Top 5 Outdoor Pocket Knives & Why?

Great video, thanks for the info

Those are some great choices.
I carried an old gator for awhile when they first came out. I brutalized it and was neglected for years but I found it awhile back and it's still good as new. Like you I find the grip to be one of the all time greats. I don't have that Cold Steel knife but I've owned lots of their knives and they too are rugged and worth what they cost.
I picked up a CRKT Hammond Cruiser several months ago and have been using daily for just about everything. I think it would be a good one to add to this list for a budget blade. It's got a nice fat grip, a very useful shaped blade that holds an edge fairly well and is easy to sharpen. Plus a very secure locking system and a nice action. All this for around 20.00 which imo makes it one of the better deals around for a very functional outdoor blade.
Great channel by the way!

I love my Finn Wolf, and an Opinel is in my future. Nice review.

You can throw sparks from a buck 110 , trust me I know I've done it

I love Opinel knives :D

Opinel n°10 the best ever

Finn Wolf all day out of these....

I Love my Freek, but I think you need to consider the RAT-1; it's an amazing amount of blade in a terrific handle -- the only real downside is the liner lock, but it's such a terrific knife (esp for the price) that it's become my outdoor carry over knives 5-8x its price.

I do agree with all your points, concerns, recommendations, but I prefer Victorinox Hunter Pro (wooden one and orange rubber one) over them all when it comes to outdoor activities. Great handle ergonomics and super effective blade in this range . 🔪✨

I always have 3 knives on a backpacking trip.
Fixed blade
Folder
Utility

I've had a Gerber gator for 15 years, and it's a great knife! One of the most solid locking knives imo

IMO case tribal lock should be on their

I have a question about the axis lock. I am assuming that there is a spring in the axis lock. Wouldn't this be a potential point of problem when using it for outdoor stuff? I can't help but think of dirt, debris or just that spring breaking and making the knife almost useless. Am I wrong about that?

Mine is the Buck 110 because it's lasted through my abuse and it's easily sharpened I can get it from dull to hair popping in 20 minutes

Not a fan of Opinel! Too cheesy cheap! Never was a fan of wooden handles or scales! Saw too many rot or kinda decompose when I was young! I ended up having a lot of knife skeletons as a result. Had to tear what was left of the handles off so I didn't get splinters, or rivits through my hands!

Also I'm kinda a self proclaimed knife snob😆. Will not waste my money on anything under D2 Steele! (Never had a problem, yet, with D2 but most of my collection is S30V, M390, etc. Aus 8 just reminds me of all the junk gas station knives I used to have when I was 13 or 14 years old and didn't know any better and thought I had a "knife collection" when actually it was just a junk collection! I picked pickles when I was 11 and 12, for a dollar a bushel (huge weaved basket) and some days picked for 8 hours just to get $2 dollars. Only reason was I wanted the $4 and $5 dollar pocket knives from Evans (small department store) that they had in a little rotating case up on the check out counter! Desperate times😆 but pops always said, if you really want something, you have to work for it! This was overkill though! 8 hours in the baking sun with no water, to get 2 bushels most days!

Best outdoor folder I have ever owned is no longer for sale in main market. A British Army issue Shefield multi-tool, mine was won off a brit officer during ww2. Has a flat edged blade, can opener, and a mariners spike.

Opinel knives are for picnics

Excuse me?! No rat 1?

OUTDOOR KNIFE YOU SAY?
Original Buck 110 with drop point blade paired with a victorinox and that's all I got to say about that.

Victorinox Hiker over bitches

Why not a victorinox?

Yeah you have big hands we get it big hands , wink!

I like my Ontario rat is it 1 or 2 I got it at Walmart for 30 after Christmas a few years back it does food and carving. One time I got stock out in the rain and even batons a little

Good video Gideon but I have to disagree with the Benchmade Freek. It has an Axis lock which is hard to clean when you prepare food or clean game. If you use your folders properly, it really does not matter how strong the lock is.

Bonjour So which one is the best ?

You should of had the benchmade super freek in there

Please make 2021 version of this video.

Hey does anyone know of any high quality knives as shown in the vid, that can‘t be opened up singlehandedly? In my region jurisdiction is that single handedly oparatable knives are forbidden for any use in non privat places...

I really like the finn wolf. The tri-ad lock convinced me. I had a kershaw blade close on my finger once, when i wasnt actively pushing down on the spine. A crippling injury in the wrong circumstances

I was hoping I could ask for to show more higher quality lives in folding for outdoorsy style knives and also with bushcraft knives or utility fixed blades etc just better quality knives. 110$ to 200$ some. Not crazy 400$ per knife but more affordable but nice real nice knives. That bench made is nice but I think a lot of people cud enjoy the affordable pricey so to speak.180 for example is affordable but real nice. Maybe I'm wrong but I know that's my sweetspot and maybe others too. Most people won't blow a dark timber but I think up to 200$ is a nice middle ground. Thankyou sir.

I have the Finn Wolf. Excellent pocket knife with a scandi grind.

Thxs

Great heads up video, been watching you for a while, have a cold steel finn wolf for backup in my truck, been carrying a ganzo firebird f754 440c folder, great ideas for fixed and folding knives 👍👍👍👍👍keep up the great work

You did much better with this video . I really like your knife videos, good info. But please slow down. What good is the info your putting out there if many of us can’t understand what your saying. Three years in a M-60 tank with a 105 millimeter main gun, 50 cal. machine gun and 30 cal. coax. machine gun will wreak havoc on your
ears. Thanks buddy.

Love the reviews , thanks for taking time to do these . How is the Benchmade freek holding up over time ?

When i look at the modern knives with blocky handles ... i take the Opinel.

I just ordered the cold steel Crawford model 1 it really seems like a good knife for the money I paid under $32.00 for it on Amazon it has the Japanese 4034 stainless steel with a 3.5 inch blade it was designed by Wes crawford.

Hey Aaron love your channel what do you think of the bk 40 folder i think that would be great on this list

I carry a SRK cold steel knife. Works reall well

Having owned every single knife on that table with the exception of the Opinel’s. I’ll stick with my Finn wolf any day of the week. And every day of the week. And at least two if not three times on Sunday. I love that knife. And I carry it as a secondary pocket knife while I work in construction.

I've carried the Kershaw Clash for the past 4 years, including on two backpacking trips, and it's never failed me. Nice and thick, and just a beautiful knife.

NIce and informative video as always, Gideon! My choices for "outdoor" use would be either the Cold Steel AD15 Lite, or the Artisan Cutlery Proponent. Both very heavy duty folders, and the latter even comes with a steel locking pin that can be screwed through the G10 handles plus the D2 ultra-thick blade, turning it into a virtual fixed blade. Of course, both of these guys aren't lightweight, but for outdoor use, would be fantastic. The CS uses a strong scorpion lock, and the Proponent does use a liner, though it's pretty stout itself, even without the steel locking pin.
Also, I had a CS Finn Wolf at one point, but regrettably had to return it, as the Tri-Ad lock was simply unable to deploy.

Don't forget the good ol victorinox. Even if I carry a larger knife, that one at least is going on every overnight trip. For backpacking, that's the only knife I carry.

Gerber had one good knife and they go ahead and discontinue it. Sigh...

Hard to beat the bugout, what do you think about neck knives as a Edc ?

Cold steel survivalist for heavy duty use and Kershaw link 20cv, petrified fish pf818 and pf878, and ganzo fh91 are the pocket knives id choose. Checkout outpost76 test on the Kershaw link 20cv and comparing pf818 d2 to civivi d2.

I gotta call BS on your first point about avoiding knives that are "too slim". What's comfortable for you might not be for me and vice versa. Now telling people why you enjoy a thicker handled blade makes more sense and to let people make up their own minds based on their own comfort levels. That Benchmade Bugout that you discarded for being too 'skinny' is a fantastic knife that I'd NEVER pass up especially for camping or hiking!

Good review now that I've found your channel. So what would you change now in 2024?