I agree.

I myself am trying to be prepared for a relatively short survival duration. Maybe 3-4 days. I'm not planning on building a log cabin, nor do I need to snare and prep food (Lord knows I have enough "stored reserves").

My biggest worries are keeping healthy and sheltered, finding some water, and making sure I can get found quickly.

Last night I was reading the bonus material that comes with Doug's PSP. Good reading. If you haven't read it, then I recommend you do so. It can be found at the ETS PSP description page.

I once posted the question of why such a large fixed blade is needed in a survival situation and was told that it was needed to chop/split wood in order to get to dry inner wood (assuming the outter wood was wet).

I've camped for a looong time and never failed to find some dry wood for starting fires - usually deadwood still on trees near the trunk.

The one thing I have missed while using my Rittergrip is the awl that I have on my good old Boy Scout pocketknife. I found I used it a lot for poking holes in things. Not a very big deal. Though I haven't tried it yet - mostly for fear of ruining it - I always figured the tweezers in Doug's PSP could be used for a similar purpose.

Another thing not too often mentioned is the weight of the knife. Before I bought the Rittergrip I bought a Buck Alpha Hunter. While a fine knife, it is just too darn heavy to haul around with me without pulling my pants down (which leads to other social and physical issues). I very much appreciate lightweight knives. Just this morning I picked up the Rittergrip and tossed it in the air a few times (while closed) just to marvel at how light that big blade really is.

I also don't need a 1/4" thick blade. If I'm forcing my Rittergrip blade so hard that it is bending then (1) I am putting myself in danger of a real nasty injury, (2) I'm risking damaging a very important tool, and (3) I am not conserving vital energy.