
Whether backpacking, mountain biking, hunting, camping, or climbing, there are countless variables and hazards you face when headed into the backcountry for some off-grid exploration or adventure. As such, being armed with a proper loadout of tools and gear for your chosen outdoor activity is absolutely essential — and often makes the difference between thriving or merely surviving. Regardless of off-grid activity, there’s one piece of kit that’s conducive to practically every outdoor sport or hobby, and that’s the fixed-blade knife. Below, we’ll be breaking down the reasons why every outdoor enthusiast should carry a fixed blade when going into the outdoors.
Article Overview

The Benefit Of Using Tools Outdoors
Whether residing in a small town or a major metropolitan area, living in civilization not only means having established infrastructure and access to basic utilities, but it also means food, water, clothing, and other supplies and essentials are readily-available and usually require just a short drive or a quick delivery order. This ,however, isn’t the case when existing in the backcountry, as you’re completely removed from civilization and all the benefits, niceties, and creature comforts that come with it. Consequently, being prepared for the outdoors requires carrying an array of tools and gear to help you take care of your basic survival needs — whether this be making shelter, building fire, or hunting, processing, or preparing fish, game, or other food.
Essential Off-Grid Fixed Blade Uses
A fixed blade knife should be at the top of your list when compiling an outdoor gear loadout, as these rigid knives offer an enormous amount of utility in the backcountry thanks to the fact that they lend themselves to such a wide variety of off-grid tasks and uses. This includes everything from feather-sticking wood and making kindling to being used for hammer-splitting logs to skinning game to camp cooking, just to name a few. There are also countless bushcraft tasks that can all be carried out with little more than a fixed blade, a bit of know-how, and some time and determination.
The spine of many fixed blades can also be struck with a Ferro rod to make fire. Fixed blade knives are also great for other around-camp tasks like whittling and cutting rope, and can even be useful in self-defense situations for warding or fighting off predators (at least in a pinch). This plethora of possible uses also affords fixed blades with a pretty impressive level of versatility — which in turn also gives them better value and bang-for-your-buck as they can be used for a myriad of different outdoor applications and activities (rather than purchasing individual knives for each one).

Outdoor-Focused Edges
The immense utility and wide range of uses they offer off-grid only play one role in making fixed blade knives so incredibly conducive to backcountry use. The other main reason these knives lend themselves so well to outdoor use is their design and construction. Any quality outdoor-ready fixed blade knife will benefit from a full-tang construction (i.e. where the blade steel extends from the tip of the knife down through to the very bottom of the handle, in a single construction), which gives it far from strength and structural integrity than even the sturdiest folding knife locking mechanisms.
Additionally, fixed blade knives often have beefier blade (and tang) thicknesses than folding knives, enabling them to do a markedly better job of standing up to hard-use tasks such as being hammered through logs. Also of major importance is the fact that fixed blade knives are completely devoid of any moving parts or mechanisms whatsoever, meaning there are no components to break or fail, just a blade and a set of handle scales. What’s more, the rigid nature of fixed blades and their lack of moving parts also makes these knives significantly easier to clean and maintain — making them even more ideal for off-grid use.
Because their blades don’t fold and they can’t simply be slipped in a pocket, pretty much all fixed blade knives are sold with an accompanying sheath. Whether crafted from leather or a more modern hard construction like ABS, polymer, or KYDEX, the sheaths of fixed blade knives also afford far more carrying options than being suspended from your pocket on a clip, and can not only be fixed to a wide array of locations (from traditional hip-carrying to reverse chest carrying to carrying on a backpack strap) but can also often be oriented in almost any direction (tip up, tip down, scout carry, etc).

What To Look For When Shopping For A Fixed Blade
When purchasing a fixed blade knife for outdoor use, there are a number of key areas that one should focus on. For starters, you’ll want to make sure any knife you’re looking at is of the full-tang variety. Next, you’ll want to review the shape of the blade, as different profiles and silhouettes will allow the knife to better lend itself to particular types of tasks. We recommend primarily limiting your search to blades with either a drop point, clip point, Wharncliffe, or tanto profile, as these all offer a solid combination of piercing and slicing abilities and will be generally suited to most outdoor tasks.
The type of grind the blade has is also of major importance and should be reviewed when shopping, as certain types of grinds make certain tasks much easier — such as Scandinavian grinds which are great for processing and working with wood. We also recommend opting for blades with partially-serrated edges, as these provide you with the best of both worlds in terms of competent slicing and sawing. Holes in the blade or handle that can be used as lashing points for turning the knife into a spear are also a welcome addition on any outdoor-focused fixed blade or survival knife.
You’ll also want to pay close attention to both the thickness of the blade (and tang), and, more importantly, the type of blade steel used to construct the knife, as this will determine overall hardness, edge retention, and several other key factors. Likewise, you’ll also want to look at the handle material. You should also take note of the sheath, as this is another crucial element when buying any fixed blade. The overall size and dimensions of the knife are also pivotal to take into account, as is the shape of the handle and the knife’s overall ergonomics.

The Gerber Strongarm
The Gerber Strongarm ticks pretty much every box mentioned above and is a stellar example of what to aim for when shopping for a fixed blade knife for outdoor use. Made in America, the Strongarm is a bonafide survival knife that features a beefy 0.19-inch-thick full-tang construction that’s composed of 420 high-carbon steel and culminates in a 4.875-inch drop point profile with a partially-serrated edge. This design makes for a ridiculously hardwearing knife that has no problem standing up to everything from hard-use workhorse tasks to bushcrafting to even close-quarter-combat.
Continuing Gerber’s legacy of producing outdoor and survival knives for the U.S. military that dates back to 1968, the blade has been paired with a rubberized over-mold handle with a grippy diamond-texture pattern and a striking pommel that allows it to act as an impromptu hammer. Spanning 9.75” overall and weighing in at just 7.10oz, the Strongarm also ships with an included MOLLE-compatible polymer sheath that provides a number of mounting style and location options.

Custom Configuring
In addition to coming backed by a lifetime warranty, the Strongarm is also eligible for Gerber’s Customization Program which allows buyers to custom-configure the knife on the brand’s website however they see fit. This customization program includes a wide array of handle and hardware color options and blade finishes, as well as the ability to have text, patterns, logos, or images printed directly onto either side of the blade. It’s a great — and affordable — way of making the knife your own, and the possibilities here really are pretty much endless.
Spec Sheet
Brand: Gerber
Model: Strongarm
Type: Fixed Blade
Overall Length: 9.75”
Blade Length: 4.875”
Blade Thickness: 0.19”
Blade Shape: Drop Point
Blade Steel: 420HC
Edge Type: Partially-Serrated
Handle Material: Rubber Over-Mold
Sheath: Polymer
Manufacturing Origin: USA
Pricing & Availability
The Gerber Strongarm Fixed Blade Knife is available now, with pricing starting at $90.