

A good and generally accepted size for the category is around nine inches, plus or minus a few. Sizeįor a dedicated survival knife, bigger is typically better. If you just want a reliable knife to keep in your glove box, purse, or pocket, then a folding knife will work fine. Full-tang knives are best for practicing bushcraft techniques too. And because sturdiness is so important-a knife won't help you survive if it breaks during hard use-we generally recommend a fixed-blade (as in, not folding) survival knife with a full-tang construction, meaning the steel of the blade extends all the way through the handle. You’ll need some ingenuity and know-how to achieve both, but a good knife will make the job a lot easier.īuilding a shelter and making fire both involve the manipulation of wood, so you’ll need a strong knife that will hold its edge. The two most important elements in most survival situations are fire and shelter. (Sorry Team Zombie Apocalypse Survivalists, no carbon steel machetes on this list.) What should I look for in a survival knife? For our purposes, let’s say you’re a little more prepared than that, and you’ve gotten a specific knife to help you survive, or practice surviving. This could, in theory, be the simple pen knife you keep on a keychain if the situation is dire enough. So what makes a knife a survival knife? Well, as unhelpful as it sounds, a survival knife is any knife you’ve suddenly become dependent on to survive. Your dad’s old folding Buck knife oughta work well enough in most casual situations, too. A Swiss Army Knife will do for most lightweight backpacking needs.

When venturing into nature, carrying a trustworthy pocket knife is highly recommended-it is one of the 10 essentials, after all. Avid Field Mag readers know we tend to believe a less-is-more approach to outdoor gear design is often the best path to success, but when it comes to knives-particularly, survival knives-sometimes more is more. In its simplest form, a knife is just a sharp edge with a place to safely hold it. The knife: A foundational tool of human civilization.
