It all depends on your budget, local conditions and that ephemeral quality of personal appeal. Knives seem to be heading in two popular directions; the robust, thicker knives ( choppers and splitters) such as Beckers, Cold Steel SRKs and the Fallknivens, and thinner blades such as traditional scandinavian blades for slicing. People really need to think about what their knife will actually be called upon to do. Sometimes the thing just sits in it's sheath while a sleeping bag and whistle become glamour items. Stainless steel is obviously superior around salt water, but sailors somehow sailed the seven seas with carbon blades for a very long time. I personally carry a fallkniven as my core blade, several scandinavians, a marine knife,machete,ulu and spyderco sheepsfoot in various combinations: yet never together. A man could die of exaustion lugging this stuff around. <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />