Do you think that an opinel folding knife would be suitable for use in a backpack size survival kit?
thanks

that depends on how you use a knife, a opinel is a good knife, but not that world most strongest one. i personally use mine opinel as back-up folding knife, some wood cutting and the light but dirty jobs (opinels are cheap ).
a S&W would be more suitable i think, i bought mine a S&W cutting horse 4.6 inch tanto blade for €20. they are one hand openialbe, has a nice beltclip and a lanyard holl. great stuff for the price.

Opinels easily hone to a razor edge. The Achilles heal is the locking ring. Moisture can get in there and make them virtually impossible to open. With care you can dissasemble one, sand the wood judiciously, seal and reassemble. As to suitability? It's a good, inexpensive light use knife.The question therefore is :What will your survival needs be in your adventures?

i've been using an opinel as my primary knife now for about 10 years i.e. pretty much as long as i've been carrying a knife, and i've always found it be a great knife. it's the knife i use for nearly everything round camp, i've used it for skinning and cleaning small game, it's quite often the knife i use for fishing, it even gets pressed into service as a kitchen knife at home on accasion!! as for whgether it's as strong as some other knifes i really don't know, all i can say is that it's always been plenty strong enough for anything i've wanted to use it for. all in all i'd recommend it to anyone.
just my opinion of course.

take it easy.
stuart.

What model is your Opinel?
Large or small?

Cold Steel SRK

Although I think the Opinel is a great knife for the price, I have two gripes concerning use in a survival kit.
1) I've found, as Chris K. indicates, that the knife can very easily bind in a closed position. In my case, the wood was too vulnerable to moisture and swelled around the tang and hinge of the knife.
2) There are plenty of knives which give you the same blade size, but with grips which are more flat and therefore more easily packed.

Chris: What is the best knife (for the money) that you can have in your survival kit?

Also: What clip knife do you carry?

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="" />

SRK and Leatherman wave on the fanny pack kit.
Ontario issue Machete strapped to the BOB
SAK in the pant pocket always

Covers all chores and has some redundancy.
Total blade weight 3 lbs. If you can't carry 3 more lbs, you got bigger fitness issues.

Like the old trapper bushman said "you can tell a dummy in the bush by the low volume of blades he carries"

For what its worth

Mike