Your Ideal Folder for Hiking & Backpacking is....

[toomanyquestions]

What is your ideal folder for hiking and/or backpacking? Please explain your pros/cons.

[Fastidiotus]

I'll carry a Caribbean for the most part. Tough steel and corrosion resistance makes it a great folder for the outdoors.

[Wandering_About]

I've experimented this over many years and tend to come back to the Paramilitary 2 or Para 3, though a small Sebenza gets a ton of pocket time on hikes also. Really, I just carry whatever my favorite folder is. I do only carry stainless on backpacking trips, though for day hikes if conditions allow I do like to throw 15V or K390 in the mix.

[kennethsime]

The Military is pretty dang ideal - it’s just so light for the size.

The Stretch has been my most-carried knife in the backcountry though.

[RustyIron]

Manix 2 LW.
It's a reasonably sized knife: big enough to do anything I need, and not too unwieldy in size or weight.

[SchoonerBum]

Pac Salt 2. The weight to functionality ratio is impressive, and the blade is long enough to make food prep enjoyable. Likely I would take the FFG LC200N model as it is ever so slightly lighter and the hollow grind on the H1 I find slightly less enjoyable for food prep. PE either way, although to be fair I’m not sure I’ve ever tried the SE versions for food prep. Maybe I should.
I keep a Ladybug in my emergency kit as well.

[Wartstein]

- Pac Salt SE - for outdoor use and if I expect actually using the knife a lot: The H1 (H2) version (sabre hollow grind, stronger tip)
- Salt 2 SE - here the the LC200N ffg version (for the lightest possible carry, if I just want a capable blade on me but don´t expect a ton of work)

[Mushroom]

It depends on what type of hiking or backpacking I’m doing. For the most part, knives just aren’t necessary while hiking but we’re on a Spyderco discussion forum right now, so that’s no fun.

In my honest opinion, if you’re not counting grams just carry whatever you want, it doesn't make a difference.

On day hikes, I carry multiple knives - usually a couple folders and a fixed blade. I never actually need them all but I’m a Spyderco nerd so I like carrying them all. I don’t concern myself with pack weight on day hikes.

On overnight backpacking trips, I am a little bit more weight conscious but not to ultralight levels. I’ve carried all sorts of knives like: the Ladybug, Lil Native, Caribbean, Delica, etc… The Para 3 LW is usually a go to for me but I’ve even carried oddballs like the Junior and Ouroboros on backpacking trips and found them perfectly adequate for my uses while backpacking.

[Wartstein]

Pac Salt 2. The weight to functionality ratio is impressive, and the blade is long enough to make food prep enjoyable. Likely I would take the FFG LC200N model as it is ever so slightly lighter and the hollow grind on the H1 I find slightly less enjoyable for food prep. PE either way, although to be fair I’m not sure I’ve ever tried the SE versions for food prep. Maybe I should.
I keep a Ladybug in my emergency kit as well.

Yes, you should indeed!

FFG SE works great for "outdoorsy" food prep imo, in many cases better than PE (cutting bread, stuf like tomatoes...)

Keep on mind that SE has that steep, very slicey chisel grind, and the "points" of the serrations will easily initially penetrate tougher surfaces (crusts, skin of vegetables...) to make the following cut easier and not "squish" stuff should the knife not be super sharp anymore.

[Bolster]

You already know my choice, but to summarize:

If I expect human interaction on the trail I take a Manix 2 LW at 2.9 oz. Most people I meet on Calif trails are 'lefty-crunchy' and not knife people. I don't want to make anybody nervous. Manix in pocket goes unnoticed. Its choil allows good control of the heel of the blade if some wood carving is needed.

If I'm not expecting much human interaction, I prefer a modified (weight reduced) Mule at 2.4 oz. Lighter, more edge, and allows batoning, if needed. I modify the area of the tang under the index finger with a tighter curve, and move that curve forward toward the guard, for better control and more comfort.

I have a LW Nat Chief on order (3.1 oz?) and it may replace the Manix, we'll see. (I think you should have specified the LW Nat Chief in your poll. Also your 'salt series' overlaps with other choices.)

If weight is an extreme concern, I have a Bradley Air (1.2 oz) but I've never been bold enough to brave the back country with such a small knife. I'm sure it would be more than sufficient, though. Nearly all backpacking use of a knife is opening food packages, with a bit of wood carving if needed. Honestly a backpacking knife is more of a psychological comfort in case of a bad situation. I was once in a tense situation with three Rottweilers and cursed myself for being weaponless, and swore never to let that happen again.

Although I appreciate the engineering, I have avoided the uber-light Bugout due to (1) brand loyalty and (2) multiple reports of failed springs leading to an inoperative knife.

[R100]

I voted Salt series because the Siren is my current favourite choice. Good compromise between robust and slicey and enough blade to be useful. Being corrosion proof is great because there is no worry about cleaning the blade/pivot after food prep. Hiking also often involves being either sweaty or wet so the Siren is worry free there too. First world problem though - in the past I usually carried simple carbon steels and they got a bit rusty but it didn't really matter.

Dan

[Wallach]

Mine isn't arriving until the 4th, but assuming that the build/feel/action is the same as my Rex 45 version, the Manix 2 Salt LW would probably be my choice (among Spyderco anyway). Of my entire collection, I'd also consider my Guardian 3.2 in MagnaCut. Either way I'd want one of my MagnaCut blades that I don't have to think much about use-wise. It would depend a bit on how long of a trip I'm planning, and what I'm going to be able to wear and carry overall.

[skeeg11]

Most people I meet on Calif trails are 'lefty-crunchy' and not knife people.

Never heard of that one before. Gonna have to borrow it now and again.

[kobold]

I don't buy folders with hikes and backpacking in mind, I like convex grind fixed blades in 3V for that.

What kind of fixed blade would depend on the duration of the hike, climate/season, weather, terrain, vegetation, availability of fuel (firewood) and the type of food carried.

But given my local continental climate and riparian terrain, I would go with these folders from my collection (while still carrying a fixed blade):
- LC200N SE Native in the summer
- SpydieChef for the shoulder seasons
- S110V linerlock Military (with stabilized wood scales) in the winter

(I voted Native)

[ladybug93]

i'm not going to vote for this one because i don't yet have experience with some of the blades listed that i know could very well change my mind.

when i hike, i tend to carry a fixed blade on my belt and two folders; usually a manix and a pacific salt. sometimes, i'll swap the manix for a cold steel finn wolf or some other model because the triad lock is king in the outdoors. i'll usually also carry a rangergrip sak in my bag.

while i'm not sure my cold steel preference will change for hiking, i could definitely see the native chief salt or the stretch 2 xl salt being outstanding spyderco options for hiking. and, as much as i love the manix, i might rather have either of those in the wilds. from what i gather, the chief is likely the more sturdy of those two and would likely be my choice. i've carried my native salt camping many times and while i don't prefer its build for edc as much, it shines more outdoors for me, so the longer version would be nice.


all of that said, i believe that we should carry blades that will serve us well in edc tasks and emergencies, to include an unexpected overnight excursion to the wilds. my typical edc is a manix and a pacific salt because i believe this combo can excel at covering all of those bases. i have a hard time understanding carrying something like a dragonfly and thinking yourself prepared. maybe it works for some people, but that's just not enough knife when it counts.

[benja-man]

UKPK Salt for me - I keep it in my lunch bag, weighs next to nothing and is completely maintenance free.

[Windward]

Back around college i used to backpack a lot. Month+ long trips, ultralight big AT sections, etc. (Wouldve done the whole thing if i didnt have to graduate or get a job lol). For a while there i was part of the cutting your toothbrush in half for weight savings crowd, and knife was a big thing for me, kind of settled on a regular old salt as being perfect.

Nowadays itd be a lc200n salt 2.

Weight: at 2.1 ounces, its superlight, and linerless, so nothing it doesnt need, without giving up strength. If really wanted to get crazy i could lose the pocket clip and drill out some holes in the scales.

Size: aside from making small feathersticks for very small fires (if its even allowed where you are), cutting open food packets (I never had extensive "food prep" backpacking), and other small tasks, i never had a reason for a bigger knife out there. More would be extra weight for no gain

Steel and construction: back then i used h1, now id pick pe lc200n, but the same applies. Corrosion resistant (im not bringning knife oil), and very easy to strop back and edge with my belt (not carrying a sharpener). Plus the whole knife is so simple, theres less to go wrong.

[Bolster]

Windward ^ has good insight; long-haul backpackers typically don't carry long or heavy blades because they're rarely needed. To be honest, on my trips, the knife doesn't do much actual work. Mostly it's a "fun splurge." Open fires are illegal many places I go, so I don't even make feather sticks.

Seems there are three strategies for keeping sharp: (1) pick a steel that's easy to touch up in the field (like LC200N); (2) pick a steel you sharpen before heading out, confident it will keep its edge (like S110V); or split the difference (like Magnacut). Backpackers almost always go for a stainless steel, though.

A lightweight touchup can be had by carrying a single small square of fine wet-or-dry sandpaper. Wrap it around a hiking pole and incline the pole to your preferred angle. Before your trip, using a protractor, angle one pole against the other upright pole and mark the place they intersect, for the angle you want to maintain. Now you have a field-capable half-sharpmaker for the weight of a 4" square of sandpaper.

[ladybug93]

i like that sharpening hack! good stuff. i usually carry the lansky spyderco rod for field touch-ups, but im not an ul hiker.

[Tristan_david2001]

A caly and a temp