I carry my pocket knife in my pants pocket. It's a small SAK, the Recruit model, as mentioned above. Ironically the toothpick probably gets more use than any of the blades.

For hiking I avoid fixed blades. Even my small fixed blades are significantly heavier and the sheaths add more unwelcome weight. The sheaths collect grit that dulls the blade. There is no great method of carrying them. They are awkward, flap around and hang up on brush and boulders when moving through the landscape.

I wear a pack with a proper hip belt and there is no good attachment area there. They are too bulky and don’t tuck away well. My hip belt has small zippered pockets and that’s where my folding knife rides, securely tucked away. I’ll use it mostly for educational foraging and light food prep. It’s there for fire craft if ever needed but I’ll normally never have a fire. It doesn’t hardly ever rain here but I don’t leave my rain gear behind either. It’s a useful tool but I draw the line at anything larger than a Swiss Army knife. That’s the range I look for.

I do use fixed blades in the kitchen and my 2004 flat ground little Dozier cuts through chicken bones, carves frozen baking chocolate into quick fine pieces so it melts into the mix with little energy use and last week it made a fine secure ice pick. My San Mai carbon steel Traditional Santoku is the knife for 95% of the kitchen work.

I carry a tiny foldable knife backpacking. It does all that I need: slices salami and cheese, cuts an occasional thread or Paracord, weighs next to nothing, and takes up no space.

I can't imagine a scenario where I would need something bigger...

Splitting wood? Campfires are illegal in many parts of the fire stricken West. No need to hammer anything...except maybe a tent stake into the ground.

In general, I try to carry the smallest knife I can get away with.

Since building fires is pretty much out of the question here, what I'm carrying is a Victorinox Ambassador, basically a slightly larger version of the Classic. I don't have giant hands or anything; I just like the extra size of all of the tools. I use scissors far more than a blade, but I do like to have one that can carve a tent stake in a pinch.

I carry it on a tiny carabiner clipped to the edge of my pocket so that it rides vertically and doesn't slip out. It's also useful to loop over my pinky as a little extra retention. This one is my EDC, lately.

Generally if one is experienced with sufficient skill sets they should be able to stay warm and dry without a fire. If I really needed a fire for some reason I can easily make one with no knife at all.

Backpacking is different than the bushcrafting types who camp right next to their vehicles. When carrying everything and hiking far away, weight starts takes on a significant meaning.
The standard size Swiss Army knife is what I’ve used for many decades of travel. I’m very comfortable with this in my wilderness that goes from saguaros to ponderosas right out my door with zero driving.



The Spyderco weighs 2.5oz which is heavier than some will accept but far lighter than a big fixed blade and sheath where some come in at half a friggin pound. However it’s still half an ounce lighter than the Swiss Army Farmer shown for size and it holds an edge forever.

Mobile food prep knife means it must be very slicey with hard veggies. Ergonomics are important to me but so is a very small footprint.



I like it to be able to carve wood though I’ll probably never need that.



And corrosion resistance is a must. I like a weatherproof knife. Sweat and acidic fruits as well as salami can quickly pit or corrode the blade and sharp edge. I’ve seen damage after one backpacking trip so I avoid blades with steel that don’t measure up. I don’t have time to worry about that with everything else going on.

Those are the tests and criteria mine must pass. But that’s just me and others will have their own criteria. The only thing I cut today was a bbq chicken Epic bar so girlfriend could have half, so way more knife than actually needed. Sorry for being long winded. The dog kinda got off the chain. Lol I’ll be good for the rest of the night.

@arizona You could do worse than carry a Spyderco, but living near Golden, I may be biased. ;-) I love their ergonomic shapes and the thoughtful design of every part.

It looks like you live in a wonderful area, right next to the serious mountain terrain. There must be many fine adventure opportunities there.

The first Spyderco in my pocket was around 1987. They see things from an ergonomic point of view with performance at the top of their priorities. One of the tests I did was cutting the backbone out of a chicken through the ribs and pelvis with an ease that was surprising. After that, the veggie slicing on a cutting board and the wood curls, the edge had zero damage, no chips or rolls. It’s a very sturdy design too with super lockup and no blade play.

Those smaller Swiss Army knives are very popular. Colin Fletcher carried a little Classic on his Walk Through Time. He had previously carried a rather large Marbles hunting knife during his Thousand Mile Summer but found it not very useful. He also carried two cameras and lots of fishing equipment but never fished. His kit really shrank after those thousand miles.

I'm lucky to live in a very nice place. Various opportunities for whatever outdoor rec you want and lots of cottage companies, too. Katabatic Gear used to be right down the road. Warbonnet is up the hill.

I grabbed a Spyderco about 25 years ago. I brought it home and demonstrated for my wife by cutting through a tough blister-pack ...and into the couch cushion between us. It was like the plastic wasn't even there. The look she gave me was almost as cutting as the knife.

I just go for Victorinox because I like the extra tools, including the toothpick and tweezers. But now that I've decided to do more cooking on-trail, you've got me reconsidering. Awhile ago, I saw how someone built a custom SAK with a Spyderco blade. Maybe I should check that out again...

The custom SAK with Spyderco blade sounds intriguing. I’ve taken a Classic along with my main folder lots of times for the scissors and nail file but for tweezers a pair of Silver Grippers are always on board for any and every hike. Lots of cacti around these parts. Lol

I went down the internet rabbit-hole on Friday evening, watching videos of people customizing Victorinox and Spyderco knives. Some of the craftsmanship was truly amazing, with acid-etched tools, fancy new scales, colorful liners... It looked really expensive, probably crossing over the break point where I'd worry about hurting it.

I probably have a once and a half gerber or something, but I've found that scissors and nail clippers are more usefull. Jim