Trail Knives and Multi-Purpose Tools

[Tinker]

Mine: http://www.victorinox.com/us/product...venturer/53601

I would, of course, prefer the Tinker (just for the name) .

The Adventurer, however, has a more usable sized locking blade. I have used the Phillips screwdriver on a few occasions, but there isn't much call for it for the average hiker. For a flat blade screwdriver you can always grind the tip of a single bladed, simple knife flat (unless you feel the need to stab something).

[10-K]

2 single edge razor blades. Cause I always lose 1.

[Papa D]

I use this knife (mostly) - it's small, has a partially serrated blade, is lightweight and made in Germany - Boker also has knives made in China - not as good, obviously:

http://www.boker.de/us/pocket-knife/...e/01BO191.html

[swjohnsey]

The Gerber LST (small one) has a 2" blade that locks, weighs .6 ounce and has a lanyard hole, under twenty bucks off eBay or under fifteen bucks from the Gerber site.

[4eyedbuzzard]

The Gerber LST (small one) has a 2" blade that locks, weighs .6 ounce and has a lanyard hole, under twenty bucks off eBay or under fifteen bucks from the Gerber site.

+1 on the LST. I've had one for some 20 years now. All the knife I've ever needed and still nothing better on the market.

[SMSP]

Knives, knives and more knives. I like a me a good knife.

I’ve tried different combinations. On one of my hiking ventures I had like 5-6 different knives on myself and in my pack. I even said that was ridiculous! What I am currently using is a Mora Clipper (3.8 ounces) that goes on the pack and a Swiss Army Knife (SAK) Super Tinker (3 ounces) that goes in a pants/shorts pocket. So that’s a total of about 6.8 ounces. I know that’s a huge number for some of you, but it’s a lot less than what I used to carry. And yeah, I know, I likely won’t need more than the capabilities of SAK SD (.7 ounces), but I am one of those “knife guys”.

For me, for some reason, I feel like I need the following in a knife/mutli-tool: blade (obvious), can opener, bottle opener, scissors and pliers. Having a blade and scissors I can easily validate based on my experience. If this is all that is needed, then like many have advised, the SAK SD at .7 ounces is the way to go. I have yet to need a can opener, bottle opener, or pliers. But I have not been on the trail for multiple days either. All my experience up to this point has been either a day hike or an overnighter.

The lightest multi-tool I have found that has the above features I mentioned is the Leatherman Juice S2 that weighs 4.4 ounces. If I could do without the can opener, the Leatherman Squirt PS4 that weighs 1.9 ounces would be another option.

My latest multi-tool acquisition has been the Gerber Strata that’s weighs about 7 ounces without the sheath. But if I decide to take this on an outing, I may have to leave the Mora Clipper behind.

SMSP

[garlic08]

Actually, they just run home to get a bottle of merlot, knowing it's the perfect accompaniment for human. This gives you a chance to slip away. If the mountain lions ever start bringing the wine with them, it's all over.

I heard liver goes well with fava beans and a good chianti.

[Trailbender]

You can use a fixed blade knife as a can opener. Put the point on the can on the edge like you would do with a can opener, hold the knife, and hit the pommel with your palm. Then, rock the blade back and forth, edge out, along the can. Works great, and you can get pretty fast at it, I do it with my mora a few times, when I feel like carrying canned goods once in awhile.

[StubbleJumper]

I've carried a Swiss Army Classic for several years. It has a sharp blade, scissors and tweezers. The blade's great for any use that I've found for it, and the scissors are handy for cutting your fingernails.

However, I'm thinking of changing to some other Swiss Army knife that also has a bottle opener. I like microbrews, and few of them are twist-tops. It's a real pain on a zero-day to sit around in a motel room trying to drink a 6-pack without an opener.

[Hosaphone]

However, I'm thinking of changing to some other Swiss Army knife that also has a bottle opener. I like microbrews, and few of them are twist-tops. It's a real pain on a zero-day to sit around in a motel room trying to drink a 6-pack without an opener.

There are a number of ways to open bottles without an opener... This one might get a little bit hard to pull off after the 4th or 5th beer, though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrXmDiYHUY0

I usually just my lighter as a lever to pop the cap off. If you have a titanium spork/spoon/fork you could use the end of that. You could probably even use a trekking pole or mini carabiner.

[Amanita]

I carry a small gerber knife and a nail clipper. 2.5 oz between the two of them. But hiking all day with improperly cut toenails scares me enough that I want the right tool for the job, not some dinky swiss army scissors.

[Odd Man Out]

I carry a small gerber knife and a nail clipper. 2.5 oz between the two of them. But hiking all day with improperly cut toenails scares me enough that I want the right tool for the job, not some dinky swiss army scissors.

Me too. I've always been prone to infections around the toenails. I always have clippers when I travel. Plus the swiss army Tinker for the bottle opener. It's more important to have the bottle opener than the cork screw. After all, who carries a piece of paper with them for opening bottles? You can always find a tree on the AT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq7DBjCzSuE

[Hosaphone]

Me too. I've always been prone to infections around the toenails. I always have clippers when I travel. Plus the swiss army Tinker for the bottle opener. It's more important to have the bottle opener than the cork screw. After all, who carries a piece of paper with them for opening bottles? You can always find a tree on the AT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq7DBjCzSuE

Funny that you bring this up... I went on a trip last weekend with a bunch of guys from BPL. Somebody hiked in a bottle of wine but of course, bunch of UL backpackers that we were, nobody had a corkscrew! Took us like 15 minutes of dinking around with our tiny knives to finally realize we could push the cork back down into the bottle with an Easton tent stake! Somebody mentioned that they thought it might be possible to open a bottle on a tree like this, but none of us was willing to try it. Needless to say I'm going to have to bring a few bottles on my next trip for the sake of science


29485864766281154617506.jpg

[Creepwood]

I don't carry a multi tool, just a small fixed blade. I'm a big fan of the Buck pac-lite series.

[Wise Old Owl]

One wonders why it wasn't decanted into a platy for wine?

I have avoided posting here because in other knife threads I have expressed disappointment with Swiss going dull to fast and recently I have been checking out Leatherman's and others....

Here is my take - I want a very sharp "stay sharp" light weight knife. Locking Blade - a second with a saw and a punch or awl - a hook remover would be handy... a better sissor than what is on the Wenger. and that's about it.

I cannot figure out why you would need screw drivers and pliers on the trail. A corkscrew? must be a French thing.... I am so not going to carry all that glass.

So unless one of you is a catalog knife junky I don't see this being resolved any time soon... I checked out the juice4 and - its fine for waiters - not so much for the trail.

It appears that a multi tool is just to get us to buy it.... cause it looks handy - and why does Swiss go dull so fast?

[Hosaphone]

One wonders why it wasn't decanted into a platy for wine?

I have avoided posting here because in other knife threads I have expressed disappointment with Swiss going dull to fast and recently I have been checking out Leatherman's and others....

Here is my take - I want a very sharp "stay sharp" light weight knife. Locking Blade - a second with a saw and a punch or awl - a hook remover would be handy... a better sissor than what is on the Wenger. and that's about it.

I cannot figure out why you would need screw drivers and pliers on the trail. A corkscrew? must be a French thing.... I am so not going to carry all that glass.

So unless one of you is a catalog knife junky I don't see this being resolved any time soon... I checked out the juice4 and - its fine for waiters - not so much for the trail.

It appears that a multi tool is just to get us to buy it.... cause it looks handy - and why does Swiss go dull so fast?

I only put water in my platy. You'd have to clean it out if you put something else into it, and that's a pain! Somebody else did bring a box of wine which is probably the better way to go.

I can see needing pliers and screwdrivers on a winter trip where skis, snowshoes, bindings and things like that are involved, but in general I think you're right. For most of the hiking I do, all I need is the blade and scissors, and you can get that in a nice little <1oz package with something like the leatherman style or the tiny victorinox. I'm still planning to buy a juice S2 at some point, but that's more because I'm a geek and think knives and tools are cool rather than because I think it's necessary for backpacking.

As for the tiny knives losing their edge quickly... I'm not a knife expert, heck I don't actually know anything about knives... But I wonder if it might have something to do with the grind? Those really thin blades often have a chisel or hollow grind on them. Those grinds seem to not be as durable (or as easy to sharpen) as, say, a scandi grind. It could also be the steel they use, but my $10 mora with a scandi grind stays pretty sharp for quite a while and at that price point I can't imagine they use the greatest steel... So I have to think the grind goes a long way towards keeping a blade sharp.

[Wise Old Owl]

I meant this seperate Item - I have one for walks in the park with my 70+ dad

41IXkDYTHNL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[Papa D]

This is a sensible thing to carry:

www.boker.de/us/swords/05ZS579.html

[Hosaphone]

This is a sensible thing to carry:

www.boker.de/us/swords/05ZS579.html

And it's multi use!

[Wise Old Owl]

Well I got a real steel version of that and went to the Knife store and had it sharpened it fits perfectly into the top of the UL pack and I use it to clear brush - They were amazed that I was willing to take that on trails as it works great and clears brambles. or you create trails with it.