Without a good survival knife, your ability to survive in the wilderness is put at risk. When choosing a survival knife here are some things to consider:

Handle - Handles on survival knives vary widely. Some are hard rubber, others polymer. I would avoid knives with built-in storage in hollow handles.  Another thing to avoid is a compass in the handle because it could mess up your grip. Do you really need a cheap compass in the handle of such an important tool when it could make the knife hard to work with?

Tang - The tang of a knife is the part of the blade that extends into the handle. The Tang and the blade are one solid piece of steel. A full tang or tang that goes all the way to the base of the handle is best for a survival knife because this gives the entire knife strength.

Blade - Survival knives generally come in either stainless or carbon steel. Which is better is a debate we can’t settle here:

Blade Design - A straight blade knife will work better for chopping wood and is much easier to sharpen. A good smooth stone can even be used to sharpen a straight blade, whereas a serrated blade usually takes a sharpener. But as I’ve said in other posts, I like serrated edges.

Blade Length - Most survival knives are from 6 to 12 inches long. Any less and it might not be big enough to do survival tasks like chopping wood. We recommend 9 to 10 inches. You don’t want a survival knife that’s too big to handle and carry effectively.

Blade Thickness - A good general rule is about 3/16 - 4/16 of an inch. A knife of that thickness will be extremely solid and able to withstand the requirements of a survival knife.

Sheath - There are three things you want in a sheath:

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