seeing as how i started this mess i'll say that "big" refers to any knife that is made to chop as well as cut or slice.now that's chop and not baton.

My survival bowie wieghs exactly 15.5 ounces. It can be batoned but reports are the saw bach checks up the club quickle. It has served myself, and almost thirty others world wide very well. At less than a pound I doubt it is a massive drain on my colories. Just ol snakes personal opinion.

Well, 15.5 ounces is pretty darn close to a pound. (And, did you include the sheath in that?)

A pound of weight is a pound of weight. Not a "massive" drain on your calories, but a drain, none the less. My concern if I carry that big knife, what else I have to leave behind, to maintain a reasonable carry weight. "Reasonable carry weight" is a debatable term, just as is "Big Knives". What is reasonable depends on ones activity, environment, lenght of trip, and personal needs. Pounds add up, and the less I carry the further, faster, and more comfortably I can go.

I wasn't suggesting that a big knife is not appropriate for some people in some situations. My point is that each peice of gear needs to be evaluated for how likely it is that one needs it, how critical that need might be, and how much it weighs (or how much space it occupies). What to carry and what to leave out is always a question.

In my case, I don't feel that carrying a "big" knife is worth the extra weight, considering how seldom I really need a big blade. Your situation may differ.

Just my opinion.

I would have to agree. You definitely should have a cutting instrument readily available, but it need not typically be very large - something on the order of a Swiss Army Tinker or one of the Leatherman tools has worked for me on numerous occasions in a variety of circumstances. On one trip in Oaxaca a few years ago, like every other sentient male in the vicinity, I carried a machete and found it useful, so yes, indeed, environment and circumstances should influence what you humparound.

What have I most often wished I had carried that I did not have at hand? Either more water, a bit more climbing rope, or on occasion, another insulating layer. Size up the situation and adjust your equipment.

Which is why I love to hear the judgement behind everyone's choices, as opposed to just an inventory of their knife collection...

... and not only operating environment, but also the philosophy behind how you plan to use the resources of that environment. Within the same environment, some will chop and baton a huge log into pieces, others will simply find a smaller piece of wood. Some environments offers a wide range of options, others a more limited range.

Oetzi the iceman carried a small knife and an axe when he died.

Nessmuk liked a folding knife, a roughly medium sized fixed blade, and a double-bit axe.

Lewis and Clark carried 24 large knives, 35 falling axes, 2 hand saws, 4 draw knives, and a bunch of other various knives/axes for trade.

Dick Proenneke had large saws, small saws, a double bit axe, hatchets, a splitting maul, an adze, draw knives, gouges, chisels, and a bunch of other stuff.

Looking at instances of longer-term survival through history, I rarely notice people limiting themselves to one tool. More appropriately, they try to have the right tool for the job at hand. This makes a lot of sense to me, as a survival situation isn't the time to be messing around with the wrong tool or an inferior tool if you don't absolutely have to.

While I can understand one's desire to find that one piece of hardware that can do everything equally well, fact is, it just doesn't seem to exist.

Therefore, I would hope that people realize it's important not to place strict artificial limits on your tool selection.

If I need to fell some trees to build myself a winter cabin, I'm going to start by looking at what chainsaws I can take with me. If I don't feel comfortable using or carrying a chainsaw with me, I'm going to look at what axes and/or handsaws I can take as the next best thing.

I'm not going to limit myself to building a cabin with a large knife just because I saw some guy felling a tree with it on Youtube.

This makes me wonder why people minimize themselves to PSKs/One Knife while on Foot. While in a Vehicle of any sort land air water, You can easily find yourself without your gear. When on foot what can possibly make you lose everything? And even more specific what can make you lose everything except that one trusty big amazing knife?

Hmmm Imma start a new topic on that instead of hijacking.

Imma let you finish, but I replied in the other thread!