A Guide To The Best Survival Knife

Survival knives are designed for a wide range of purposes. If you enjoy hunting and getting out in the wilderness, it’s an essential piece of kit.

While some might refer to survival knives as hunting knives, there’s much more to the best survival knife than simply using it to hunt.

In this guide, we take a look at different types of survival knives, their uses, and which one is the best to buy for your needs and budget.

What Is A Survival Knife?

A survival knife is a purpose-built wide-edged blade with more utility than a standard knife.

They’re often fitted with longer blades and specialist grips, which can be designed for comfort or for practicality. Ultimately, they’re an easy-to-pack tool that can help get you out of a tight situation if you’re left roaming the wilds, doing a spot of camping, or going on a hunting trip over a long weekend.

What Can You Use A Survival Knife For?

The best survival knife has multiple uses; they’re all designed with a few key elements of outdoor activities in mind. If you pack a suitable survival knife, you can hunt at short range, skin any animals you’ve caught for food, cut rope or foliage, and shave or cut down branches and wood for a fire.

While most survival knives are used for firewood and to skin meat, they’re also used in warfare settings. Survival knives are considered essential for those in the army or those going behind enemy lines, who carry as little kit as possible to enable them to move around more quickly.

A standard army-issue kit usually provides infantry soldiers or combat medics with survival knives or bladed weaponry, but the exact kit provided can depend on the regiment or where the soldiers are stationed.

The Best Survival Knives In 2024

So what is the best survival knife you can buy right now?

There are several key varieties that you can opt for, and we’ve broken them down here. You can find options for the best multi-use knives, the cheapest ones that can do the basics, and specifics such as the knives with the most comfortable grip material.

What Is The Best Survival Knife For Those On A Budget?

You can pick up survival knives for less than $10. While they might not come with the warranties or rave reviews of some of the other blades on LAPG, this doesn’t mean they can’t do the trick.

If you only need your knife to carve up wood for a fire, then any of these should do the trick—here are some of the best budget survival knives we sell here at LAPG.

LA Police Gear Rescue EDC Survival Knife

A cheap yet quality blade weighing less than 5 ounces, our Rescue EDC Survival Knife will only set you back $19.99. Though light, it’s reliable and sturdy and can be bought with a plain edge or partially serrated one, which is useful if you want to use it for cutting too.

Whether you require it for multi-use or long stints camping or in the woods, you shouldn’t have an issue with this knife, regardless of whether you're using it for cooking purposes or to get a fire going. So this quality, budget-friendly survival knife ticks all the boxes.

Gerber Paraframe Mini Folding Knife

Gerber is one of the most prolific survival knife manufacturers. They’re renowned for their high-quality and affordable blades, and the Gerber Paraframe Mini Folding Knife is another cost-effective example of their expertise in action. Not only does it have a sturdy pocket clip, but the stainless steel handles make it ideal for gripping in all weather conditions.

Some reviews state the blade is smaller than they thought, and it’s worth noting that the 5.25-inch blade is reasonably small. While it might not be the best survival knife on the market, it definitely does the job on a budget—it costs just $12.99 at LAPG, so it ticks a big box for affordability.

What Is The Best Folder Survival Knife?

The best folder survival knife often depends on your preference and needs. These survival knives feature a mechanism to tuck the blade into the handle. Some folding knives have a button that you can press to bring out the knife. Others may require you to manually open it.

Folder survival knives are very portable and subtle, as well as doing a great job when it comes to functionality. Here are two of the most popular folder knives on the market right now.

Gerber Remix Serrated Clip

With a G-10 composite handle and a Tanto blade, the Gerber Remix Serrated Clip is one of the most popular folder knives on the market. It’s well-made and robust and can hold its edge, can be used for emergency situations like cutting a seatbelt in the aftermath of a car accident, and can be used in a more industrial setting too.

It comes with a lifetime warranty at LAPG and is in the lower range of folded knives; you can pick one up for around $34, so it’s the better of our two options if you’re looking for a cost-effective blade that can do the trick.

LAPG TBFK S35VN EDC Folding Knife

By every possible measuring stick you could use, the best survival knife that retracts and folds, in our humble opinion, is the LAPG TBFK S35VN EDC Folding Knife. Its 8-inch blade has ambidextrous handle grips and a satin or black stone-washed finish, whichever you most like the look of.

You only need to look at the reviews to see how well it is received by experts and those who use it for practical purposes. While it comes at a slightly higher price than the Gerber, the TBFK, which stands for “The Best F***ing Knife,” definitely helps sell it.

From personal experience, this is the premium folding knife to use on a camping trip, for EDC utility use, or to defend yourself.

What Is The Best Multifunction Survival Knife?

You'll have to expand your budget if you’re looking for the best multifunction survival knife that can easily cut through animal meat, skin, and wood.

However, multifunctional survival knives are some of the most crucial items you can carry if you want to spend a decent stretch of time out in the wilderness and live off the land. Here’s our pick for the best multi-purpose blades.

Benchmade 537 Bailout Green Tanto Folding Knife

With a 60-day no-hassle return policy and a mini deep-carry clip, we particularly like the Benchmade 537 Bailout Green Tanto Folding Knife primarily due to its ultralight design and its strength-to-weight ratio.

Obviously, the strength-to-weight ratio is crucial for any blade. Still, if you’re using it for shaving firewood, it has that gliding feel that enables you to retain durability.

We wouldn’t consider it the best folding knife purely because of the price. If you’re looking for something more cost-effective and you need a blade purely because of how easily it is to flick out and put away, then stick to the Gerber Remix Serrated or the LAPG TBFK 35. But if you want a folding knife that can do it all and you want premium quality, this all-around tool will set you back $270. However, we feel it’s worth it.

Benchmade 2950BK-2 Woodland Green Partial Immunity Wharncliffe Tactical EDC Folding Knife

This is the Rolls Royce of survival knives. We didn’t include it in our folded knife selection because this is the choice if you want something that can cut through anything.

The reversible deep-carry pocket clip and AXIS lock mechanism are the two critical features of this blade, as is the ease of carry for both left and right-handers.

The Benchmade 2950BK-2 Woodland Green Partial Immunity Wharncliffe Tactical EDC Folding Knife is the best multi-use knife around right now. It is used equally for everyday and tactical use. It comes with a lifetime warranty and a truckload of positive reviews.

How To Choose A Survival Knife

When it comes to choosing a survival knife, it’s important to have a good idea of how often you’re going to use the knife, what you intend to use it for, and the budget you’re working with.

If you live in a rural area and you’re often out and about camping, fishing, or breathing in the the fresh air, then setting aside a decent budget for the best survival knife should give you the longevity you’re looking for in a blade.

Personal preferences can also dictate the best survival knife. All of the ones we touched on, whether a cheap folded Gerber, a Smith & Wesson, or a LAPG TBFK multi-function retractable curve blade, can do the trick.

Grip and feel also help you understand what type of blade you want, and the handle material should play a part in your decision-making. We’d also recommend checking out reviews and what people who have bought and used the knife have had to say.

Buy A Survival Knife Today

You can find a range of specialist multi-purpose tools at LAPG. Although the best survival knives fall into this category, you can assemble a few items you need for your camping or hunting trip by looking at the broader category.

Be sure to consider user reviews and the type of knife you’re looking for, whether it’s a cost-effective one, the best-folded blade, or something you want for ideal multi-function. You shouldn't be disappointed with your purchase if you cover these bases.