Choosing The Best Fixed Blade Camping Knife

If you are looking for the best fixed blade camping knife on the market there are a lot of different knives to choose from.  I’ve outlined the best fixed blade camping knife manufacturers on the market and what features you will want to take into account before deciding on which knife to go with below.  

I’ve also outlined my recommendations for which knives I think are the best fixed blade camping knives and which knives that offer the best bang for the buck.

My Fixed Blade Camping Knife Recommendations

The Morakniv Robus is my favorite knife in the list and one that I personally own.  To check out the current price of the Morakniv Robust on Amazon click here.  This knife offers the best bang for the buck out of all the knives on this list.  It is not a full tang knife but it has a really thick blade with a blade thickness of 0.125 in.  

The blade length is 3.6 in with a total length of 8.25 in it is the perfect size to be able to carry on you without getting in the way.  This is the best fixed blade camping knife because of its high carbon steel blade.  

The blade is designed to be durable and designed to be very tough but can be easily sharpened if issues do occur.  

It comes with a hard plastic sheath that is designed to protect you from the blade of the knife while it’s not in use.  The sheath also includes a belt loop so that you can attach the knife to your hip so that it will always be just a reach away.

One thing to note is that because this fixed blade camping knife has a carbon steel blade it will be more prone to rust.  If you take care of your knives properly as I’ve outlined in this article you should be fine though. Just make sure that you don’t store the knife after getting it wet, always make sure that it is dry before you put it in your sheath.

Morakniv Companion Fixed Blade Camping Knife

The Morakniv Companion fixed blade camping knife is another popular option because of the price of the knife.  Morakniv really knows how to make the best knife for the money and it shows with the Morakniv Companion.

This fixed blade camping knife comes with a 4.1-inch blade with a full length of 8.6 inches.  It features a stainless steel blade so it will be good at resisting rusting and corrosion. You would still want to clean and oil your blade to help maintain the blade edge and surface.

If you want to get a fixed blade camping knife that you don’t have to worry about too much this would be the one for you.  Even if you do don’t take care of it the knife blade should still hold up, it’s still cheap enough that you could also just replace the whole knife occasionally.

What is nice about the Morakniv Companion fixed blade camping knife is that it comes in many different colors so you can choose whatever color you like the most.  They offer basic colors like black, grey, military green, and tan. They also offer brighter colors such as cyan, orange, green, and magenta. So you should be able to find a color that anyone would like.  

Another cool thing about the Morakniv Companion fixed blade camping knife blade line is that they offer different types of blade types depending on what you are looking for.  If you are interested in checking out the current prices of the Morakniv Companion on Amazon click here.

I linked the stainless steel blade Morakniv Companion but they also have a high carbon steel blade Companion as well as a serrated stainless steel blade. If you like the Morakniv Companion style and size you can get whatever type of blade suits you best.

Buck Knives 119 Special Fixed Blade Knife

Buck Knives makes some of the nicest looking fixed blade camping knives in the business. Buck Knives are also one of the most popular fixed blade camping knife manufacturers out there currently.  Buck Knives do typically come at a premium price because of their good looks a high build quality. Buck Knives are also manufactured in the USA so you know they are made with pride and are high quality.

This Buck Knives 119 fixed blade camping knife has a 6-inch blade with an overall length of 10 and a half inches.  The knife features a blade made from 420 high carbon steel so it should have superior edge retention properties. It features a clip point blade that is useful in precision work.  

Most Buck Knives come with a wooden handle which makes them nice to look at.  This one is no different, it has a handle made from cocobolo wood that is polished to provide a smooth finish.  Because of the looks and the superior durability of this knife and blade, it is one of Buck Knives top-selling fixed blade camping knives.

Buck Knives also have a proprietary heat treatment process for this knife to help make the steel blade stronger.  Buck Knives first heat up the blade to very high temps, they then freeze the blade and then reheat the steel blade. This process hardens the steel blade making it even stronger.

To check out the current prices of the Buck Knives 119 Fixed Blade Camping Knife click here.

Benchmade Bushcrafter 162 Knife

This Benchmade Bushcrafter 162 fixed blade camping knife is one of the best knives on this list. Benchmade is known for making high-quality knives and this one is no exception. This knife has a blade length of 4.4 inches with a total length of 9.15 inches so it is one of the larger knives of this list.  The blade has a thickness of 0.164 inches which is nice and thick for a knife blade.

The blade is made from CPM-S30V stainless steel which is hardened steel that is also resistant to corrosion and wear.  CPM-S30V stainless steel is considered premium steel so you are going to pay a premium over most other steel types. 

This is also the case with this knife as you are going to pay quite a bit more with the Benchmade brand than my favorite brand Morakniv.   You do typically get what you pay for and Benchmade makes some of the top of the line products in the knife industry, they are just going to cost a bit more than most other knives.

This Benchmade Bushcrafter 162 fixed blade camping knife comes with a brown full-leather sheath designed to protect you from the blade while not in use.  The sheath comes with a belt loop so that you can attach the knife and sheath to your belt loop. This knife is ideal for outdoor, survival, and tactical use.

To check out the current prices of the Benchmade Bushcrafter 162 on Amazon click here.

Benchmade Contego 183 Fixed Blade Knife

The Benchmade Contego 183 fixed blade camping knife is another high-quality knife from Benchmade.  It has a blade length of almost 5 inches with a total length of 10.18 inches. It is made from CPM-S30V steel which is a premium steel that is hardened to be more durable but also has corrosion and rust resistance.

I think that the all black look on this knife makes it stand out from the rest.  I don’t know how well the blade will hold up staying black as it looks like the black on the blade is some sort of coating.

This Benchmade Contego 183 fixed blade camping knife is a full tang knife which should help it with the overall durability of the knife and should help the blade remain connected to the handle of the knife throughout the life of the knife.  

The blade is designed as a reverse tanto blade style to allow you to put the maximum amount of pressure on the tip of the blade, this makes it excellent for cutting things.

Benchmade offers a lifetime warranty on their products to protect you against defects in workmanship.  They also offer a service to sharpen your knife blade for you down the line if it gets dull.

If you are interested in checking out the Benchmade Congtego 183 on Amazon click here.

Ka-Bar Becker BK2 Campanion Fixed Blade Knife

The Ka-Bar Becker BK2 fixed blade camping knife is designed to be used by anyone that likes to camp or hunt.  The Ka-Bar BK2 fixed blade camping knife features a blade length of five and a half inches with an overall length of 10 and a half inches.  

This is a pretty big knife so if you are wanting a knife that you could use with more precision you would want to look at getting a smaller knife.  This Ka-Bar fixed blade camping knife comes with a special sheath that holds the knife in place until you apply pressure to a release point to release the knife from the sheath. This is done on purpose to keep you from accidentally pulling the knife from the sheath.

The blade is made from 1095 cro-van steel, I’d never heard of this steel type before and it seems like it comes down to the composition of the metals used to make the blade.  1095 steel is basic carbon steel that is used with a lot of common knives. 1095 cro-van steel has small amounts of chrome, vanadium, and small amounts of nickel to try to help with its rust resistance.

This knife is somewhat higher priced for a knife but should be durable and hold up well to abuse.  I really like the overall blacked out look and tanto design.  To check out the Ka-Bar Becker BK2 Companion on Amazon click here.

Gerber StrongArm Fixed Blade Camping Knife

The Gerber StrongArm is a fixed blade camping knife designed for combat and survival applications.  The Gerber StrongArm knife is designed with a blade length of 4.8 inches with an overall length of 9.8 inches.  The blade is made from 420 high carbon steel to help the strength and durability of the blade. The blade is also coated with a black ceramic-coating to give it a unique look.

The Gerber StrongArm has a diamond-texture rubberized handle to help you maintain good grip and control of the knife while in use.  It also has a unique sheath that allows you to mount the sheath and knife to your body in different ways.

You can attach the knife like most other knives on your belt loop vertically or but this sheath also gives the option for mounting the sheath horizontally on your belt loop as well.  This sheath is also designed with a Molle mount strap allowing you to mount the knife vertically to your gear.

This knife is also offered in two versions a fine edge and a serrated edge.  Because you are planning on using your knife for camping purposes mainly I’d recommend going with the fine edge version.  If you were planning on using the knife for more tactical purposes I’d recommend the serrated version.

It’s ultimately up to you what version you end up going with though.  If you are interested in checking out the Gerber Strongarm Fixed Blade Camping Knife on Amazon click here.

Gerber Ghoststrike Fixed Blade Knife Deluxe Kit with Ankle Wrap

With the Gerber Ghoststrike fixed blade camping knife we are starting to get more into the tactical knife territory.  This knife is a skeletal knife which means that the blade and the handle are all one piece.

Because it doesn’t have a traditional handle the inside of the handle is cut out which helps reduce the weight of the knife and make it easier to store on your body because of the reduced size.  

This Gerber Ghoststrike fixed blade knife has a blade length of 3.3 inches with a full length of 6.9 inches so it is the shortest knife on this list. Because of its skeleton design, it is very thin and can be carried very easily.

The handle is also rubberized to help you keep your grip on the knife handle. The blade of this Gerber knife is made of 420 high carbon steel so it should hold its edge and be durable over time.  

Because of the overall length of the knife, it can be concealed easier than the other knives on this list. This Gerber fixed blade knife comes with a sheath that can be either mounted on your belt.

With an included ankle wrap can be mounted on your ankle if you’d really like to conceal having this knife on you.  That’s why I was saying this is going to be the most tactical knife on this list.  To buy the Gerber Ghoststrike on Amazon click here.

Smith & Wesson CKSUR1 Stainless Steel Fixed Blade Knife 

Smith and Wesson are typically known for their guns that they make but this Smith and Wesson fixed blade camping knife seems to be of good quality just like their guns.  This is one of the more popular knives on Amazon and I think that’s partly to do with its an affordable price.

The knife blade is 6 inches in length with an overall length at 10 and a half inches.  The Smith and Wesson fixed blade knife features a blade that is made with 7Cr17MoV steel. This steel is stainless steel but has other elements added that help makes the blade stronger and increase wear resistance.  It’s supposed to be a decently good steel overall for a budget knife.

This Smith and Wesson fixed blade camping knife features an aluminum handle that is rubber wrapped to help maintain a steady grip on the handle.  This knife also comes with a nylon sheath with a hard synthetic liner. The sheath can be attached to your belt via a velcro belt loop attached to the sheath.

This knife also comes with a built-in D ring so that you can attach a lanyard or paracord to the end of the knife.  This knife also comes with a lifetime warranty from Smith and Wesson to help protect against any issues with defects in the workmanship or materials used to make the knife.

If you are interested in checking out the current price of this Smith and Wesson fixed blade camping knife click here.

SOG SEAL Pup Fixed Blade Camping Knife

The SOG SEAL Pup fixed blade camping knife is designed to be a good all around tactical, hunting, and survival knife.  It’s designed with a 4.75-inch blade with an overall length of 9 inches.

The blade is made with AUS-8 stainless steel so it should have good corrosion and rust resistance.  This blade also has a partially serrated edge so if that’s something that you are looking for in a camping knife look no further.

The SOG SEAL Pup fixed blade knife is a full tang knife with a glass reinforced nylon handle.  The handle grip is designed to be textured to help from slipping in your hand. SOG also hardens the steel of this blade in a patented cryogenic heat chamber after freezing the blade at -300 degrees F.  They also powder coat the blade black during the manufacturing process.

This SOG SEAL Pup fixed blade camping knife also comes with a sheath standard that can also be attached to a belt or can be attached to other backpacks or gear.  SOG offers a lifetime warranty on this knife to help protect against any manufacturer defects.

To check out the current price of this SOG SEAL Pup fixed blade camping knife click here.

Fixed Blade Camping Knives – Blade Steel Type

Carbon Steel Fixed Blade Camping Knife

Carbon steel blades will need more maintenance though than other stainless steel blades.  Stainless steel blades are designed to resist corrosion where carbon steel blades will not have that built-in protection.   

Carbon steel knife blades don’t contain chromium like stainless steel blades which makes them more prone to rust. That’s why it’s important to clean your carbon steel blades after every use and make sure that they are dry before you store them.

Because carbon steel blades will take a bit more maintenance than stainless steel blades I would recommend them to someone who plans to take care of their knife blade.  You can do this by cleaning your knife blade after you use it every time and by using a sharpening stone to sharpen your knife blade and remove any imperfections that may be caused by using the knife.  

You don’t necessarily need to sharpen your knife blades but If you don’t want to mess with maintaining your knife I would recommend going with a stainless steel knife blade.

Stainless Steel Fixed Blade Camping Knife

Stainless steel blades are designed to be better able to hold up to corrosion because they contain chromium in their blade construction that helps them resist rusting better than other blade types.  Stainless steel fixed blade camping knives will be better suited for someone that doesn’t really want to maintain their blade or just wants superior corrosion resistance.

If you are planning on getting a camping knife for a kid I would recommend going with a stainless steel blade so that they don’t really have to worry about taking care of the knife blade.  It should be able to hold up because it’s made from stainless steel. However stainless steel blades will be more prone to losing their sharpness and edge quicker than a carbon steel blade.

Size

When looking at a fixed blade knife one of the biggest considerations you will want to make is the size of the knife.  Because it’s a fixed blade knife and not a foldable blade knife the knife will be longer overall. Typically these types of knives will come with a sheath that you can then use to attach to your belt loop so that the knife is always by your side.  

With a camping knife, you typically want it to be somewhat versatile so you may want to stick with a medium to a smaller sized knife.   I would stick with a blade that is around 5 inches or shorter because of this. You want to be able to have the knife on you at all times, if you have a huge blade on your knife it’s not going to be that easy to carry on you.

Durability

Durability will also big a big factor if not one of the top considerations to take.  You will want your fixed blade camping knife to be able to hold up over time and use as it will probably be the most used blade while you are at your campsite.  Because you want your knife to be as durable as possible I would recommend going with a full tang knife blade on the knife that you go with.

A full tang blade means that the knife blade runs all the way from the blade tip through the end of the knife handle.  This increases the durability of the knife blade because it will be less likely to break or snap off from the handle because of the full tang blade design.

Blade Thickness

The blade thickness that you end up going with will make a big difference with the overall durability of the knife.  The thicker the blade of your fixed blade camping knife the less likely it will be to break from bending forces put on the blade.  

If you want your blade to be really durable and stand up to whatever you throw at it you would want to pay attention to the blade thickness of whatever knife you end up going with.  

To check out a knife that is not full tang on Amazon such as the Morakniv Robust this is especially more important in making sure that the blade can handle bending forces without breaking or chipping the tip.

Handle Type

When searching for the best fixed blade camping knife there are a lot of different handle types to choose from. The most common types of handles used for camping knives are rubberized, aluminum, wood, or a combination of those.  

I personally would recommend going with one that is rubberized to help give you a better grip on the knife handle. A wood handle will look nice but will be more prone to slipping out of your hand than a rubber grip, especially in wet conditions.

Weight

The weight of the knife that you go with should not really matter that much with a fixed blade camping knife.  You should expect it to be a bit larger than a folding knife and because of that weigh a bit more.

If you were planning on going on a backpacking trip where weight may be a factor during the trip you may want to look at getting a lighter knife for those sorts of trips.  If you are just going to be using this knife around your campsite then carrying it on your hip shouldn’t be the big of a burden.

Warranty

Different fixed blade camping knife brands offer different types of warranties.  Most will offer a limited lifetime warranty against defects and design flaws. These sorts of warranties will cover you if there is an issue with the blade or handle from the factory, most will not cover any issues that come from regular use of the knife.  

Some brands, however, do not offer any such warranty on their products. If a warranty on the knife that you get is a necessity then make sure that the one that you get has one.

Sheaths

Most fixed blade camping knives will come with a sheath.  A sheath is designed to help protect you from the knife blade while the knife is not in use and give you a way to attach the sheath to your person.  Most sheaths will come with a belt clip designed to be used to clip onto your belt so that you can keep the knife on your hip so that it’s always easy to get to your knife when you need it.

Morakniv Camping Knife Stress Testing

In the below video these guys stress test my personal favorite (and personally owned) fixed blade camping knife the Morakniv Robust link to Amazon here.  In the video, these guys do everything they can think of to stress test the knife and knife blade.  

They first start by showing how well it does at carving wood he then moves on to try to test the tip by ramming the tip into the wood and then twisting the blade tip to see if he can get it to break.  

They then try to break the knife blade by taking the knife edge over a nail and hitting the tip of the knife with a wooden hammer trying to get the tip to break off which doesn’t end well for the nail.  The knife blade is still unfazed.

The next test he tries to cut the nail in half by hitting the back of the blade with a hammer to cut through the nail. He then tries to cut through a larger piece of wire by also hitting the back of the blade with his wooden hammer.  After this test, the knife does develop an edge problem where he cut the wire in half but that’s to be expected after what he just put the blade through.

They then show the sharpness of the knife by cutting through a metal water container like a knife through…well metal.  The next test they jam the knife into the side of a tree stump with their wooden hammer they then try to break the knife blade in half by jumping up and down on the knife stuck in the stump to no avail.

They then show the blade’s toughness against stones next by showing how easily it cuts through a brick with the assistance of their wooden hammer again. They do a tip test on the stone bricks and show how easily the tip can still go through bricks.

They then eventually get to where they smash the blade with a large hammer to see if they can break the blade into pieces and it still holds up after that.  

After they get done with their tests they eventually take the knife back to their workshop and clean up the edge of the blade and restore it back to its original sharpness.  The only part of the knife that had started to fail only slightly was the edge of the blade protruding from the knife handle slightly. This blade is not a full tang blade but was able to stand up to this abuse because of the thickness of the blade and the construction of the knife.

 

Morakniv Robust Test

Fixed Blade Camping Knife – Blade Maintenance

You want to make sure that your fixed blade camping knife is as sharp as possible and stays as sharp as possible.  If you want to be able to sharpen your own knife blades you may be interested in checking out my other article on how to sharpen pocket knife blades.

In Conclusion

I’ve outlined a lot of different options as far as the size of the knife and different blade types.  It ultimately comes down to how you are planning on using your camping knife at your campsite.  If you want to have a small knife that you can easily carry on you then you can go with a smaller knife.  

I personally wouldn’t go with a large knife because I think that it would get in the way.  I have a large knife that a friend gave me and I don’t carry it on me when I go camping for that reason.  I personally think that a knife around 8 inches in length is the sweet spot.

Hopefully, this guide was able to give you more to think about when looking for the best fixed blade camping knife and has allowed you to make a more informed buying decision.  If you are in the market for purchasing a camping tent and want to check out my other article the best tents under $100 click here.