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

I carry my fixed blade on my belt at all times. I don't use a regular hip Sheath.. I Use a Dangler Sheath with my Woodsman Pro from BHK . It doesn't dig into my side, it moves with my leg, and swings out of the way when I sit down.. It is also at a more user friendly position for taking the knife in and out of the sheath.
The thing I like best is I always have my knife and ferro rod attached to my person. here is a pic

Yep.

A fixed blade knife at the ready would come in often handy for trail emergencies when you might otherwise be compromised.

If you are strapped into a heavy pack, portaging a canoe, gun slung over a shoulder, etc... being able to draw a knife quickly and conveniently to cut a strap or rope that may have slipped and dangerously cinched a fellow party member/ pack animal being just one example.

I prefer the oversized nylon webbing loop that can fit over a pack belt and the security of kydex for the blade...

I pack my knife on my belt. That way if I need it I don't have to take my pack off and dig it out. It is right there when I need it.

I always carry either my Alaskan Guide Buck Crosslock knife (5oz) or my SOG hunter's revolver (7oz) in my pack so I have a blade and saw in one tool, plus a Smith pocket sharpener (1oz) to touch them up if needed. I also carry either a benchmade folder or leatherman wave depending on the trip. I just got a Havalon this summer to but haven't tried it yet.

My buck and benchmade pocket knife have the newer S30V steel and I really like it. They sharpen much easier than other steels with similar edge retention.

Not a big fan of Bucks or the sheath for this knife, but the Buck Mayo Kaala (S30V) with a small firestick taped to it hangs around my neck on virtually every hunt. It's a long enough blade to be truly useful.

Havalon in pack and Gerber Folder in pocket

I never carry a fixed blade. A guy a few years ago here in AK took a good tumble with a fixed blade in his pack. The point of the knife punched thru the end of the shealth and punctured a lung. The guy lived, but . . .

Around the neck sound like a good way to take one thru the heart or jugular.

Havalon and vicky parer in the pack. Add a small D2 fixed (and a giant wad of meat bags) in case of moose.

I'm with tsm and the others on the safety issue. Always carried a fixed blade on the belt, it was the "manly" way to roll. I've collected knives for years and loved a great drop point hunter in a handmade leather sheath. I've hunted in remote Alaska several times and solo backpack hunted the west, always carrying a sheath knife at the ready. A New Zealand Tahr hunt broke me of this habit when the point of my knife barely broke through my sheath. Didn't cut me, but scared me enough to never do it again. We were way up in the snow and ice and coming back down after I got my Tahr. It was too steep to walk, so we would just aim for a bush and slide down the mountain one bush at a time slamming into it, picking the next one and going again. It was a fast way down the mountain, but I was very lucky that knife didn't jam through my thigh! Anyway, it now rides in my pack with a Chris Reeve Sebenza folder clipped to my pocket.

Y'all 'bout have me convinced not to carry on a belt anymore. Many times I've considered a bad fall could result in a "stabbing" but have thought, "Yeah well, what are the odds, how many times has THAT happened?"

Apparently it has happened enough to be a concern. Maybe I'll reconsider. That's one of those "freak accidents" that can happen way out there and is preventable.

I carry a Swiss Army Knife all the time in a pocket, all the time not just hiking.

I carry a skinning knife of one sort or another in my pack at all times, and a complete set of butchering tools including a Sawsall in my truck at all times.

Orion2000:

I'll try to remember to post an account of my experiences using the knife this season.

KC

Kershaw Scallion in pocket, skinning/butchering knives in pack

I carry a folding BenchMade clipped in my jeans pocket and my fixed blade in my pack. I TIE my fixed blade into its tight-fitting sheath 'cause a long time ago, a friend's knife slipped out of the sheath while in his pack and cut him badly.

I've seen fixed-blade sheaths that have worn thin from being carried on the hip. A bad fall could cause a blade to penetrate a thigh.