lightweight, has a solid locking mechanism, grippy handle, and partial serrated edge. You won’t be disappointed by sticking to the basics.