You don’t have to look very far to find a knife in an officer’s pocket. Most of us carry at least one—a good quality folding lockblade that clips into our pocket or on our vest (depending on how you carry your gear). It’s a utility tool, rescue tool and, if things really get ugly, defensive tool. But will that same knife serve all your needs out in the woods on your off-duty time? The answer is… mostly.
For the large majority of cutting chores you might come across while out hiking, camping or backpacking, a 3”-4” blade is plenty. It probably doesn’t need to be serrated but it doesn’t hurt if it is. Whether that blade is on a fixed blade knife or a folding knife doesn’t really matter that much. However, a folding knife, closed and clipped into your pocket is just that. A knife. No more. If you carry a fixed blade knife then the sheath you carry it in becomes a platform of sorts; it can be part of an edged weapon “system” that allows you to carry more than just a knife.
As phenomenal of a tool the knife is, the blade needs to be maintained, sometimes you don’t need a knife but you do need a hammer or a prybar, and sometimes you need to start a fire. Occasionally, you need a fishing hook and some line. Can a knife provide all of that? No. But you can carry all of that and your knife in a well designed sheath.
While “survival” knives are all the rage with the tacticool guys who fancy themselves a modern-day Rambo, they may be far more knife than you need to carry. “Far more” means in size and weight. Nothing says you have to have a 6”-plus long blade unless you plan to see combat. A glance through any major knife manufacturer’s website will provide you with several options in good quality field knives that fit the “edged weapon system” example, expanding your capabilities in the field.
An excellent example of simple but functional is the Gerber Ultimate knife. At an MSRP of only $46, the knife’s overall length is 10” and the sheath provides very valuable parts of the system. The knife itself has a pommel that can be used as a hammer and a blade that’s just under 5”. Included with the knife, within the “system” you’d carry in the field is a firestriker (used with the firestriking edge on the knife to create spark), an emergency whistle and a sharpening stone (integrated into the back of the sheath). The emergency whistle is on the end of the lanyard attached to the knife’s grip so if you have one you automatically have the other. The sheath can be looped onto your belt or mounted, via MOLLE system, to your pack if you’d prefer.
The thing to remember is that while fixed blade knives likely aren’t acceptable for patrol use (with some notable examples like the KABAR TDI), they are fine for outdoor use. If you carry one, one your belt or strapped to your pack AND you carry a folding lockblade in your pocket (like I do because it’s just ALWAYS there), then you have a backup blade should something happen to one or the other.
