Buck Summit Knife a Smart Buy

The market if flooded with all sorts of survival and outdoorsman's knives promising much and often delivering little other than disappointment. Quality knives are cherished by their owners for dependability, versatility and effectiveness. A knife lacking in any one of these qualities could mean either a lifetime spent on the shelf collecting dust, in the darkness of a junk drawer or find its way to the landfill.

Finally, I've found a knife that not only has everything I need, but has it in a convenient form without much bulk. And, what's more, the knife keeps a virtual razor's edge, and doesn't dull easily. When it does dull, it sharpens easily to its original brilliance.

Of course, I'm referring to Buck Knives' Summit knife. Endorsed by outdoorsman/mountaineer Whittaker - it's hard to find out if they mean Tom or Jim -- the Summit is just as handy for day-to-day use, or for use out on a hiking, camping or mountaineering trip.

The blade is made of 420HC steel, meaning it can take a great amount of pressure before snapping. But, that doesn't mean you should try using it like a hatchet. Prepare ahead for foreseeable circumstances so you don't have to rely on the blade's tenacity. The blade is partially serrated, which aids in the rock-and-cut method for taking down sapling and small trees. It has a double thumb stud for opening left or right handed.

The knife also comes with a corkscrew (I'm still not sure what other use this has than for opening corked bottles), a can/bottle opener and a Philips/straight-blade screwdriver tip. The butt of the knife doubles as a lanyard loop for attaching to a neck lanyard or even karabiner. The unopened length of the knife is about 3 ½ inches. All items on the knife lock into place.

This knife is almost perfect. I say "almost" perfect because the side plates of the knife are made of colored stainless steel. While the knife should be nice and warm if in your pocket, it could get cold attached on a karabiner or on a lanyard. In cold temperatures, which mountaineers often face, it makes me wonder about the danger of the knife actually starting to freeze to one's hand if slightly moist.

The knife comes in green, black, blue and red. I recommend getting the knife in blue or red for easy sight. There are just too many things green in the outdoors and black is not ideal for easy sight.

In all, the Buck Whittaker Summit knife if a handy knife for most hiking, camping and mountaineering ventures, aside from the concern about cold on the metal side plates. Otherwise, it has just about everything you could need aside from very specific mountaineering tools. But just about everyone forgets a can opener, and this includes that little gem in such a way as to not be overly bulky like the more traditional Victorinox Swiss army knife.

Now, if only I can remember to bring more wine when out on a hike that corkscrew will finally be of some use.