Best Camping Chef Knife for 2023 [Reviews & Buyer’s Guide]

A Look At The Best Camping Chef Knife

Best Camping Chef Knife: The following is a selection of several excellent camping knives that have a place around the campfire:

Even if they aren’t being used in the kitchen, excellent equipment is necessary for producing delicious cuisine. As we’ve gotten older, we’ve realized that the quality of the food we bring with us on our camping excursions is more important. As a result, we’ve compiled a list of the knives that are best suited for use in outdoor kitchens.

The vast majority of these knives were put to service in conjunction with a single cast-iron pan, grill, and stump. As a result of having to use a picnic table. We went out to test the first round of options side-by-side. On occasion, we brought a cutting board with us when we had the space to bring it along.

That implies that each of the knives shown here has been used for tasks that are beyond the scope of what can be accomplished with a standard kitchen knife. Which brings us to the central question: what characteristics distinguish a kitchen knife from a camping chef knife?

Top 3 Picks

Here Are Our 6 Top Picks For The Best Camping Chef Knives

• Grizzly Off-Grid
• CJRB Silax
• Messermeister Adventure Chef Folding Knife
• Condor Bush Slicer
• Civivi Kepler
• OKC Camp Plus Kitchen Folders

The Best Camping Chef Knife

1. Off Grid Grizzly

• The overall length is 12.75 inches, and the blade is 6.125 inches.
• Blade Steel: AUS-8
• Blade Shape: Reverse tanto
• Blade Grind: Flat
• Handle Length: 4.75″
• G-10 is used for the handle material.
• 11.1 ounces (or 12.9 ounces with the sheath) in weight.
• Sheath: Kydex
• Made in: Taiwan
• Cary Orefice is the designer.

The Grizzly knife seems like it ought to have a rougher cut. But Off-Grid Knives often have a smoother cutting edge than they seem to have. People who understand this aspect of blade geometry possess a unique skill set. In light of the fact that this knife was designed with food preparation in mind. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that it slices as well as any high-end santoku I have used in the past. That’s because they designed it with food preparation in mind.

When you put all of it together with the substantial handle that has a bit of a thumb ramp up at the very top. You end up with something that has the actual impression of being a serious kitchen knife.

Advantage

The use of AUS-8 steel does hold it back a little bit, but in terms of camping. This really works out to be more of an advantage. The steel is on the softer side, yet it holds an edge well and has high resistance to corrosion. All I can say is that it seems a bit antiquated at this point in time. But out of everything that we tried for this piece. The Grizzly stood out as one of the finest in terms of both comfort and its ability to cut.

It is important to note that although it comes in a Kydex sheath, that sheath does not come with any type of belt loop. This is mostly due to the fact that the designer did not want to create the idea that this knife was meant for lengthy walks and chopping down trees. It is important to keep in mind that the edge should remain within the range of food preparation since it is quite thin and so makes an excellent cutting surface.

The spine and handle, on the other hand, are definitely up to the challenge of withstanding some light pounding.

2. Cjrb Silax

• Overall Length: 9.75″ Blade Length: 5.25″
• Blade Steel: AR-RPM9
• Modified wharncliffe blades are used.
• Blade Grind: Flat
• Handle Length: 4.5″
• G-10 is used for the handle material.
• Weight: 4.9 oz
• Sheath: Kydex
• manufactured in: China
• Designer: Dylan Mallery

Even though it isn’t as large as a chef’s knife, the Silax is one of the few knives in this set that I would use on a regular basis in my own kitchen. It is incredibly lightweight, has an outstanding balance, and has a terrific edge with controllable steel all while being in good overall shape.

The fact that the steel is durable while yet maintains decent edge stability is one of the reasons why this is an excellent chef’s knife for camping. This simplicity of maintenance is something that will be particularly helpful on an extended camping trip.

On the other hand, I adore this knife in its whole. Not simply for meal prep. The design of the blade is one of my favorite aspects of the knife since it produces such a powerful tip that, despite the relatively compact size of the knife overall, is capable of doing a tremendous lot of work. If we’re talking about kitchen knives, this one is more of a utility knife than a chef’s knife, but the edge is so precisely finished and the grip is so ergonomically designed that I’m more likely to choose this one than the vast majority of the other recommendations in this piece.

3. Messermeister Adventure Chef Folding Knife

• Overall Length: 13.5″ Blade Length: 6.0″
• Blade Steel: 1.4116
• Western chef is the shape of the blade.
• Blade Grind: Flat
• Handle Length: 7.25″
• Material for the Handle: Either maple wood or linen Micarta
• Weight: 7.6 oz
• There is no sheath, it does come in a zipped bag.
• manufactured in: China
• Designer: Adam Glick

While it may seem odd that the only knife on our list (at least for now) that advertises itself as a chef’s knife is also the one that I find the least enjoyable to use, the motivation behind the knife is admirable.

An 8-inch folding knife with a liner lock makes for a rather jerky experience, and I am not sure who thought it was a good idea. There is a problem with the grip, and the blade is not all that sharp.

Nevertheless, both of us have been using the zipper bag and the tiny folding cutting board that comes inside it frequently (the cutting board can be seen in many of the pictures in this article). Due to the fact that the complete item can be stored inside boxes and backpacks without creating much bulk, this is a relatively lightweight and space-saving alternative.

It is not necessary to make a great deal of modifications to the knife in order to make it an excellent tool in and of itself. Sharpening and stropping, for example, may be done by the end-user in a simple manner. However, I would probably continue to use it if it had a nicer handle and a stronger lock.

This knife is the only option available here that resembles a western chef knife in form and I find it appealing enough to use on occasion.

4. Condor Bush Slicer

• Overall Length: 11.75″ Blade Length: 6.5″ Blade Steel: 1075
• Blade Shape: Standard
• Blade Grind: Convex
• Handle Length: 6.5″
• Handle Material: Micarta
• Weight: 10.98 oz
• Kydex with a leather strap serving as the sheath
• Made in: El Salvador
• Designer: Julio Diez

It would be more accurate to refer to this knife as something other than a slicer. As an alternative to a lawnmower, it is more like a bush chopper. Having such a large edge to work with makes slicing difficult, especially when it comes to food; yet, you can slice in any direction, as the edge is so large.

There is a primary advantage in this situation in the fact that you only need to bring the Bush Slicer with you. The food may not always look especially attractive or delicate when cut with this knife, but the advantage of having a chopping-edge on a tall blade that is also an efficient spatula makes cooking on the pan a very enjoyable experience. Chopping wood can be used to start a fire for your cooking.

It is pleasant to have so much steel at my disposal in a convex grind that it always feels as if the edge will never be damaged no matter how much I stir food on a cast iron pan while cutting with it. Since 1075 steel is usually easy to work with, there is a lot of it here to work with, and there is a lot of it here.

This is primarily due to the fact that 1075 steel is found in considerable quantities in this area. Even in the worst-case situation, I can just reprofile the blade, but until then, there is something to be said about using a heavy cleaver to manage your whole campground, from tent poles to beef steaks.

5. Civivi Kepler

• Overall Length: 10.0″ Blade Length: 4.5″
• Blade Steel: 9Cr18MoV
• Wharncliffe is the kind of blade shape.
• A compound flat is referred to as a Blade Grind.
• Handle Length: 5.5″
• G-10 is used for the handle material.
• 7.7 ounces without sheath; 11.25 ounces with sheath
• Sheath: Kydex
• manufactured in: China
• Designer: Maciej Torbe

The form factor is the primary reason why I choose the Kepler for food preparation. There is a lot of space between the knuckles, and one may get a pinch grip that is tolerable in terms of comfort. In addition, the design of the cleaver offers some of the same advantages in terms of strong points as the silax and the grizzly.

There is only a slight difference in the edge grind. It was never designed for food preparation. In this regard, it is more comparable to the Bush Slicer; yet, it has the advantage of being made of stainless steel. It takes considerable stropping to get the blade into any type of shape that is satisfactory for cutting food, despite the fact that the blade is incredibly resilient and does an excellent job of chopping.

Even yet, the angle of the grind is so broad that it has a tendency to cause the cut to spin when you are working with bigger, tougher things like onions or apples. However, provided that you are fine with a rustic spread, the Kepler can very simply transform a pile of meat and veggies into a somewhat presentable sandwich melt. This is provided that you are content with a rustic spread.

6. Okc Camp Plus Kitchen Folders

• 9.51 inches long overall, with a length of 4.25 inches for the blade.
• Blade Steel: Stainless
• Blade Grind: Chef (Hollow) Santoku (Flat) Bread (Flat)
• Handle Length: 5.5″
• Material Used for the Handle: GFN
• manufactured in: China
• Weight: 3.6oz

The design Messermeister envisioned for the Adventure Chef knife was a more compact back-lock folder with a handle that accommodated the blade without affecting the grip in an unnecessarily complex manner. Their low cost makes them quite useful knives, despite their lack of knuckle clearance.

The three kitchen folders sold under the Camp Plus brand by Ontario’s Camp Plus brand strike a number of other areas well for campfire cooking. Each knife is very lightweight and pretty comfortable considering the material and purpose they’re working with, and all three knives together end up being cheaper than every other knife in this article right now.

The blades are thin, but they’re made with soft steel that doesn’t feel like much of risk around rough terrain. The blades are made with soft steel that doesn’t feel like much of risk around rough terrain. Blades are made with soft steel that doesn’t feel like much of (with the exception of the Old Hickory butcher knife, which also happens to be made by Ontario).

Even though they cut very well out of the box and the unnamed stainless steel can take a pretty nasty edge. None of these knives are likely to win any prizes for performance. However, they will all perform about the same. However, Ontario Knife Co. is exceptional at designing designs that are really durable despite their low price point. And these designs somehow wind up being used twice as often as any other item I own.

Our Consideration For A High-Quality Outdoor Cookknife

We consider it to be any knife that you are either courageous or foolish enough to bring to a camping site. Even though they bring full-on bespoke chef knives to the campground (they only carry them in a knife roll). These individuals do so often due to the fact that one of their knives is much more resilient than the rest of the items in their collection.

Therefore, for the purpose of clarity, let’s simply refer to it as a knife that places an emphasis on food preparation while still making a hint toward robustness and being simple to carry or move. In this area, sheaths were a very important consideration for us. If a large, thin knife had a Kydex sheath that we could either attach to the belt or put paracord through. We would feel comfortable using it to cut onions while we were out in the woods.

EASY PACKING

Either it should be able to fit neatly in a bag or it should be able to fit on our belt. In a perfect world, we would love something which could do both. It is preferable if the item has its own belt sheath, but it is OK if the sheath can be removed and the item may be stored in a box or a bag without taking up too much room.

Knuckle Clearance

At the campsite, we need some space for our hands in the same way that we do in the kitchen. When cutting anything on a stump, there are often methods to avoid the requirement for such clearance. Nonetheless, it is quite helpful when the blade form allows us a lot of area to work with.

Durability And Versatility

In actuality, this often refers to a preference for toughness over severity. In many cases, we use the same knife for meal preparation and cooking. Along with occasional additional use, and we only bring one knife with us while we are out camping.

This is not because we don’t feel these knives ought to be able to chop and baton (though some of our choices can). But because when we are out camping and cooking outdoors we prefer to use only one knife. Because there isn’t always a lot of free table space available for other knives and utensils to be laying about. We often have to make do with just one knife that serves as the fork, the spoon, and the spatula.

Because of this, the majority of the knives that we recommend are often composed of steel that is both durable and simple to mend and reprofile.

Thin Edge

There may be challenges when searching for knives with thin edges when it comes to outdoor knives. But we weren’t for the most part looking for 12-degree Japanese angles. The term thin edge is sometimes used to describe a gradual slope from the secondary bevel. While other times it is used to describe a very sharp slope from the microbevel.

Simply said, we enjoy how neatly the knife cuts our meal. It should be simple to grind it until it is able to cut food with a clean edge if it can’t do that (see durability and versatility above).

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed the article about the best camping chef knife. Camping is a great way to get away from it all and enjoy nature. However, in order to enjoy your trip, it is important to be prepared.

A good chef knife can help you prepare meals quickly and easily, making your trip more enjoyable. Thanks for reading and I hope you found the information helpful.