A good knife is essential when traveling outdoors, not just for the utility and myriad things you can do with a sharp blade (whittling sticks anyone?) but also as a tool of survival. Opinel is a 126-year-old company from France that produces outdoor-specific knives loaded with features alongside that sharp blade that could save your life. The No. 12 Explore and No. 08 Outdoor are two examples. I’ve taken these knives on a few camping trips over the summer and came away impressed. Here’s a closer look.
The Opinel No. 08 Outdoor features:
- 8.5cm blade made from modified Sandvik 12C27 stainless steel
- 3.5cm serrated rope cutting area
- Shackle key
- Dual material handle
- Pealess survival whistle
- Virobloc dual safety ring
The Opinel No. 12 Explore features:
- 10cm stainless steel blade
- Polyamide handle with soft rubber for grip
- Cutting hook
- Opening for a strap
- Fire starter
- Safety whistle
I brought both knives along on camping trips to the Uinta Mountains, and each were excellent to have in their own way. The smaller of the two, the No. 08 Outdoor, is clearly the one I would bring along on backpacking trips. It is really small, doesn’t weigh much, but had what you need to cut just about anything. The safety whistle is a plus in case you get lost/injured and need rescue. This would also be an excellent knife to have on rock climbing or mountaineering trips. The serrated portion of the blade is built in specifically for cutting rope, and the bit of cord in the handle allows you to hang it from a harness.
The No. 12 Explore is a much beefier knife that would be at home on any hunter or survivalist’s belt. It has more useful features like a cutting hook, fire starter, safety whistle, and a good grip in case you need to skin an animal or gut a fish for dinner. The 12 Explore is heavier and the blade is very large – enough that it would make Crocodile Dundee proud.
Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective) I never ran into any survival epics that required me to blow the whistle (though I did for fun and the kids got a kick out of it.) I didn’t use it to start a fire, (though while testing I did get some good spark out of it by rubbing it on the back of the blade.) What I did use it for, though was to open up a package of sausage, and carve points on the ends of sticks for roasting marshmallows. See, you don’t have to be a career woodsman to appreciate a good knife.
Although both knives are pretty modern, they remain classic Opinel, which hasn’t changed much over the last hundred years. The knives still have the unique locking ring that holds the blade in place, the grip shape is the same as older models with wooden handles, and the quality is evident throughout.
The No. 08 Outdoor has an MSRP of $35, while the No. 12 Explore has an MSRP of $49, is available for pre-order, and starts shipping in September. I’d say both are very reasonably priced for quality knives. You can find them both at opinel.com
The Good: Quality knives with added safety features.
The Bad: I cannot find anything bad to say about these knives.
Final Word: If you’re looking for a knife to take into the outdoors, whether it be camping, backpacking, mountaineering, hunting, or fishing, then you can’t go wrong wioth the quality and tradition of owning an Opinel knife.
“Vibrobloc”: I have no idea what that is, and neither does anyone at Opinel. 🙂 But every Opinel fan knows what Virobloc is. 😉
Doh!