blade

Gear talk: Fire Maple Blade, Blade 2 and Volcano remote canister stoves

Three Points of the Compass looks at three similar remote canister stoves from Fire Maple- the FMS-117T Blade, FMS-117H Blade 2 and FMS-118 Volcano. These stoves range from three-season, to lightweight four-season, to heavier weight four-season options. There isn't a bad stove amongst them.

Knife chat

Knife chat: going minimal with a cheapo keychain blade

Sometimes all you need is a little blade. It will open packages, slice an apple, trim tape and cordage, even attack an onion. A little keychain blade can be all that is required. They don't come much cheaper than this.

Knife chat

Knife chat: the NexTool Mini Sailor keychain multi-tool

The NexTool Mini Sailor combines ten functions into a single product to bring a surprising addition to the few 'keychain sized' multi-tool options available.

knife

Knife chat: 84mm of Victorinox excellence, a Cadet with a difference

Victorinox do like to release limited editions of their standard range of knives. Normally these will simply be a special colour for the handles. In 2022 Victorinox took the Cadet, one of their most popular knives and changed the handle material. This enabled them to add a couple of tools. Careful scale design has also made this an extremely attractive knife that pays homage to many of the iconic sights to be found in its country of origin.

knife

Knife chat: the SwissBuck Legend- obsolete, but still a good choice

The 65mm SwissBuck Legend is an interesting little tool that may suit those looking for something just a little different. It was the result of a collaboration between Swiss knife maker Wenger and one of the oldest knife makers in the US- Buck Knives.

knife

Knife chat: Victorinox Pioneer and Pioneer Electrician

The Alox Pioneer knives from Victorinox are good looking with well made robust tools. These two-layer options from the 'medium-pocket knives' range differ from each other only slightly and either may provide exactly the tool set required.

Gear

Favourite gear: the Leatherman Squirt S4 keychain multi-tool

None of us require much in the way of a knife or multi-tool when backpacking. A small blade will normally cope with most tasks. However greater functionality can be useful on multi-day excursions. The diminutive Leatherman Squirt S4 has been a favourite of Three Points of the Compass across thousands of miles of trail.

Gear

Knife chat: Woodn’t you believe it- three terrific little Swiss Army Knives

Three little knives from the Victorinox range that feature wood scales

knife

Knife chat: The Spyderco Bug- is this the perfect EDC knife?

Is this the perfect EDC knife? The Spyderco Bug is small enough to always be carried on either neck lanyard or keychain.

knife

Knife chat: Gerber Armbar Slim Cut and Slim Drive

Released in 2021, the Gerber Armbar Slim Drive and Cut multi-tools focus in on different features of their larger Armbar Drive cousin

knife

Knife chat: Gerber Armbar Drive

The Gerber Armbar Drive provides the means to carry a small multi-tool that includes not only a decent sized blade, but also an awl and scissors, alongside a quarter-inch hex drive to enable repair and maintence while on trail

knife

Knife chat: Leatherman Juice S2

The Leatherman Juice S2 may provide a compact set of tools for the backpacker requiring more than just blade and scissors

knife

Knife chat: No.07 Mon Premier Opinel

No.7 My First Opinel is an affordable introduction for inexperienced young people to learn safe knife use

knife

Knife chat: The Victorinox DofE ‘Pocket Tool’

The DofE Pocket Tool supplies a unique combination of tools alongside a 'child-friendly' blade

first aid

Knife chat: Derma-Safe razor

The Derma-Safe razor is little more than a really (really) sharp folding blade- and it's ridiculously cheap too!

Gear

Knife chat: Slim, attractive… No, not me, it’s the often overlooked Victorinox Excelsior

Victorinox still offer a much overlooked slim and simple knife in their 84mm range. This is the Excelsior

first aid

Knife chat: Is this the best, lightest, sharpest, folding knife available? It bloody well might be!

Is the Nitecore NTK05 the best, lightest, sharpest, folding knife available for backpacking- it bloody well might be!

Cooking

Knife chat: Opinel knives

French manufactured Opinel knives have a long history- they celebrated their 130th birthday in 2020. These are ideal lightweight knives for backpacking

Cooking

Knife chat: Victorinox Money Clip- useless clip, great knife

The 74mm range from Victorinox doesn’t get much attention. There […]

Gear

Knife chat: SOG Snippet- the best scissors you will find on a mini multi-tool

The SOG Snippet is a keychain multi-tool that brings the finest pair of small 'precision-cut' scissors to the backpacker

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