Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Carrying a knife: in the pack or on the belt?

When you're carrying a fixed blade knife while hiking/backpacking/hunting, do you carry it on your belt or in your pack? What's the thinking behind your choice?

On my belt. When I need it, it's easily accessable.

I have a folding Gator on the belt and fixed blade in the pack. Gator is less obtrusive and doesn't stick up when I sit down with the pack waist strap on.

I want mine on my belt where it's easily accessible, however, I've not found a good way to attach a sheath knife to most pack hip belts.
HPG kit bag is a good alternative that keeps it secure and accessible.

My fixed blade is in the pack, but I don't go anywhere without a pocket knife. I've never not had time to get to the 'hunting' knife when I needed it...

This^ brings up a good point. The sheath knife I've used for skinning and quartering I'm not going to use for anything else so it's fine in the pack. But for a general utility knife I want it on my belt...at the very least a pocket knife in an accessible pocket.
I have a Havalon Piranta I intend to (hope to) try out this year for skinning and it will be carried in the pack.

I'm the same as pointer. For several decades I've carried a Victorinox swiss army knife in my pocket and a fixed blade knife in my pack. The main reason that I haven't carried a knife on my belt is that the hip belt of my backpack would push on the knife and wear a blister on my hip.

Actually I just bought a Havalon folding scalpel knife with replaceable stainless steel surgical blades. I plan on abandoning the fixed blade knife all together. I'll see how that works.

KC

on the belt.

Neck sheath or in my pack. Hate stuff hanging off my belt...

I've had the same issue. I prefer to wear it on my belt as I may not always have my pack, but haven't found a good way to carry one on my belt while wearing a pack (particularly a fixed blade).

I did some research on the web and it seems like a dangler sheath is the answer. It drops the sheath below the belt (and actually makes it easier to bend over, squat, etc while wearing a knife. Problem is the ones that I've seen seem to be made for specific knives that aren't too popular for hunters. Seems like there'd be a market for someone that could design a nice dangler attachment that could turn any sheath into a dangler sheath...

Here's an example...

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/652263-HOGFSH-Chuddy-Bear-dangler-sheath

how big is the knife in the neck sheath? i thought about getting a smaller knife to carry that way.

Folding blade in the pack's belt pocket with a fixed blade inside the pack. If I take the pack off for any length of time, the fixed blade goes on my belt.

I always carry a medium sized folding knife in my pocket. If I carry a fixed bladed knife, it is always in my pack.

My multi-day pack and two of my bigger day packs have wide belts that just don't work with anything on my pants belt. I have a couple smaller day packs with thin, or no, waistband. Sometimes I'll carry a large folding knife sheathed on my belt along with one of those packs, but if I carry a fixed bladed knife, it goes in the pack.

I dunno. Some people are twitchy about carrying "hot" with a round in the chamber. That doesn't bother me, but a fixed bladed knife on my belt seems a good way to get hurt, so I don't.

Tom

Like other have said, I carry the fixed blade in the pack and a folder on my belt. Just works for me.

Boker/Bladetech IWB straps are handy things:


[img]http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb328/bark-eater/olp11/100_0076.jpg?t=1311179076[/img]

[img]http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb328/bark-eater/olp11/100_0119-1.jpg?t=1311178684[/img]

[img]http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb328/bark-eater/olp11/100_0117.jpg?t=1311177513[/img]

I cant seem to get the images to work. The photos show a small knife in kydex mounted on a pack belt horizontally with IWB straps, and then shifted to my pants belt as a dangler.

I think the dangler method of belt carry for a fixed blade knife is to address a safety issue.
I've known two people who've had fixed blades in traditional leather sheaths and had accidents while horse back hunting. Both injuries serious, put an instant stop to the guided hunts.
The third accident happened in AK while snow machining. Fixed blade, leather sheath, guy got thrown from snow mobile and knife got pushed through sheath, into and thru the femoral artery, he died in a few minutes.

I think any of these incidents could have been avoided if the fixed blade were in a pack.....or if the guys involved had their knives in kydex sheaths. I personally prefer the Dozier wilderness style sheath but I still carry it in my pack for some reason. Maybe old habits are hard to break.

Yes! Knife in both places.
Wow, I'm moving my fixed blade gator from the pack belt to the pack! One of those stories is spooky enough. I'm capable of tripping or falling all by myself without compounding it with a self inflicted knife wound! The folder is going to the belt.

I hadn't even thought of the safety reason. Looks like there's a lot of reasons to switch to one. No one knows of an aftermarket one that would attach to any sheath, do you guys?

Typical a folder in the pocket and fixed in the pack.

This year for the first time I have my skinning knife, in a kydex sheat, on the pack hip belt. Before that I always had it in the pack. Not sure why.... because I look cool that way I guess :-)

I'm not even using the skinning knife for other duties, so it might actually just as well ride in the pack.