Best knife for your rack

I'm looking at getting a knife to take up routes for, you know, stuff (replacing webbing, eating lunch on a ledge, etc.).

Anyone have one they like in particular? How do you carry it?

The CRKT "NAID" I think it's called, designed by Hans Florine is pretty damned good climbing knife. Fits in your little chalkbag pocket. Superlight, lighter than the Trango Piranha which is very light, cuts better too.

i take this:

trango.com/p-235-shark-nut-…

they also make the knife portion only, which i use on climbs like rainier and denali where you dont need the nut tool:

trango.com/p-221-piranha-kn…

I carry your basic razor blade wrapped in climbing tape stashed in my chalkbag pocket

caughtinside wrote:$2 cheapo hardware store folding serrated knife. Lightweight.

Ditto, sorta. Mine is the smallest Swiss Army knife. Red plastic side panels pried off, toothpick and tweezers removed. I filed some serrations in it as well; less-than-razor-sharp blades really seem to benefit from this when you're cutting crusty old cord and webbing.

You're not going to spread peanut butter on your croissant with a blade this tiny though.

I don't know if it is the "best" but I have no complaints about by Gerber remix mini, solidly built. Haven't had a excuse to cut a partner loose yet though which is a bit of a disappointment.

Super helpful - thanks all. I think I'll shop these around and see what I like best. I'm guessing I'd be happy with about every option you all mentioned.

Thanks again.

River knives with out a doubt, blunt end and serrated make them do exactly what you want them to do and nothing else.

Duct tape razor blade inside helmet. Cheap, weighs nothing, and you won't lose or forget it. How often do you really need it anyway? Don't forget to take it out if you carry on plane.

Petzl Spatha clips thru the pivot with a biner, and can be opened with gloves. Always clipped to chalk bag or alpine kit. Spreads peanut butter like a charm.

m.petzl.com/US/EN/Sport/Pac…

I think you'll find the Petzl blade one of the most popular. I tried the Trango stuff and carry it as my "always on harness blade. But it isn't that great for cutting hunks of cheese, sausage, etc - it is definitely a super-mini blade. And realized it would be impossible or really sucky to use the Trango blade to cut the extra webbing off my v-thead (i.e. not glove/frozen fingers friendly!). So I ended up getting a Spatha.

I think Outdoor Gear Lab did a review of the field if you care to hear what they thought.

Sorry for the second post, but I thought of a more profound response...

Another key for me was that the super-mini trango blades don't really work as base camp knives. If you carry the Spatha (or whatever you choose), it can be your knife for all outdoor activities and purposes. So you can have one knife for camp, approach to base, eating at base and climbing knife.

Then I guess your problem is making sure not to forget it on the base camp bench.

The Boker Rescom is the best lightweight webbing cutter I've ever used. It's damn near perfect for the task. I think they've been discontinued, however.

As far as general purpose blades go, the climbing manufacturers are nowhere close to the quality of the good knife manufacturers. I usually carry an FRN Delica with a full flat grind. It's light, made of decent materials, and cheap enough not to miss.

The exact same knife I carry every single day clipped to my pocket. It's sharp, spring assisted, and I don't have to worry about forgetting it because I already have it on my pants.

trango piranha knife with a rubber band around the blade on a aluminum rapide.

Small sharp, compact when stored on the Rapide takes up almost no space.

Vaughne wrote:I carry your basic razor blade wrapped in climbing tape stashed in my chalkbag pocket

Like the OP I have been looking for a knife for climbing. This is the best.

16 grams, serrated, sharp as f.. what's not to love.
its been in my chalk bag for 15 years. Only used it half a dozen times. I don't even know I have it.

The remix is great but a little heavy, I like the buck metro

kevin deweese wrote:The remix is great but a little heavy, I like the buck metro

The remix also does not have a bear opener.

Rick Blair wrote: The remix also does not have a bear opener.

In reality the bottle opener function on the buck is not very good. Too small in your hand and hurts to use. I just use my nut tool or my lighter to open post climb beers.

As for bear opening, I'd go for a knife with a longer blade and better handle to get through that tough bear skin.

Rick Blair wrote:I don't know if it is the "best" but I have no complaints about by Gerber remix mini, solidly built. Haven't had a excuse to cut a partner loose yet though which is a bit of a disappointment.

Best comment on MP in a long time