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The 8 Best Survival Knives for Wilderness Exploration and Safety

A knife is an invaluable tool in the backcountry. But not all blades are created equally.

best survival knives of 2022 SRK, Benchmade, ESEE

By Hayley Helms and Tanner Bowden

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Legion are the tasks you could be called upon to complete in a survival situation. Build a shelter. Hunt and process game. Start a fire. Ward off wild animals. Every one of them would go better with a knife.

Knives are essential when traversing the backcountry — let alone surviving it. Useful in their own right, knives can also be used to fashion other tools. And while any blade would be better than none, some are uniquely suited to tackle the rough and unrelenting demands of nature.

“Typically, survival knives will be moderate-sized fixed blades with size, geometry and features that maximize the durability and versatility of the knife,” says Vance Collver of Benchmade. “A good survival knife is a jack-of-all-trades and master of none.”

“A good survival knife is a jack-of-all-trades and master of none.”

The sweet spot, Collver says, is somewhere between a bushcrafting knife and a combat or fieldcraft knife. “Survival knives should follow the K.I.S.S. principle: keep it super simple,” he adds.

When shopping for a survival knife, look for a durable blade that’s long enough for light chopping but not unwieldy. And keep it fixed if you can; folding mechanisms introduce possible points of failure.

Finally, don’t neglect the handle. Too smooth and it might be difficult to grip; too grippy and you might get blisters. A guard to prevent your hand from slipping onto the blade is always a plus.

“In a survival situation, an injury could be catastrophic,” Collver points out. Prevent that with one of our top picks below.

Best Overall Survival Knife

ESEE-4Amazon

Best Overall Survival Knife

ESEE-4

Specs

Blade Length 4.5 inches
Overall Length 9 inches
Weight 8 ounces

Pros

  • Blade is thick enough for the toughest jobs

Cons

  • A little on the small side for a survival knife

The ESEE-4 checks every box for a good survival knife: it has a full-tang construction split between a 4.5-inch blade and a grippy, comfortable handle; its carbon steel blade is sharp and easy to sharpen; it has a guard for added in-use safety.

The blade is also thick enough to take a beating when you really need to test its mettle but fine enough for delicate work like skinning and bushcrafting. Extras include a molded sheath and an exposed tang butt that’s good for hammering.

Some might knock its size — if that’s you, check out the similar but larger ESEE-6 — but we’ve found it to be just right: big enough for a wide range of tasks but small enough that you won’t think twice about carrying it. After all, a knife left behind can’t keep you alive.

Best Upgrade Survival Knife

Benchmade 539GY AnonimusBlade HQ

Best Upgrade Survival Knife

Benchmade 539GY Anonimus

Specs

Blade Length 5 inches
Overall Length 9.8 inches
Weight 2.6 ounces

Pros

  • Handle is ultra-grippy

Cons

  • More of an investment piece than an everyday knife

To create the Anonimus, Benchmade included all the details that defines a great survival knife, then fine-tuned them.

The grooved handle is ergonomic and grippy, even when wet. The guard is large, as in top combat knives. And the blade, a five-inch drop point made of CPM CruWear, balances toughness, durability and edge retention with ease of sharpening. It even has modest corrosion resistance, despite not being stainless.

All this leads to the Anonimus’s high, but fair, price tag. And the list of features goes on to include an oversized choil that can be used with a Ferro rod for fire-making.

Best Budget Survival Knife

Morakniv Companion SparkAmazon

Best Budget Survival Knife

Morakniv Companion Spark

Specs

Blade Length 4.1 inches
Overall Length 8.8 inches
Weight 4.5 ounces

Pros

  • Striker and spine work well

Cons

  • Flint doesn't last very long with heavy use

Normally, a price this low would be a red flag. But with over a century of Swedish knife making behind it, Morakniv knows how to draw quality into affordable design.

The Spark’s 4.1-inch, drop-point blade is made of stainless steel that resists rust and its simple, rubberized handle is comfy and grippy and has an unobtrusive guard. The Companion Spark even comes with an integrated Ferro rod for fire starting in a pinch and a polymer sheath.

The materials won’t stand up as long as those of other knives on this list, but for less than $30, you simply cannot do better.

Best Bushcraft Survival Knife

Cold Steel SRK knifeBlade HQ

Best Bushcraft Survival Knife

Cold Steel SRK

Specs

Blade Length 6 inches
Overall Length 10.75 inches
Weight 8.2 ounces

Pros

  • Blade steel holds up well over time

Cons

  • Handle feels rough

There’s plenty of crossover between bushcraft knives and survival knives. Bushcraft blades tend to be smaller and nimbler with narrower blades for tasks that require a high degree of finesse, while survival knives are bigger, burlier and more general purpose.

The SRK represents the best of both genres, bringing tactical features like a guard and robust clip-point blade to a design that’s clean and minimal. Its carbon steel is easy to sharpen and hell, if Navy SEALS rely on it for Basic Underwater Demolition training, you probably can, too.

Best Classic Survival Knife

KA BAR Becker KephartAmazon

Best Old-School Survival Knife

KA-BAR Becker Kephart

Specs

Blade Length 5.1 inches
Overall Length 9.6 inches
Weight 6.4 ounces

Pros

  • Beautiful and functional

Cons

  • Not as tactical as modern knives

Next to contemporary synthetic materials, wood is sometimes considered too smooth to work well on a survival knife. But plenty of knife companies have forged their reputations on the classic material.

The Becker Kephart is a modern rendition of an American classic. Its name refers to Horace Kephart, an outdoorsman who literally wrote the book on bushcraft back in 1906 and spent most of his life in the woods with a similar blade at his waist.

Ka-Bar’s update follows the original closely with a broad blade and a walnut handle that includes a subtle guard. It was designed by Ethan Becker and is definitely less tactical than most modern survival knives. But if you lean in that direction, try Ka-Bar’s wildly popular BK2 Companion (also designed by Becker).

Best Folding Survival Knife

TOPS Knives Fieldcraft FolderTops

Best Folding Knife for Survival

Tops Knives Fieldcraft Folder

Specs

Blade Length 4.4 inches
Overall Length 9.9 inches
Weight 7.5 ounces

Pros

  • Quality materials and ergonomic design

Cons

  • Burly, but not as much as a fixed blade

Folding knives typically don’t make great survival knives — any instance of design complexity is an opportunity for failure. In a folding knife, that’s the pivot. So if you must use a folder for survival, be sure it’s burly.

The Tops Fieldcraft Folder is the pivoting version of a fixed blade of the same name and comes with many of the features that have made that knife a favorite, including a finger guard, micarta handle and carbon steel that’s easy to sharpen.

Its blade is longer than many folders at nearly 4.5 inches, and a liner lock keeps it safely deployed. Remove the pocket clip for a more ergonomic grip (it comes with a leather sheath as an alternative carrying method).

Best Survival Multi-Tool

Leatherman SignalAmazon

Best Multi-Tool for Survival

Leatherman Signal

Specs

Blade Length 2.73 inches
Overall Length 4.5 inches closed, 6.75 inches open
Weight 7.5 ounces

Pros

  • Tons of functionality

Cons

  • Can't handle the big jobs a true survival knife can

Even if you can look past the complexity, the knives on modern multi-tool are often too short and too flimsy by the standards of legit survival knives. But survivalists still rely on them, and the Signal is packed with features for staying alive in less severe (and likely more common) conditions.

The list includes a partially serrated high carbon stainless steel knife, a saw, a whistle, a Ferro rod, a hammer, a sharpener, a can opener, pliers and a whole lot more (19 total).

At the size of a standard pocket knife, you can throw it in your pack and forget about it until the moment you need it most. You can always combine it with one of the other knives on this list, too.

Best Small Survival Knife

ESEE Izula II knifeAmazon

Best Small Survival Knife

ESEE Izula-II

Specs

Blade Length 2.6 inches
Overall Length 6.75 inches
Weight 3.2 ounces

Pros

  • Light enough to bring on any adventure

Cons

  • No getting around it — maybe too small for most survivalists

Purists will say that to be considered a survival knife, the knife must meet a minimum length. And although there’s no official consensus on what that length is, nine inches is a common medium.

The Izula-II is only 6.75, and only 2.63 of those inches are portioned to its blade, making this the most controversial pick on the list. Still, the Izula-II can handle itself in far more rigorous situations than your typical EDC knife.

Like our top pick, the ESEE-4, the Izula-II uses 1095 high carbon steel that’s coated for corrosion resistance and easy to sharpen. Its micarta handle is comfy and, despite its size, allows for a full-handed grip.

The blade design includes an extended ricasso — that’s the flat, unsharpened side portion of a blade near the start of the handle — that effectively extends the handle and forms a guard in the process. And it weighs just 3.2 ounces, eliminating the last excuse anyone might have to find themselves stranded and unprepared ever again.