Many people who carry a knife are survival enthusiasts. In ancient days, hunters had a bow and an arrow. That’s all they ever needed to do their job. However, these days, things are a bit more complicated. In most countries, you can’t just take an AR and go to the forest to shoot some animals. It’s most likely illegal in your country. However, people who like to spend time in the wilderness need a tool to assist them. This tool is the knife.
A knife is the most useful knife you can have in the wilderness. While surviving or hiking, I always take my pocket knife or my multifunction knife with me. As a result, I can take care of matters that require a knife. There are specific types of knives that you want to consider getting. Two of them are the pocket knife and the multifunction knife. There are plenty of reasons to carry a knife. In this post, I’ll cover the topic of the usefulness of knives while surviving and hiking.
Confidence
In survival situations, you want to be as confident as possible. There are many daily tasks you need to perform to live a high-quality life in the wilderness. As a result, you may need a knife to assist you in these situations. In addition, being confident is a big part of survival.
Being able to feel covered that you can perform actions with the knife makes you feel well. For that reason, having that feeling that you can do whatever you wish helps you survive.
While hiking, you may stumble upon certain obstacles on your way. That is why taking a tool on you, such as the multifunction tool, can be valuable.
There are plenty of situations in life where a lack of confidence can affect you. Starting a random conversation with a stranger can be frightening. However, if you have a tool that assists you, you won’t feel as scared as before. The same applies to survival. If you’re hesitant in your surviving techniques, having a blade on you can increase your confidence in yourself and your ability to survive.
The one multifunctional knife I take on me while surviving or hiking is Victorinox’s one. You can check the current prices of this knife on Amazon. This tool is outstanding. I encourage you to purchase it since it has done so well for me.
If you feel as if you are not confident in the situations that I mentioned before, I recommend getting a multifunction knife. It has many uses, as its name suggests, that can assist you in your journey.
Self-defense
That is the main reason I carry a knife while surviving or doing anything else. In addition, it is the reason I take a knife while traveling.
A pocket or a multifunctional knife has many uses while surviving. However, the general reason people carry them is that they’re incredibly well-rounded self-defense tools. They’re lightweight, accessible, sharp, and, most importantly, lethal. For these reasons, it became popular amongst survival and hiking enthusiasts.
There are two different ways you can use knives to your advantage. I mention these techniques in every single post of mine. First, there is the intimidation technique. Anyone without any skill can use it. All it requires is self-confidence and situational awareness.
Intimidation method
The intimidation method as a self-defense method applies in that you use your knife to intimidate the hostile. Your goal is to avoid injury. Thus you don’t want to disable the attacker if you don’t have to. That method means you are not initiating any move unless you have to. Your goal is to make the unfriendly flee before one inaugurates any movement. That method is excellent for survival since your main threats are wild animals. As we discussed in the last point, confidence is essential. If you’re confident, you can scare off any animal you stumble upon. Thus if carrying a sharp blade on you increases your self-confidence, then heck, have one on you all the time. That way, you can avoid injuries when being attacked by an animal or a person.
Offensive method
As the name suggests, this technique is all about being offensive and confident. You are trying to avoid injuries using aggression. As we already know, self-defense is all about dodging damages. We are trying to use our knife to disable the hostile.
You must understand the risks of this method. Using this technique should be your last resort. If you try to disable the attacker, you must understand the risks. You will most likely get damaged in some way. In addition, you’ll probably injure the unfriendly. You ought to be ready to do such acts.
Most people won’t try to disable the attacker ever. That’s because they’re not prepared to deal with the results of the encounter. I encourage you never to use this method unless you unquestionably have to. You can read more about tips to use a knife for self-defense here.
Perform mandatory actions
In certain survival situations, you may need to perform actions to increase your quality of life. That is incredibly important for those who are willing to work and constantly learn. Carrying a multifunctional knife on you at all times is one of the wisest decisions you can make. In the wilderness, it comes in handy in so many situations.
I served in the military for about four years. From my experience, I guarantee you can use this tool for plenty of actions. Building a tent is an instance where you need a multifunctional device. For that reason, if you ever need a tent, you must carry this tool on you, and you may need it.
There are so many different situations where you may need it. Whenever I am in the wilderness or away from home, there’s a zero chance you’ll find me without one. I encourage you to purchase one of your own if you are an outdoor activist. It’s essential for most of us.
A few other examples for uses with the multifunctional or a pocket knife can be cutting rope, cutting grass, scavenging foods, and the list does not stop. If you’re creative enough, you can make dozens of other instances where you may need one.
Assisting others
There are many instances where one might need help. While being in the outdoors, I have witnessed many incidents and situations where someone needed my help. For example, there was a situation where there was a car crash. In this car crash, a guy got stuck inside a seatbelt and couldn’t leave the car. I guarantee that a single pocket knife can cut a seat belt with ease. In addition, there are other tools in a multifunctional device that you can use to rescue someone from similar situations.
In survival, you may notice many people or even animals that are stuck and need help. Farmers can tell you how many animals get stuck in a fence. As a result, no one might notice that the animal is in a hedge. Later, it leads to its death.
You can rescue these animals with a single pocket knife and some attention. That’s all you need. In addition, many incidents may happen while you are in the outdoors. You might as well have a knife on you to solve any risky situations you come across.
One of the reasons I carry a pocket knife on me while surviving and hiking is to assist others. I never rely on anyone to help me. However, if someone were to offer their help to me, I wouldn’t decline. As a result, I am always ready for the moment someone needs my help. There were many incidents where you can save someone’s life with a sharp blade. For that reason, I encourage you, the reader, to purchase one for yourself. If not for you, then for others.
Lightweight
One of the main principles you should follow in survival is to stay lightweight. You may have days when you march for hours on end until sunset. When hiking, you may knowingly understand that you are about to walk for many miles.
Because of that, you must keep your equipment as light as possible. Each pound matters and each one can be the difference between making it and not making it.
In my service, I had long nights when I would walk for hours. Never-ending marches was a go-to in the army. In the beginning, I didn’t pay too much attention to the way and what I was packing. Thus began my journey with the struggles of long marches and back pain. Later, I realized how significant it was to cut on my unnecessary equipment to lose weight out of my back.
Before going on a hike or a trip, you must pay attention to what you bring. A knife is a small item that weighs very little. However, the effect it can have on your trip is exceptional. The average knife is around 0.2LBS (0.1KG). That means that you most likely won’t even notice the difference in weight. Because of that, I encourage you to purchase one and see to yourself the difference it has. As mentioned, I like to use the Victorinox multifunctional knife. (Amazon)
Accessible
A knife is accessible. You can place it anywhere you wish on you, and use it whenever you want to. Hence it became popular. When you wear a plate carrier or a simple vest, you’ll see the difference it can give. In particular situations, you ought to use your knife to defend yourself. Because self-defense situations can happen fast, you are required to react quickly.
Because of that, you need to choose a tactical place where you’ll store your knife. For example, if my knife is in my backpack, I won’t be reacting fast. On the other hand, if my knife is in my pocket, I’ll respond quickly. That way, I can avoid injuries. If I’m using the offensive method, which I don’t recommend, I can disable the attacker before he damages me.
Because a knife is accessible, I have it on me at all times. When hiking, you never know what could happen. There were many incidents where an unfriendly would bother people on hiking tracks. Eventually, if the offender starts getting physical, you have a way of reacting. Hopefully, make him flee away.
Lethal
We are all aware of the effects that a sharp blade can have. That is the reason you are carrying a knife. If it weren’t lethal, you would not have it on you. A self-defense threat that you are taking with you to all places ought to be deadly. That way, it can have the effect you are looking for in a threat such as a weapon.
In some survival situations, you have to use a sharp blade. You simply must. For instance, going through some obstacles will require you to use your tool. Moreover, cutting thick plants might be mandatory to continue walking. As a result, you want to have that tool on you. You don’t want to get stuck in some high grass or other obstacles.
In the wilderness, wild animals might attack you. These animals are brutal. Some of them can seriously damage you and leave you with bruises. As a result, you want to prepare yourself for these situations. You don’t want to be in the open with an aggressive animal and no way to protect yourself.
Because of that, you ought to desire to take a pocket knife on you while surviving. If you don’t, several scenarios can strike you when you are least prepared.
Conclusion
These are the reasons you’ll not find me dead without a pocket knife on me while surviving and hiking. I can come up with dozens of additional reasons to carry a knife on you at all times. I have a post on why I take a knife on me at all times and why you should too. Because of the mentioned ideas, I encourage you to purchase a tool and take it with you everywhere. If you wish to read more about knives and their uses, read more of my work here.