Best Camp Knives 2017

A camp knife is the one tool you can't fake. You can borrow a flashlight. You can share a fire striker. But the knife rides in your sheath and gets used at every meal, every shelter task, every rope-cut for the whole trip.

Here's the list of camp knives that earn their place in a pack — updated from the original 2017 cut for what's currently available and worth carrying.

Fixed blade. Full tang. Built to be sharpened, not replaced.

ESEE-4 (Rowen Manufacturing, USA)

4.5" blade, 1095 carbon steel, full tang, Micarta handles. This is the default answer. ESEE backs it with a no-questions-asked transferable warranty, which means if you break it splitting kindling, they replace it. Not many knife makers will put that in writing.

Mora Garberg (Mora, Sweden)

Not American — included anyway because it's the budget answer. Full tang, Sandvik 14C28N stainless, around $100. Bushcraft loyalists prefer the Mora Companion at half the price; the Garberg is the upgrade that gets you the full tang and a leather sheath.

Bark River Bravo 1 (Bark River, Escanaba, MI)

If you want the high-end pick, this is it. A2 or 3V tool steel, convex grind, Micarta scales, made in Michigan in small batches. Expensive (~$300+) but the kind of knife you pass down.

Benchmade Bushcrafter 162 (Oregon City, OR)

S30V stainless, full tang, drop-point. If you want the camp knife and the company behind it without the ESEE wait list, this is the alternative. Benchmade's warranty service is fast and they'll re-sharpen for free.

Buck 119 Special (Post Falls, ID)

The classic. Phenolic handle, brass guard, 420HC stainless. Not the most modern steel on the list but the price ($90) is right and Buck has been making this exact knife since 1942. If you want a fixed blade your dad would recognize, this is it.

How to carry it to camp

A camp knife rides on the belt or in the pack — not in your pocket. But the rest of your kit still needs a home. Most of my camp gear lives in a couple of well-organized pouches in the truck or the pack.

The Truckie Medium pouch is sized right for fire-starting kit, spare batteries, and a small first-aid roll. The Ammo/Gear Bag handles the bigger stuff — sharpening stones, a backup folder, paracord.

Built For

• Hunters and backpackers
• Bushcrafters and overlanders
• Veterans heading back to the woods
• EDC users adding a fixed blade to the kit

Get the knife squared away, then organize the rest of the kit. Truckie pouches are sewn in Cape Coral, FL from real PBI bunker gear and Mil-Spec Cordura®.

Built to go with you. Wherever you go.