Best Budget Camp Knife for Bushcraft

Hey everybody, Prepared Wanderer back, back in the woods

And it's been a while since I shot a video. I had to take a little time off for some surgery, but I'm back now

And today's video we're going to be taking a look at what I consider a necessity when

I go camping is having a good camp knife. And what do I mean by camp knife

Well, I'm going to show you, so stick around. A camp knife to me is what some people also call a scout knife

It's kind of a common term for this style of blade. And it's basically what it is

It's a knife that predates Leatherman tools. It's a multi-purpose knife that has multiple tools on it that you use around camp

And the one we're going to look at today is something I just got in the mail

This is the Rough Rider Camp King. And this thing is phenomenal for the price

And if you are on a budget and you're looking for a really sturdy, stout camp knife, scout

knife to go bushcrafting with, go camping with, this guy is it

I have many, many of these types of knives in my collection, from old ones to new ones

Swiss Army knives, all kinds of different styles. This really has stood out to me as an exceptional value, which is the right amount of tools

So here it is. This knife, believe it or not, is in the $20 to $25 range with shipping

I bought mine through Smoky Mountain Knife Works, a great knife company down in Tennessee

And ordered it up from them, had it here in a few days

And if you're unfamiliar with Rough Rider, the brand is an overseas manufacturer

I believe they're made in China. But their quality is really on par and up to snuff with some knives like Case

And I know that's going to ruffle some feathers. Knife collectors, guys who are spending $60 to $100 on a knife, well, let me tell you

for $20, you can get a knife that equals that standard of manufacture

And you can just, I mean, just looking at it, you can tell that the materials are top notch

There's brass liners in this thing. There's a bone handle that's been carved

440 stainless steel blade. Another impressive feature of this knife is that it has half stops

So the blade will come out of the handle, stop halfway, and then you press it to go

further all the way. So the half stops are just a nice feature in a knife

And usually more expensive knives like Great Eastern Cutlery and brands like that do half

stops in their knives. So Rough Rider's been doing it on theirs lately

And I think it's definitely a nice upgrade. Now what I want to talk about with this blade is the tools that come on this thing

This is what makes it a scout knife or a camp knife is the tools

And these are the tools that I use the most when I'm camping

And I really don't need much more than this if I'm lucky

So the first thing we're going to have is..

You're going to have a good can opener. There's that half stop that I'm talking about

See it stops right there and then I can continually open it

But a good can opener, you never know when you're going to have a can of beans or beef

stew or something with in camp, you're going to need that. So a nice can opener is definitely a great feature

Second tool is a cap lifter. And this one has a nice, long, pronounced bill to it

So that actually serves double purpose. This is also a screwdriver. And a screwdriver is actually pretty useful for me because I'm doing a lot of photography

I'm always tightening tripods and camera gear and stuff like that. So having that screwdriver does come in handy

And then of course a good bottle opener is definitely a great tool

And of course a main blade that you can carve with. This is definitely the optimal shape for carving

It's just a nice, pronounced shape. Easy to handle. Also great for slicing meat, cheese, things like that, breads

It makes it a great all-purpose blade style for a camp knife

And last but not least is the awl. Some call it a reamer

I call this an awl or scraper. Definitely nice for punching holes in leather and materials

The reason that I like these on my camp knife is one reason only and that's because I use

it for igniting my fire steel. And I'm going to show that to you here in a second

So I like to use the awl for striking my fire steel

It makes a great tool that way I don't have to carry an extra striker with me

See that sharp edge on that one side makes a great fire steel striker

Of course one thing people are going to ask is how sharp is it

Well out of the box, mine came razor sharp. Certainly good enough to do any kind of camp carving skills that you need

And of course I love this bail on it

I think that's just an added bonus. That way I can attach a tether to it, clip that to my belt so I don't lose this while

I'm out in the field

So it definitely works. If you're looking for a good quality camp knife, something that's not going to break

the bank, then this is definitely it. This is the Rough Rider Camp King and I definitely endorse this brand

Awesome knife. I plan to carry this for years. And because of the price, if I lose it, it's not a big deal

I can go out and buy another one and it's not a big deal

It's a win-win. Alright, so as always, please like, subscribe, and share and we'll see you next time on the

Prepared to Wander. Oh, and don't forget to subscribe to the Facebook group

Links down below. There's also other links to the Amazon page. Check that out

As well as selling some patches if you need those. Links are down below for that

As always, thank you very much for watching and we'll see you next time