Ultralight Camping Knives

If you are out camping for anything more than a day or so then it is likely that some sort of knife will be an important part of your kit.

Knives - UK Law

In the UK it is illegal to carry any sort of knife in a public place "without good reason". There is no minimum size for blades and the term "carry" includes on your person, in a bag that you are carrying or in a car that you are driving. A "good reason" is defined in a court of law.

It has been established in court that it is reasonable when you are camping to carry some sort of small knife. Even so, you should be careful that your knife has a small blade (Large blades are illegal period) and that the knife is carried in your pack.

I am not a lawyer. All of the above items could I believe be legitimately carried by a camper as either part of their normal camping kit or as part of a medical kit. In the case of the scalpel and stanley knife blade I think it would be advisable to stick them in a medical kit or not carry them at all.

Finally, if you carry any of these items on your person it should be carried in a way that would not be classified as concealed. For instance, it would be reasonable for both the Leatherman Micra or the Swiss Army Knife to be carried in a pocket or on a keyring but for all the other items that might be classed as carrying a concealed weapon.

The UK law on knives is frankly a mess but there have been cases that went to court and were won/lost despite in a way that was counter-intuitive.

Choosing an Ultralight Camping Knife

This may be obvious but you really need to consider what it is that you are planning to cut - toenails, fingernails, food, cord, medical tape, Duct Tape, or whatever. Your needs will dictate what you take.

For a trip of more than 3-4 days I find it necessary to have something that looks like a pair of scissors so that I can keep my fingernails trimmed. This helps to stop me picking up dirt and helps with personal hygiene.

If I am camping and doing actual cooking rather than heating up then I will need a knife for food preparation. For this I will carry a cheap kitchen knife - it is lighter than a pocket knife and has a rigid blade.

I find it worthwhile just to have a knife (or scissors or whatever)

1: Asda Pairing Knife - 18g

Asda can supply a cheap small pairing knife that like this one weighs under 20g and costs under £1. It's ideal for general food preparation but not very good for cutting surgical tape or steri-strips.

2: Asda Small Scissors - 17g

This pair of scissors came as a set of three for under a £1 for a set of 3 in various sizes. A few grammes could be shaved off the weight by removing part of the handle and shortening the cutting blades.

Scissors are of course excellent for cutting medical supplies but useless for food preparation. It will also happily cut fingernails.

3: Leatherman Micra - 50g

It may seem a bit heavy by ultralight standards but it does include a lot of things that I have found useful such as a bottle-opener. It is often a standard part of my multi-day camps and has helped me out many times. Review of Leatherman Micra.

The scissors on it now are a little loose and so do not cut cord or medical supplies as well as they used to - but they do cut.

It has a good little blade on it and is ideal as a general purpose knife for small tasks but not food preparation.

4: Victorinox Classic SD Swiss Army Knife - 21g

This is one of the smallest pocket knives that victorinox do. As you'd expect it is all beautifully manufactured.

The scissors are small but usable and the knife blade is small but usable.

It's fine for cutting cord and medical supplies etc. but is useless for food preparation.

5: Surgical Blade Hobby Knife - 10g

My local HobbyCraft shop sells these at 3 for £3. The blades on them are incredibly sharp and will easily cut through anything - ESPECIALLY you!!!

If you decide to carry one of these I would strongly suggest that it ONLY be carried as part of a medical kit that is carried in your pack.

6: Surgical Blade Hobby Knife (chopped) - 6g

If you remove the handle from the Hobby Knife you can save 4g but end up with something that is less usable. It is vital that you keep the blade cover - the blade is really, really sharp.

This knife will be ideal for cutting cord and for cutting surgical supplies. It should only be carried as part of a medical kit.

If you carry this on your person it WILL be classed as a concealed weapon.

7: Stanley-Knife Blade and Cover - 4g

This is now at the extreme end of weight and at the lowest end of usability.

What I've done is taken the blade from a Stanley Knife and shortenned it using a pair of snips. This is not a safe thing to do.

I've made a small protective cover for it from an old piece of plastic packaging. The result is something very small and light that is also just-about usable.

The knife can be used for cutting cord and medical supplies. It can only be used with care.

If you carry this on your person it WILL be classed as a concealed weapon.

Ultralight Knives Summary

I've given 7 different examples of the type of things that could form part of an ultralight camping kit. My personal favourites are the Leatherman Micra and the Victorinox Swiss Army Knife. Both are small and light for what they do and are very usable. The main benefit of the Leatherman for me is that it has an integral bottle openner...