Opinion on a gift knife for a kid who wants to be a ranger.

Climberman

Climberman

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My younger cousin, who is kinda like a younger brother/nephew to me, is graduating high school and already signed up to go to Fort Benning, Georgia for army infantry basic training. He wants to be a ranger.

I want to get him a knife he could use in the field. So, what should I get? I've never been in the military so I am not sure what is useful or needed as far as size and weight go. I'm thinking fixed blade over folder but if a folder would be more useful due to weight or being issued something else let me know.

Budget is around $100 to $150.

@Combat Diver
@thrillhill
I'm sure you will have useful opinions.

Some I considered are:

ESEE Laser Strike
Becker BK 16
Cold Steel SRK
Ontario Black Bird SK-5
 
Buy a TOPS. There are many great options, but buy them from BladeHQ.com
 
Grim said:
Buy a TOPS. There are many great options, but buy them from BladeHQ.com
Click to expand...

Elaborate a little on which tops. Some tops knives look great and useful like the BOB but others seem bizarre in their design.
 
Save the nice knife for when he actually graduates something, either airborne or Ranger school.

Regards basic training at Ft Benning (assuming he will be in the 22 week Infantry OSUT)...knifes of all types, to include pocket knives and multi-pliers, are prohibited items and will be taken from the trainee during shakedown.
 
Long_Hunter said:
Save the nice knife for when he actually graduates something, either airborne or Ranger school.

Regards basic training at Ft Benning (assuming he will be in the 22 week Infantry OSUT)...knifes of all types, to include pocket knives and multi-pliers, are prohibited items and will be taken from the trainee during shakedown.
Click to expand...
I get that, and I will be sure to tell him not to bring it with him. I am still going to get him something because he is graduating from High School and I'm proud of him.
 
Lots of good choices being discussed.

If it is a knife that you hope he will use in the course of duty eventually then you need to also pay attention to the sheath and how that sheath would "mount" or interact with other gear.

Try to get one with a sheath that will accept Tek-Lok or Molle-lok clips, if it is plastic or kydex.

If it is leather or nylon make sure you have other mounting options besides belt only.

The TOPS BOB is a good example of a great knife but a very crappy sheath. Investigate the whole package. look for pics of the whole rig online.

We get a fair amount of traffic from young fellas that want a decent knife two days before SERE training and the overwhelming winner seems to be the ESEE 3 or 4.

Sometimes we sell them a Bark River, usually the Bravo 1 or some version of the Gunny.

A few buy the Mora Companion.

A few buy some version of Spartan Blade.

But the vast majority for that particular task seem to lean towards the ESEE 3 or 4.


Now, military on military gifts (somebody is retiring and/or leaving unit) seem to overwhelmingly favor Winkler Knives, with a few Spartans and Bark Rivers in the mix.


Overall takeaway for me, you get a young man a nice knife he'll appreciate it regardless of whether it is something he carries later or just shows his friends when they are hanging out.
 
Whatever you decide, make sure you check with @thrillhill on pricing. He has good advice and prices. :)
I can’t stand to be without a multi tool all the time. I have been caring one for probably 20 years now.
But I also like the idea of a fixed blade if it’s going to be used in the field/brush or just as a cool present
 
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TOPS knives all seem like sharpened pry bars to me; just not a fan of their edge geometry.

If you want something purely utilitarian, Ontario, Becker, or ESEE are fine options. Ontario has a Ranger line that might appeal, but it's hard to go wrong with a RAT, while the Becker BK2, BK9, and BK7 are fine options. BK5 is discontinued, but my personal favorite for big knives.
 
ESEE
 
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