Are you and your friends thinking of going on a hiking trip? We're sure you've looked up the route. That's always the first thing we do when we're planning our next trip. The thing that we always do last is packing. This habit brings trouble for us more often than we'd like to accept. We often forget essential things like toothbrushes, comb and footwear. But when it comes to hiking trips, most people forget to carry a knife. It reminds us of the time when our team forgot to pack one for our hiking trip in India's mighty Himalayas in the autumn of 2019. As you probably would have guessed by the tone of the last sentence, the trip quickly turned into a nightmare. 

Don't worry; we'd never let that happen to you. 

A versatile hiking knife is as essential as a life jacket on a small boat. This is particularly true for people like you and me, who are not professional hikers. You are going on your first hiking trip with friends and do not have Bear Grylls-type survival skills. Not to mention that Bear Grylls and most other professional hikers also carry a hiking knife during their trip. As we said, it is essential. 

To ensure that you're fully equipped for your next hike, we will talk about the best hiking knife available in the market today. 

In our opinion, the best hiking knives in the market are made by Victorinox, a company based in Switzerland. If it is Swiss, it has to be the best. Jokes aside, Victorinox is famous for its versatile Swiss Army knives, available in every part of the world today. It has recently launched a series of hiking knives, appropriately named 'Hunter'. Since its launch, Victorynix's Hunter knives have overtaken the hiking knife market, which had been waiting for new innovation for decades. 

Victorinox's 'Hunter' hiking knives series includes models like Hunter Pro Alox Limited Edition, Hunter Pro Alox, Hunter Pro M Alox and Hunter Red. The most versatile of these knives is Hunter Red, also called Hunter on the Victorinox website. While almost all other models in the series come with a single blade, the Hunter comes with 12 tools. Hunter is the best hiking knife available in the market and a marvellous piece of innovation from Victorinox. We're going to talk about it in detail to give you an idea of what this knife offers to hike enthusiasts like us. 

Material and dimensions of Hunter knife

When it comes to material and dimensions, Hunter comes with the best possible combination. With a weight of around 126 grams and a height of 18.5 millimetres, the Hunter knife is compact enough to slip into your pocket or sock. If you buy a large hiking knife, you will have to carry it in your backpack. It may not be in your pocket when you need it the most. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you? 

Perhaps the best thing about this knife is that the maker, Victorinox, has not compromised on strength to reduce its size. Hunter is one of the strongest hiking knives we've ever touched. The scale material of the knife is Polyamide, a polymer that is known for its good resilience and high impact strength. The knife can withstand extremely high and low temperatures, which makes it an ideal hiking knife. You will not have to buy different hiking knives for your trips to the Alps in Europe and the Sahara desert in Africa. 

A good grip is essential when you're using a sharp knife, and this material that Victorinox has used on the outer surface of the knife provides that. It'll give you a good grip even when your hands are wet, which is often the case during hiking. 

Hunter is small and light but packs a big punch. 

As we said earlier, Victorinox's Hunter knife is perhaps the most versatile hiking knife available in the market. The Hunter comes with 12 different tools and is equipped to meet all your demands during a long hiking trip. We're going to discuss five major tools in the knife — blade, screwdriver, can opener, wood saw and reamer. 

Tools in Hunter knife

 

Blade

The first and the most critical of Hunter's 12 tools is the large knife blade. For cutting fruits, opening packets of snacks and getting rid of the climbers that got stuck to your leg while you were walking, you'll need a hiking knife with a good blade. Hunter's blade will do that and much more for you during your long hiking trip. 

The blade is sturdy and does not bend or fold during use. It is made of stainless steel, which ensures that it is corrosion-resistant. Rusting is a major problem when it comes to other hiking knives, and most professional hikers know this. 

Victorinox makes the blades in a manner that they are durable and retains their sharpness for years without any renewal or special care. The company inspects every batch of steel it procures before using it in its knives. As a result, no cases of rusting or complaints related to the durability of the blade have been reported by the millions of customers of Victorinox knives around the world. 

You can open the blade with one hand with the help of the notch on the outer surface. It is designed to lock automatically. If you're holding a torch or phone in the other hand, you don't need to drop it to open and lock the blade. The users of Victorinox Hunter knives have told us that this is one of its best qualities. 

But in case the blade needs sharpening, you can do so using a Wheatstone. To sharpen it, pull out the blade, position it on a hard and flat surface and then rub the Wheatstone on it. Rubbing the stone at an angle of 15-20° will do the job for you.  

The Hunter knife also comes with a smaller blade, which is as durable and sharp as the larger blade. It can be used to cut and peel fruits and vegetables or gut a fish if you plan to camp after hiking. Like the larger blade, the small blade also locks in place when it is opened and is made of corrosion-resistant material. It also has the same shape as the large blade and cuts through anything with as much precision. 

If you decide to leave your initials on the trunk of a tree during your hiking trip, do not risk using the large blade. Use the smaller blade instead. 

Screwdriver

If you think that a screwdriver would not be of use during your hiking trip, you're wrong. What if you have to tighten a screw in your camping equipment? What if your portable chair or camera tripod refuses to open? You'd have to fix it on your own because no professional help will be available before you return home. Perhaps that is why most professional hikers wouldn't go on a hiking trip without a screwdriver.

But if you're using a Victorinox Hunter knife, you don't need to carry a screwdriver separately. It is one of the 12 tools parts of the Hunter knife. 

To use it:

1. Pull it out of the layered knife and place it on the screw.
2. Turn the entire knife to drive the screw in or out.
3. For safety, ensure that all the other tools part of the knife, most notably the blade, are locked inside. 

The 5-millimetre screwdriver in Victorinox's Hunter knife is good enough for all the tasks that you may have to perform during your hiking trip. You don't need anything larger—we're telling you from experience. 

Can Opener

If you're going on a long hiking tour and plan to camp, you'll have to carry canned food along with you. Opening the tin without a can opener may prove difficult. 

During one of our trips, a friend who was trying to open a can with his car key ended up spilling half of the content of the can on his clothes. He had to stay that way the entire day. You wouldn't want to ruin your hiking trip as he did. 

To open a can using the Hunter knife:

1. Put the can on a flat and stable surface.
2. Place the can opener on the edge of the can.
3. Ensure that the hook of the can opener is outside the ring while the cutting part is inside.
4. Make an incision and run the opener around the circumference of the can to remove the lid.

Your job is done. 

Wood saw

How will a small wood saw help during a hiking trip, you ask? Well, if you decide to camp, you may need fire. In case you're not carrying a matchbox or a lighter, which is often the case, all you will have at your disposal is your knife. Don't be surprised when we tell you that you can use the wood saw that comes with your Victorinox Hunter knife to build a fire. 

To build a fire using the saw:

1. Find a few dry twigs and leaves and put them in a dry place.
2. Use the wood saw on a twig to make some wood shavings.
3. Rub the saw on another piece of metal to create sparks, which will light the shavings.
4. Cover the shavings with dry leaves and twigs to maintain the fire. 

The wood saw could also be used in carving a tent stick. You can cut a large stick into multiple pieces using the wood saw. It can also be used to make v-shaped incisions, markings or curves in the tent sticks to improve the hold of the rope being used to tie the stick with the tent. 

Reamar

A reamer, also called awl, can be used for stitching and punching. If you have to punch a hole through the canvas of your camping equipment or drill a hole through the camp stick, this is the tool to do it. The tool is tapered at the end to enable you to make incisions easily. The edge of the reamer is sharp and can be used for scraping the sides of a hole or incision to increase its size. Because it is curved in the middle, it increases the size of the hole, or the incision is made as it penetrates the material.  

Performance of Hunter knife

Victorinox has been building knives for outdoor use for over 100 years now. Very few players in the outdoor knife market can beat Victorinox when it comes to making these products. Its knives have set standards for performance in their category for decades, and the rest of the industry has been playing catch up. No other player in the market has been able to come close, let alone match the performance of the Hunter knife. 

The Hunter knife by Victorinox has consistently received good reviews on durability, design and ease of use both in North America and Europe. It is no wonder that millions of pieces have been sold by Victorinox in these parts of the world. The knife is also very popular in India, where it continues to top the ranking charts. 

The rigorous testing regime that Victorinox has introduced at its manufacturing centres has ensured that everything that comes out of its units proves to be the best in the market. Over the years, various surveys have shown that the popularity of knives made by Victorinox has only improved among customers. 

Instead of burdening it, the company's rich history and legacy have given it more room for innovation. The expertise developed over decades has ensured that the innovation at Victorinox in the form of knives like the Hunter fits the needs and demands of the customers, not just the interests of the company. 

Only Victorinox can make a product like Hunter at an affordable price.