Backpacking Camping.com/tents-gear-advice

Camping knives are a subject which has as many opinions as there are people. One thing is for certain,

you will need some sort of knife for camping and maybe several, depending on your circumstance. For

now I will not go into explicit detail about all the different blades out there for that is a very long explanation and would require volumes of explanation. I will only give an overview for those who are just starting and wonder what to do.

Camping Knives,Blade or Pocket Knife?

Camping knives can vary considerably from a long "Rambo" style fixed blade to a pocket knife. Why would you need a knife you might say? The fact is you might be able to get by without one but when you need one, nothing else will do. Imagine cutting meat or sharpening a tent stake or something else without one! Even the simplest act of spreading peanut butter is easier with a knife.

Multi-tool

I will just jump right in with my opinion; for a camping knife first I carry a multi tool. There are many of these but for me I want one that has a pair of pliers as well as a knife. This may be a little off the subject of knives it may seem but there are many instances in which only a pair of pliers will work and carrying a regular size pair of pliers is definitely not worth the weight. If you keep track you will see how many times you use this tool and it is amazing. Pliers can be especially useful for doing repairs on a pack. A camping knife "must have" as far as I am concerned.

The multi tool has at least two blades and a leather punch which is also very useful as well as 2 screwdriver heads and maybe a file. All of these are useful but the blade and the pliers I find the most need for.

I also find a box cutter to very useful and almost no weight. I use it to open packages of food and so forth so I do not have to worry about dulling my other blades and if you break one, put in a another blade. No mess no fuss.

Machete

Next would be a machete for me. I carry an 18", military spec machete for cutting brush as I walk and it is useful for all except the most demanding chopping jobs as well. If I carried a hatchet which is useful for camp wood, it is not useful at all for chopping as I hike so if I had to choose, I would leave the hatchet behind. I take a file to sharpen the machete with also as it dulls quickly and needs to be sharp.

I do not usually carry a big fixed blade but I do not hike in areas where I might need it to skin game or some other use I cannot get from a machete or a multi-tool. The tools you carry depend on where you are and what you will be doing. It would be great to carry a multi tool , a hatchet, a machete and a fixed blade but who brought the wheelbarrow to carry all of this stuff?

In short, you will need a selection of camping knives to take with you so study what your needs are and go from there.