I remember some years back that quite of lot of paddlers were wearing large PFD’s with multiple pockets for this and that, back pockets for 30m throw bags and more straps/buckles than you could shake a stick at. One of the must have add on features for any self respecting river runner would be a large knife fastened (usually to the shoulder) on the PFD.
If you carry out quick search on most kayak forums for topics around knives for river use and you will also find topics turning into heated debates about where to wear the knife, entrapment/entanglement issues etc etc….. The rule however is very simple – if you carry a rope/sling you should also be carrying a knife.
Personally I prefer the PFD to be as clean and as uncluttered as possible. This really comes from years of WW rafting and having to climb back into a raft after a flip. The more cluttered the PFD the harder it was to climb back in.
I currently have two PFDs 1) Astral 200 and 2) Palm Extrem RV. So I need a knife that is compact, super sharp, very reliable and can be swapped between the PFDs easily. I am a big fan of Spyderco knives and have started to acrrue quite a collection, so I turned to Spyderco to source my river knife. I have for the moment settled on the Spyderco Delica 4.
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