Best Camp Knives
While sharing some overlap with survival knives, hunting knives, even bushcraft and hiking knives, the Camp Knife is something else. Something that appeals to the self-reliant, and indeed to our inner child that just loves the feeling you get when picking up a large blade!
What is a Camp Knife?
A Camp Knife is different from a camping knife. Plenty of knives of all sizes and styles are great to take camping. However, “Camp Knives” tend to be larger and useful at jobs around the campsite or base camp, specifically wood processing for a fire, prepping food, or even clearing a site at which to camp or shelter-building.
We tend to break down camp knives into three genres based on size and intended purpose
- Brutes: These knives tend to the smaller side of the Camp Knife genre, but are usually overbuilt and thick enough to help with splitting wood. These tend to have a lot of crossover into the survival knife genre.
- Choppers: Larger and capable of chopping and splitting wood, these can often take the place of a dedicated hatchet or machete.
- Foodies: Usually more agile than the Brutes, these knives may be able to pull off some light chopping but are more focused on being able to help with the precise cuts and slices needed for prepping a meal. These tend to have a lot of crossover into the hunting knife genre.
What is the Best Camp Knife?
It is important to assess your needs when picking the right Camp Knife for you. Will you be doing any travel while carrying your gear but still want a bombproof option? The smaller size of a Brute might suit you. Will you need to do a lot of wood harvesting or processing? A chopper might be more your style. What about if you are staying at a more developed site such as at a national park? Then it is highly likely that food prep will be among your primary cutting needs. Below we’ll lay out some budget and premium options in each genre to get you started.
Budget (sorta) Brute: Becker Knife & Tool BK2 Campanion
The poster boy for the “sharpened prybar” school of survival knife design makes a great camp knife. The Becker BK2, made in the USA by KA-BAR, is thick enough to be nearly unstoppable at “batoning” – the act of using another stick or mallet to strike the spine of the knife and drive it through a thicker piece of wood to split it. Somewhat an advanced technique, in some instances it can be safer than swinging an axe or hatchet around, especially in a close-quarters campsite.
Like nearly all Becker knives, it is made from 1095CV carbon steel for high toughness and ease of sharpening. A powder coating protects the blade from corrosion. The bolt-on handle scales are sculpted for an extremely secure and comfortable grip. Optional Micarta scales are available separately if you prefer them to the injection molded stock handles.
Premium Brute: ESEE Knives Expat CL-1 Cleaver
ESEE is another brand well-respected for their hard use outdoor knives. The Expat CL-1 Cleaver might be our favorite “Camp Knife” in the lineup. Despite being inspired by kitchen-style meat cleavers, the CL-1 a bit too thick for useful food prep duty. Instead, this is a knife that can chop, hack, and split wood all while putting a big grin on your face.
Construction is 1095 carbon steel, and the cleaver shape gives it a forward weight balance for carrying plenty of force through your chops. The G10 handles are borrowed from ESEE’s Junglas, a larger chopper in their lineup. They are comfortable and offer multiple grip options; choke up for finer control over the edge or choke back for more leverage when swinging.
Budget Chopper: Kershaw Camp 10
For affordable choppers, Kershaw’s Camp 10 is hard to beat. It is just large enough to be effective without being unwieldy, and the weight-forward design combined with tough carbon steel makes it a capable companion. It also features a highly refined handle shape with excellent ergonomics and a rubberized grip for shock absorption. It even features a forward lanyard hole allowing for extremely safe chopping.
Premium Chopper: TOPS Knives El Chete
For the mother of all choppers, it is hard to deny the El Chete from TOPS Knives. It truly is a force to be reckoned with! This tough slab of carbon steel can hit with the force of a hurricane, throwing chunks of wood aplenty as you hack away! A bit too heavy to be a machete substitute (it would probably leave you tired after a while) it is more of a stand-in for a small forest axe in a lot of situations.
Budget Foodie: Kershaw Camp 5
By blending elements of a hunting knife with a classic “trade knife” style that was prevalent among frontiersmen during the fur trapping era in North America, the Kershaw Camp 5 is our budget pick for the camp kitchen. Reminiscent of a small butcher’s knife, it’s perfect for skinning and slicing game, light work around the campsite, and meal prep duty.
Kershaw brings the value here with the materials and construction of the Camp 5. The 4.8″ blade is made from D2 steel for impressive edge retention and is flat grind with a wide swedge for drag-reducing slicing performance. The glass-filled nylon scales are beautifully shaped and textured for a confident grip, and are bolted to the full tang for strength.
The sheath here is no afterthought, either. Molded to accept the blade with a reassuring snap, it also features a drop loop to keep it comfortably suspended from your belt so it flexes with you instead of poking the handle into your guts when you bend over. Plus, it has a double retention system to ensure it doesn’t get lost somewhere along the trail. Kershaw has pulled off a rare feat by creating an affordable knife that is also highly refined in every detail: from the blade profile, to the materials, to the sheath. It’s the full package!
Premium Foodie: White River Knives Camp Cleaver
For a more premium camp/kitchen crossover, check out White River’s Camp Cleaver. It features S35VN steel for premium edge retention and a compact Micarta handle. The sweeping shape of the blade lends itself perfectly to efficient slices, whether through a heap of potatoes and onions for a campfire hash or when butchering the latest trophy from a hunt. It has great manners on a cutting board but is still designed to do other camp tasks as well – it can split, whittle, and even do a little light chopping. With a leather sheath and premium USA construction, this is a knife that should not be overlooked.
Want to see more Camp Knives? Check out our video below, and check out our entire selection of Outdoor & Survival products here.