Best Camping Knife for Outdoor Adventures

Thanks to an endorsement from survival expert Bear Grylls, Oregon’s Gerber Legendary Blades has become a household name in recent years. Anyone interested in exploring this company’s extensive catalog should start their search with the Strongarm.

With a name like Strongarm, you’d believe this blade is…well, strong! Designers used durable 420 high-carbon steel in this blade’s construction. This makes the blade an ideal choice for people who expect to do a lot of chopping and sawing while in the wild.

The Strongarm’s drop point blade alone measures 4.75 inches, which makes it able to easily handle many arduous chopping tasks. Including the handle, the total length of the Strongarm is 9.8 inches. For weight, the Gerber Strongarm comes in at 10 ounces, which is lightweight for a heavy-duty, high-carbon model.

One nice detail of the Gerber Strongarm’s design is a curve on the handle that separates your finger from the blade. This safety holder will protect your hand from slipping while in use.

Another positive in the Gerber Strongarm’s favor is that it’s one of the easiest to customize. You could choose either a half-serrated or a fine edge blade design. If you think you’ll be doing a lot of sawing work, the half-serrated edge is a good option.

Besides choosing your blade’s style, the Gerber Strongarm comes in a wide array of colors. For those who want their blade to be discreet, you could order an all-black model. There’s also a black blade/brown handle and a gray design available.

Every Gerber Strongarm comes with a MOLLE strap in which you can lock your knife for added security and safety.

People used to handling a lightweight camping blade who are interested in transitioning to a high-carbon product should consider giving the Gerber Strongarm a try. This product has a lighter feel than other high-carbon products, but it has the weight necessary to perform all the tasks you’d expect of these blades.

Buyers in the market for a value play should take a look at the KA-BAR BECKER BK2. This blade offers a good balance of strength and price.

Designed by legendary knife expert Ethan Becker, the KA-BAR BECKER BK2 has a thick 1095 cro-van steel blade. The best three words to describe this blade are wide, thick, and heavy. You’ll get good use out of this blade if you do a lot of heavy-duty chopping tasks.

The KA-BAR BECKER BK2 is a full-tang, fixed-blade knife, which makes it one of the strongest and most supportive on our list. And at 0.25-inches thick, it is also virtually indestructible. Another nice feature on this blade is a choil by the handle which can help you with blade sharpening and striking rods, or used as a fire starter.

The Morakniv Companion is one of the smaller blades on our list, measuring 4.1” long and 0.1252 thick. In total, the Companion measures 8.8 inches and weighs only 4.8 ounces. While the smaller blade size and lighter weight will put off some potential buyers, it’s worth noting that the high-carbon blade is robust, durable, and more than large enough for most chores at camp.

The rubber handle is large and offers a ton of grip support. As you feel this handle, you will notice that you’re not getting full tang stability, but this is the trade-off when buying a model at the lower end of the price scale.

Another drawback of the Morakniv Companion is that the spine isn’t designed for striking a ferro rod, so you will have to make a few modifications and sharpen the back edge if you want to get sparks going in the wild.

There are two main designs of Morakniv Companion Knives to choose from – discreet camouflage-style or bright orange. Whichever design you choose, you’ll get a lifetime warranty. In addition to the lifetime warranty, customers get a plastic sheath with a belt clip.

While there are obvious drawbacks to the Morakniv Companion, this blade can handle basic tasks. The powerful high-carbon blade is also durable, and the blade’s lightness makes it easy to carry.

Every Spyderco Endura 4 measures 5 inches closed and weighs less than 4 ounces, so you should have no issues fitting this in your pocket. When you open up your Endura 4 it will measure 8.75 inches. Spyderco Endura 4’s flat, saber-ground blade is made of Japanese VG-10 stainless steel that measures 3.75 inches long and 0.125 inches thick.

For safety, the manufacturers have placed a 0.5-inch diameter hole on the blade and a pocket clip on the handle. You can put your finger through the smooth spider hole to aid pushing the blade in.

There’s a nice thumb ramp in between the blade and handle for additional safety. You can switch the tip up or down to suit your preference.

As for the handle, it’s made out of fiberglass-reinforced nylon and measures 5 inches. There are traction scales on this handle to help you get a firm grip and these are particularly handy when working in sweaty conditions.

This Spyderco Endura 4 won’t be able to complete heavy-duty tasks with the speed and efficiency of a full tang product. Nevertheless, it’s perfect for campers who go on occasional trips and want a small, pocketable folding knife for camping.

The StatGear 99416 Surviv-All Outdoor comes with a 440 stainless steel drop point blade that measures 4.25 inches. This product is full tang and the blade has a stylish black finish. With the handle, the Surviv-All measures 9.5 inches.

As for weight, the StatGear 99416 will add 7.5 ounces to your travel sack out of the sheath. With the sheath, the total weight is 15 ounces.

Speaking of the sheath, it’s one of the highlights. In addition to protecting your blade, this nylon sheath includes a ferro rod, blade sharpener, and strap cutter. All of these included features make the Surviv-All Outdoor a superb package for novice campers.

The Surviv-All Outdoor also locks into its sheath, meaning you don’t have to worry about it slipping out. For added safety, you can also strap the tight paracord around the handle while it’s in the sheath.

The Surviv-All also has a few nice features: a few green glow-in-the-dark strips on the top and bottom of the handle to help you find it at night and ergonomic curves near the blade to help you get a firm grip.

The Benchmade Bushcrafter 162 is another full-tang, drop-point blade, this time made out of CPM-S30V stainless steel.

Bushcrafter 162’s blade measures 4.4 inches and the handle 4.75 inches, giving a total of 9.15 inches. The blade thickness is 4.4 millimeters and the total weight (minus the sheath) is a fairly hefty 7.7 ounces.

The green G10 handle has scales to ensure it won’t slip or drop while in use, and also two thumb indentations where the blade meets the handle for better grip when performing more detailed work.

The buckskin leather sheath included with this product has a belt loop attachment. To ensure your blade is safe and secure when you’re on the move, the manufacturers have included a D-ring and a tight retention strap. There’s also a convenient loop for a ferro rod, though the rod itself isn’t included.

As you might guess from this description, the Benchmade Bushcrafter 162 is a luxury purchase, but in return for the added outlay, you’ll be getting some of the finest craftsmanship we’ve ever seen.

If you’re looking for a convenient, portable, and practical camping knife that has more tricks up its sleeve than a sharp blade alone, the Pioneer X Alox is a great pick.

While we’re big fans of regular fixed-blade or folding knives, this one was too much of a classic to leave off our list.

You won’t be splitting wood or doing much heavy-duty work with the Pioneer X’s 3-inch blade, granted, but it’s sharp for food prep and just about long and strong enough for a little bit of wood splicing.

In addition to that 3-inch blade, you get 8 more tools inside this tiny, incredibly lightweight package, including scissors, a punch can opener, a small screwdriver, bottle opener, and wire stripper key. If you’re swayed more by practicality and versatility than power, then, this one’s well worth considering.