choice of knife

[sharper8]

I've been thinking about getting a river knife for my thru hike . . . any negative points?

[Wise Old Owl]

Well I am not a river choice fan in the last five years, had one but going to take a pass you are welcome to check out a CRKT in my gallery.

[max patch]

If you are referring to the type of knife that my kayaking friends have attached to their PFD then thats way bigger than you need. The smallest swiss army knife is all you need. I like the swiss over other knives that are just as good as it includes the tweezers which you're gonna need.

[Rasty]

I've been thinking about getting a river knife for my thru hike . . . any negative points?

The river knives are mostly serrated which is overkill for cutting mostly sausage and cheese and the occasional piece of 2mm rope. Victorinox Tinker has more than you need.

Plus the serrated part is hard to lick cleanish.

[Drybones]

If it weighs more than 2 oz, its too heavy.

[Sarcasm the elf]

I carry a leatherman Micra and have been quite happy with it, it weights 1.8oz and has several different tools that come in handy on the trail. I may soon switch over to the leatherman squirt PS4, which is basically the same thing except tht it also has a tiny set of pliers, which can be quite useful when trying to handle hot cooking pots or when making minor equipment repairs.

http://www.leatherman.com/product/Micra
http://www.leatherman.com/product/Squirt_PS4

That said, there's a part of me that is tempted to carry something ridiculous like a zombie defense Ka-Bar, just for the purpose of pissing off Ultralighter's that make a big deal out of how light your knife should be

[RCBear]

If it weighs more than 2 oz, its too heavy.

I fail to understand blanket statements like this. Not that less than 2 ounces is not good, just that anything over 2 ounces would be dismissed out right.

[Donde]

Figure out what your really gonna use it for (IMO cutting sausage, cordage, cheese etc.) and then find the best fit for your values of weight and price. I am a big fan of the Gerber Paraframe mini.

[Don H]

I fail to understand blanket statements like this. Not that less than 2 ounces is not good, just that anything over 2 ounces would be dismissed out right.

The OP did ask for any negative points to carrying a "River Knife" which I assume is a large fixed blade knife like one of these: http://kayak.nrsweb.com/boating/River%20Knife

I think the point is that there are plenty of knives out there that weigh less than 2 oz. that will do the job.
I either carry a Leatherman Micra or a Swiss Army Classic. The most useful implement on either of these knives is the scissors.
You don't need a 8 oz multitool or a Rambo survival knife. But hey if someone wants to carry one than go for it. HYOH

[BrianLe]

Hiking uphill out of Neel's Gap in 2010 I came upon a big buck knife sitting in the trail. My immediate reaction was "Anyone carrying something this big and heavy is someone I'll likely catch up to soon". And so it was, within a mile I caught up to a fellow hauling a predictably enormous pack. He was happy to get his knife back.

I personally think the 2 oz limit is too high, and especially for the AT. My Wenger "Esquire" weighs 0.8 oz. The most useful attachment is the little scissors, not the blade.

I recall sometime on the trail this year, in Oregon I think, I passed a couple of day hikers (both guys), armed both with pistols and ludicrously large knives (really daggers) hanging from their belts. I'm sure these guys thought the hardware made them look tough. In my eyes, at least, it just looked ludicrous, pathetic. Well, and a little dangerous (not in a good way), as I suspect it's tough for boys to carry big weapons and resist the urge to play with them in some way or another. Or worse, overreact to imagined threats or insults. It just made me want to get away from them ASAP.

FWIW, I do use a river knife like that when kayaking, and I keep it handy; being able to quickly cut a rope could be important on occasion when kayaking. Okay, almost never there too, but weight isn't an issue in that situation.

I guess I should learn to stop responding to new threads about knives ... I just can't resist telling the Neel's Gap story now and again, however! :-)

[yellowsirocco]

I have carried something similar to the tiny swiss army before and it is just a bit too short for my liking. I like one that is about a half to an inch longer. I like a slightly larger one mainly for cooking purposes. I like to eat a little better than most.

[snifur]

+1 to Donde! that is great advice and dead on.

[88BlueGT]

Personally, I think everyone has different opinions on knifes on the trail. I have ALWAYS carried a tiny 'Appalachian Trail' (brand) knife, the blade is maybe 1.5" and its very light as the handle is hollow in through the middle. However, as I have been doing more hiking by myself, I feel more comfortable carrying a larger blade. I now carry an amazingly durable/well balanced/fixed blade that I picked up a long time ago, Ozark Trail, pretty sure its K-Mart brand. I put it to my sharpening stone last weekend and it does the job and will dice cheese with no problems I guess I carry it more for personal safety.. just makes for a piece of mind. I KNOW there is no reason but it... but like they say, you don't need it until you need it.

[RoyalCannon]

I'm in the midst of planning my 2013 thru and I'm planning on bringing the following:

Swiss Tech Utili Key 6-in-1 -- 0.5oz
and
Swiss Tech Micro Tech 6-in-1 -- 1.6oz

[RCBear]

The OP did ask for any negative points to carrying a "River Knife" which I assume is a large fixed blade knife like one of these: http://kayak.nrsweb.com/boating/River%20Knife

I think the point is that there are plenty of knives out there that weigh less than 2 oz. that will do the job.
I either carry a Leatherman Micra or a Swiss Army Classic. The most useful implement on either of these knives is the scissors.
You don't need a 8 oz multitool or a Rambo survival knife. But hey if someone wants to carry one than go for it. HYOH

I agree with you Don H. I carry either a crkt m16 Gerber knockoff or a gerber medium paraframe, both under 2 oz. However, i am going on a 10 day no resupply next year and may put my "alot" heavier leatherman wave in the pack because of the scissors and a small saw. I know they have lighter versions that do the same, but i'm not inclined at this time to spend more money just to save a few ounces when i have something that will do. Eventually i may do just that and replace it. My point was simply that "may find heavier than you need" is probably the better answer here.

[RCBear]

Hiking uphill out of Neel's Gap in 2010 I came upon a big buck knife sitting in the trail. My immediate reaction was "Anyone carrying something this big and heavy is someone I'll likely catch up to soon". And so it was, within a mile I caught up to a fellow hauling a predictably enormous pack. He was happy to get his knife back.

I personally think the 2 oz limit is too high, and especially for the AT. My Wenger "Esquire" weighs 0.8 oz. The most useful attachment is the little scissors, not the blade.

I recall sometime on the trail this year, in Oregon I think, I passed a couple of day hikers (both guys), armed both with pistols and ludicrously large knives (really daggers) hanging from their belts. I'm sure these guys thought the hardware made them look tough. In my eyes, at least, it just looked ludicrous, pathetic. Well, and a little dangerous (not in a good way), as I suspect it's tough for boys to carry big weapons and resist the urge to play with them in some way or another. Or worse, overreact to imagined threats or insults. It just made me want to get away from them ASAP.

FWIW, I do use a river knife like that when kayaking, and I keep it handy; being able to quickly cut a rope could be important on occasion when kayaking. Okay, almost never there too, but weight isn't an issue in that situation.

I guess I should learn to stop responding to new threads about knives ... I just can't resist telling the Neel's Gap story now and again, however! :-)

These kind of commets/responses always crack me up yeah...maybe you should stop responding as you advised yourself

[RED-DOG]

You should take a look at the Kershaw brand their great knifes.

[88BlueGT]

^^ Yes, they are.

[Llama Legs]

I took a small stainless steel butter knife and ground off the serrations, then polished it to a smooth blunt finish. Perfect for spreading peanut butter/nutella, very easy and safe to lick clean. Plus I have a tiny tiny swiss knife for sharp jobs...

[gentrified]

none needed. I carried a tiny pair of sicssors. More useful than any knife. No knife was needed for any point in the trip.
GAME 2012