Camping Knife: What Is The Best Knife For Camping?

How To Choose A Good Camping Knife For You?

In order to choose the right kind of camping knife you need to be realistic about what you want it for.  While some people envision themselves surviving in the wild with nothing more than a big Bowie knife and a piece of beef jerky.  The reality is that most people just need a good solid tool that they can rely on for simple camping tasks.

What Is A Camp Knife Used For?

• Cutting rope or twine for tents and tarps
• Processing wood for fire
• Food preparation
• Making impromptu tent pegs
• Whittling around the fire 
• Other general cutting tasks around camp

With that said, one of the main determinations to think about is if you are going to be using your camping knife as a camping chef knife or if you will have another dedicated cooking knife in your kit.

Many times, people use a separate camping cooking knife and a smaller folding knife or pocket knife for their other cutting tasks.  If this applies to you then i would suggest thinking about a medium sized folding knife.

If you are planning on travelling lighter then you may want to consider a larger fixed blade camping knife.  This would make it more suitable for heavier jobs as well as more reliable as your one main camping knife.

What Makes A Good Folding Camping Knife?

It is often said that the best knife to have is the one you have with you.  With that in mind, a good camping knife to have is often a medium to large folding pocket knife that you keep with you at all times.

This makes sure that you always have a knife close at hand to help you with all your usual camping cutting tasks.  It can be quite frustrating to have to stop what you are doing, such as hanging a tarp with rope, to go get your knife because you had left it somewhere else.

The other benefit of a camping pocket knife is that you will be less likely to lose it if you get in the habit of closing it and putting it back in your pocket as soon as you are done with it.

What Should You Look For In A Good Folding Camping Knife?

• A good strong blade that is 3 to 4 inches long
• A versatile blade style such as a drop point or clip point blade
• Strong locking mechanism such as a lockback or frame lock
• Easy one handed operation for overall versatility
• Stainless steel blade for durability and low maintenance
• Textured handle to ensure a good grip when wet

If you want to check out our top picks of the best folding pocket knives of 2020 with complete review and comparisons then check out this post here.

Additionally, you can read the full review of the Paramilitary 2 knife here which is one of my favorite folding blades to take camping with me.

One of the main issues with using a kitchen knife as your camping cooking knife is that you don't have a butcher block or knife drawer to store it in.  While there are many different options for safely securing your cooking knives when at home in your kitchen.  When you are camping, those options are usually much more limited.

There are some good dedicated camping cooking knife options that come with their own sheath or protective sleeve that can keep then clean and safe when not in use.

The other option, of course, is to use the same folding pocket knife or fixed blade knife you use for other camping knife tasks.

One drawback of this option is that your knife can get dirty when used for camp tasks.  While i really enjoy the flavor of pine sap, many other people may not like their steak to taste like pine trees from the firewood you just finished cutting.

What Should You Look For In A Good Camping Cooking Knife?

• Strong blade that is 3 to 9 inches long
• Smooth tapered edge style with a decent belly
• Strong tang style such as full tang
• Sheath or other protective sleeve to keep it clean and safe
• Quality blade steel that will hold an edge well
• Solid handle that is easy to clean and comfortable to hold

What Is The Best Knife For Camping?

With all the above to consider, you may still be wondering, what is the best knife for camping?  If you are like me, there is no one knife that can do everything i want it to.

For that reason, i usually recommend more than one knife for different tasks when camping.  No matter what i am doing, weather it is camping solo in the bush, at a campground with friends and family, or just my day to day in the city, i always have a good solid folding pocket knife with me.

This pocket knife could be used for many small camping tasks such as cutting twine, whittling sticks, etc.  Many times this will be the main camping utility knife i would take with me if i am at a campground and other than cooking duty it will do just about everything i need it to.

Recently, my go to folding pocket knife for carry in the summer is the Spyderco Para 3 Lightweight in SPY27 blade steel.  It is an exceptionally lightweight folder with a great corrosion resistant steel that holds an edge well for everyday camping tasks.

If i am going out into the wilderness, especially if i am solo.  I always take a larger fixed blade knife with me in a belt sheath, as well as my folding knife in my pocket.  This stronger and larger blade can be sued for rougher tasks such as batoning wood, making traps, clearing small brush, or other rough cutting tasks.

There is something to be said about a nice solid 6 inch blade on your hip that just goes hand in hand with being in the bush.  There is also a measure of safety in having two knives on me at all times in case one somehow gets lost or damaged.  And of course, the larger knife also provides a measure of last ditch safety in the case of wildlife encounters.

With the above being said, it does not take into account the cooking aspect of a camping knife.  When i am in the wilderness, be it alone or with someone, either my belt knife or pocket knife are usually more than suitable for any cooking jobs i need to do with it.

However, when i am camping in a campground with my family we always have a dedicated set of camping cooking knives.  These are usually kept in a specific location used just for cooking and have plastic sleeves that keep them clean and safe.

One more interesting option for a good camping knife is the Spyderco Mule Team Knife Blade.  It is only offered a few times a year and tends to sell out very fast when it does.  However,