Camping knives 

Knives Left to Right, first 3 are perfect for several days out on known trails and areas. The last knife for when one might be exploring off the trails and or little small wood available.  In this latter case a hatchet would be a good substitute instead and take a folder.

Hi there. What I wanted to say as a prelude to a camping trip into the wilds coming up soon, ie you'll see hopefully a video on the BushCampingTools channel soon; is a little about my choice of what knife to take into the wilds.

So soon I'll be hiking into the mountains. I'll be getting to the small village by public transport, a bus. But first I'll need to get to the bus station which is about 1 hour from where I am by public transport, which means no visible carrying of knives, for obvious reasons. That means whatever knife I take other than a folder in my pocket, will have to go inside my pack. This takes up room.

So I need to firstly consider this.
Ok, I'll come back to this in a second or two.

Once at the small village, it is then a short 10 minute walk to the trail head (there actually isn't really a trail) which is to follow a creek as it meanders up to a montane forrest towards the mountain. I know from previous camping trips to this area, it is not treacherous walking nor is it necessary to bring loads of water as water even in the height of Summer can be found, if not from the creek then from some "secret" springs I know the location of.

I will, this time, bring a small water filter pump. I'm not worried about Hep viruses but only protozoan parasites here. I have drunk the water many times unfiltered and unboiled but that was closer to the melting snows in Spring which turn the creek into a kind of raging river! But now in late Summer, better to boil or take the filter.

You need a tent. There is no easy way to build a shelter on adequate flat ground in this region nor is there any really accessible timber to use, caves or rocky overhangs to sleep under. I say a tent as apposed to a tarp or simply sleeping under the stars, as despite late summer the weather can change in a instant in the mountains, and one needs protection against high winds. 

Food, will be limited to: dried meats, bread, flour, onions, oats, garlic, pasta, hard vegetables and fruit and whatever we can find growing there (loads of wild berries, mushrooms etc), tea, coffee, UHT milk. 

I will only be taking 1 pot and One 1 inch deep pot lid, that can serve as a pot and fry pan. If, it's still a high fire danger then i'll be forced to bring the MSR XGK multi-fuel stove, we shall see.

The first Campsite is anywhere, as almost no one goes here during the week. Is it remote? Yes and no. Whilst it is possible to see others on day hikes (In reality I've never seen any other campers at any time) , it is also possible to see no one at all and there is absolutely no medical help except by a  3 hour car trip (at least) at high speed no traffic if you start at the beginning of the trail, so yes, it is remote in that sense.

The first pitch will be one days walk from the trail head.

Who's going???
I'll be taking my kid as usual, he's six and he has been going there with me since he was on my back! That was hard going carrying all the stuff we needed LOL. At 6, he's got his own proper "Big boys" Gortex Scarpa boots LOL, a proper Deuter Pack, his Opinel, belt, Petzl headlamp, proper survival stuff, adults FM 2 way radio, and solid fuel stove. Of course dad will need to carry some of this stuff (like the heavy stuff) as he will need to also carry waterproof jacket, pants and thermals for the night etc.


So you guys can watch, I've got to also lug the tripod and two cameras and batteries etc LOL.


NOW that brings me way back to the damn knife I'm going to bring.

OK so I have local knowledge and this is key for having a good time in the wilds whether you go it alone or in a group or your family. I know from experience that there is little small fallen timber in this area. There are large dead trees, devoid of branches as they are mainly pine and what little wood there is is also collected by villages in the region for cooking on. 
There are small pockets of dead standing trees, a lot of these with some ingenuity can be pulled/pushed over but they are far from adequate campsites. I always bring along climbing tape or a small amount of climbing rope (cut off my ropes from damage LOL) and this is to be able to drag collected timber back to the camp site. 

If I look in the creek enough i'll find submerged pine logs, they are full of resinous pine wood otherwise know in English as "fat wood" and a host of other names in other languages. Now to get at this material,  it is preferable to have a 7 " knife or a hatchet to make it easy. I've also stashed a cache of this timber 2 years ago but it may have been found and I can't rely upon it still being there. I don't have a hatchet with me right now but I'll probably take a suitable knife that can chop but not too heavy or long (remember, it's got to go in my pack for several hours of public travel!). I'll take a folder too. That's it. as far as knives go. I'll drag large logs back to the fire, no need to hack it up.

Despite the marketing this is simply a well built 7" fixed blade, well balanced and durable. I'm very used to a recurve blade so this type of knife and what I can do with it is not a problem. make sure you can and know how to get the most from your knife. 

If this was Australia, I'd take my Kizlyar Supreme STURM,

My Kizlyar Supreme STURM, a great camp knife. BTW, I've now busted off the tip due to some very stupid prying with it. Remember knives are not pry bars!

 which is more than adequate for most camping and even hardcore camping as there is little need to process wood for fires etc. Being a bit shorter (it's not that lighter LOL due to a different tang) but shorter makes it easier to pack- although it's usually a drive to remote trailheads no public transport there in Australia.

Starting the fire. We will use matches and or cigarette lighters, we will have steels but they are only if we have to. Why muck around?

In Summary


If lots of wood is available and tinder can easily be found, why lug a big knife or hatchet? it makes no sense. Anyway,  if you watch my three part camping trip, 
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

you'll see the kind of fire I built and what i chopped and didn't chop but suffice it to say i didn't need to chop anything as I hate expending energy if it's simply not required.

Oh and I almost never take a saw.



What pack to take? 


A 38L Deuter Guide. Yep all of the above is going into or on this pack including one only expedition proven Gore-tex down sleeping bag and 2 foam mats.


Go light! Go Prepared for the environment!

Jagdkommando emblem laser engraved onto blade

Extrema Ratio TASK J

Extrema Ratio TASK J Tough as!

Extrema Ratio TASK J no problems for making feathers (wood seasoned cherry!)

I didn't know what to expect when Extrema Ratio released the TASK J. As as owner of the TASK, 

Side by side comparison. The Extrema Ratio TASK, and the TASK J (bottom knife) is a blade for harsher treatment. Both knives have their virtues and neither one IMHO replaces the other. These two models should satisfy the needs of the outdoors persons. The slightly less penetrative power of the TASK J but increased power for chopping as apposed to little chopping power of the TASK but big on penetration power. Lacking any confident levering power in the TASK, the TASK J satisfies this mode. The TASK J is easily used without gloves. As I said in my early reviews of the TASK, I liken it to a bushcraft knife on steroids. For me this still stands. The Extrema Ratio TASK J for me (in my hands) could easily come under my banner of a "Survival knife" (see my definitions) although Extrema are certainly not marketing it under that banner.

a knife I find to be very versatile for a great many camping activities where knives are involved and also straight out and out "bushcraft stuff", I've had no issues with it in the Australian bush and also the jungle environment.

Now after some weeks going on a month of field testing, as to the TASK J, well this is a totally different knife as you will have ready and seen in my previous blog and seen in my recent field assessment of this knife. The only similarity are the first 4 letters! The Extrema Ratio Task J simply rocks and to paraphrase one of my readers words: "A stout but functional blade"! I think their words sum up the TASK J. Weighty but not heavy, sturdy spine but not crazily thick and with a shallow angled grind to a sabre geometry along with a good swedge, and strong tip 

Super strong tip on the TASK J irresponsibly plunged into a tree trunk!

the TASK J can handle a lot of tasks, no pun intended! Maybe that's why I'm still crapping on about this knife so much. 

The Reason

The design of the TASK J is of course a collaboration with the Jagdkommando unit of the Austrian military, so there has obviously been some serious thought put into the design of this knife. 

Ok you are saying, "Come on, it's a damn knife, I mean, knives are meant to cut and that's it, so what"?

Ok well the so what is this:

Don't change the comfortable grip, it works, that's why for example Kizlyar Supreme use their particular grip (also very ergonomic) on all of their tactical knives, and so why shouldn't other manufacturers when they get it right too? Yes the handle on the TASK J is that very same one, also a collaboration with university researchers to develop an ergonomic grip. 

It cuts and it cuts well.

No problems with either raw or cooked meat

Of course all good knives should, at the very least be able to achieve this (cut well) but we know in our hearts of hearts, sometimes they fail in this area. It's easy to have a thin bladed knife slice through raw meat easily but making a thick bladed (the spine) knife do the same thing without great effort on the part of the user (or totally mangling what you are trying to slice up), requires some serious thought to the actual blade geometry. I have to laugh at the plethora of so called "Tactical knives" out there with blades which look more like pry bars than knives (rename as "tactical pry-bars" with added bonus  "sharp edge") and the manufacturers have the hide to state and or attempt to show these blades in some sort of military area theme! I seriously pity the people who are sucked in to purchase such blades. You would be better off carrying a dedicated pry bar and sharpen one end and turn the other end into some sort of pointy spear! Knives still have to be able to cut. All this hoo ha about having super thick knives as they are the strongest, I mean, for what??? When a tank accidentally runs over my 1/4 inch thick slab of steel?? Let's get real here. 

This brings me back to the TASK J which bears the insignia of the Austrian Jagdkommando Unit. What we have here is a balance of functionality and strength, not all out strength because then a knife like that ceases to become really useful, just a slab of steel.

Preparing a fire (also don't forget the ginormous ferro rod included with the TASK J

Carving off some outer part of sugar cane to eat. Perfect for a hot summer day in the tropics

The best option is a machete or small parang but the Extrema Ratio TASK J easily accomplishes working on sugar cane

If you can't chop into large hard vegetables or fruits or any tubers (sources of starch) then you must be carrying a knife with a good point and not too thick so as to be able to penetrate hard food stuff and sever the item via cracking. Even machetes or parangs if you don't swing/chop into similar items will crack them open. But for a small knife such as the TASK J, the tip works perfectly for this. I've done it many times on vary large tubers of Cassava, a perfect source of starch in tropical regions. 

Ok so you are saying what's with all this food stuff? Well to say it a million times, if you can't feed yourself with a knife then get another one in which you can. A multi-purpose knife must be exactly that. Obviously it must be good at cutting various objects, penetrating items, sturdy enough for some light chopping and certainly versatile enough to prepare game, fish and other food items in a survival situation or even just camping (if you are a civilian), hence the name multi-purpose. Now many a good hunting knife can also be classified multipurpose however, in the case of the Extrema Ratio TASK J, this knife is clearly aimed at military personnel so there are other potential functions of such a multi-purpose blade of which I will write nothing about as I'm not a soldier.

Ok enough ranting on about this latest acquisition, the Extrema Ratio TASK J. I guess you must've figured I'm pretty stoked with this blade.

Check my You Tube channel playlists for my favourite blades right now!