>>what individual tools are necessary to have to be "prepared" for general backcountry survival situations.<<<br><br>The narrowest interpretation of your question would point to just a knife, or maybe a knife and small saw. The broadest interpretation would fill a large toolbox or more. Do you want the barest essentials to keep you barely alive or something that will be more useful for improvising and fabricating equipment and be able to make equipment repairs that could prevent a situation from becoming critical?<br><br>I personally think it makes sense to carry things that are useful for everyday needs and that can also double for use in a survival situation. For example, a large scissors is not absolutely necessary in a survival situation, but will become probably the most frequently used device on a day-to-day basis. I use mine all the time and it alone makes it worthwile to carry the tool on a daily basis. This would be even more true for camping or backpacking use (I'm assuming you have this in mind based on clues in your post). They would be handy for mundane tasks such as cutting open food packages, cutting mole-skin, trimming fishing line, personal grooming, minor repairs to clothing and nylon pack materials, etc. And I think large scissors are more useful than the ones found on the small SAK's like the Classic.<br><br>Depending on what kind of equipment you carry and how handy you are, "hardware" tools such as pliers and screwdrivers may be used for repairs to mechanical things like a gasoline stove, external frame backpack, automobile or bicycle. Many SAK's fail to include a phillips screwdriver, a serious oversight IMO if you want a reasonable assortment of screwdrivers. The pliers with wire cutters are also useful for grabbing hot pots or fabricating things from wire, cans or other metal and for grabbing things from tight spaces. You'll have to look at your situation and decide if these kinds of tools would help in your own case. You are correct in that a pilot would have a greater daily need for these "hardware" tools than a minimalist hiker. And some people are addicted to tinkering while others wouldn't pick up a tool and try to fix something unless it were unavoidable - and then they might not know where to start.<br><br>In my experience, a saw is less useful day-to-day, but could be very important for backcountry survival. It would make it easier to cut sticks and poles for cooking implements, hiking sticks, shelter poles, fishing poles, trap construction, fuel, etc.<br><br>Things like can- and bottle openers are normally included in these kinds of tools, so you probably can't avoid them even if you want to. They can be handy for day-to-day use. In a survival situation, if you have a can of food, but no way to open it, you'll be glad you have it. They can also be useful in unusual ways, such as for prying open odd items, or breaking off small pieces of things where leverage is helpful. They make quick work of a Hobo Stove. The Victorinox can openers are the best in my experience.<br><br>A cork screw is sometimes included in these types of tools, but I personally think they are useless since I don't like wine that much, and certainly wouldn't need wine in a survival situation. The screw may have other uses, but I haven't found many. If you are a wine-lover, you might find it handy to have a corkscrew on picnics and camping trips.<br><br>A file can be very handy, but not absolutely necessary and you can keep the weight down by not including it. One important survival use is for sharpening things, but it can't be used on blades in the same tool. Many files on multi-tools include a hacksaw, which could be handy for fabricating implements out of any metal you can scrounge or for certain repairs. If you need to cut metal and your wire cutters aren't up to the task, a hack saw is about your only other chance, and you won't be fabricating one.<br><br>A plain knife blade is obviously one of the most useful items. An additional serrated blade is nice but hardly necessary unless rescue cutting is a priority. If you get fouled in ropes in a boating accident or trapped in a seat belt or safety harness, the serrated blade is the tool of choice. For typical back-country use, you can just use the plain edge for most uses. If rescue use is a real priority, a dedicated knife for that is probably a better solution than a multi-tool.<br><br>Since you are trying to keep weight down, I'd recommend:<br><br>At about 4.5 ounces, I think the Victorinox Fieldmaster Swiss Army knife is a good choice (REI.com). It's just big enough to be strong and give a solid grip in the hand. There are no pliers, but all the other most useful items are there in a compact package with little excess (2 blades, excellent saw, scissors, can and bottle opener, assorted screwdrivers including phillips, sharp awl with hole, tweezers, and other stuff like a parcel hook and toothpick). It would be ideal for backcountry use if you decide pliers are not desired.<br><br>For the same 4.5 ounces, if you want pliers, which I think is a good idea, look at the Leatherman Juice S2. There is no saw, but you can supplement it with a BCB wire survival saw for emergency use. It is very compact and will ride in your pocket well and be handy for numerous daily uses. It gives you a knife, good scissors, can/bottle opener, assorted screwdrivers including phillips and a good pliers/wire cutters. The larger Juice CS4 adds the saw and a (dull) awl, a good corkscrew and 1.1 ounces. The CS4's saw is a great addition for survival use, but I like the smaller S2 for easier pocket carry. The best Leatherman prices I've found are at www.sleggtools.com. Leatherman pliers are stronger and more useful than the pliers found in some Swiss Army knives.<br><br>If you want more capability and can afford a jump to about 8 ounces and a size that is a bit too large for pocket carry, get the Leatherman Wave. It is a very efficient package of virtually all the possible goodies (except awl) including 2 one-hand opening locking knife blades (plain and serrated), file with hack saw, wood saw, scissors, etc. and you can even get the tool adapter to expand it's capabilities even more with specialized bits for any unique needs you have (nut drivers or drivers for special fasteners on ski bindings or whatever). It's practically a tool box in its self.<br><br>But for good utility at minimal size and weight, I would steer you toward the Juice S2 plus a wire saw.<br><br>Good luck.<br><br>PS, to answer the question about ranking tools for survival use, for backcountry situations, I'd rank like this:<br>Plain edge knife, <br>wood saw, <br>pliers/wire cutter, <br>assorted screwdrivers, <br>file/hack saw, <br>awl<br><br>That list is just priorities for survival use and doesn't consider daily convenience, although most of those things will be convenient on a day-to-day basis. In looking back over that list, it almost exactly describes the Juice KF4. But the KF4 doesn't include the scissors, which as I mentioned above, I think is important for daily convenience. After all, you are probably not going to seal this into a PSK, but instead you may be using it all the time.<br><br>Obviously there are hundreds of possible multi-function tool choices, as you pointed out in your post. There are so many choices because everyone is going to strike this balance a little differently.