I agree. I bought one about 3 weeks ago, and I am truly impressed with the knife and cost factor ($45 shipped off Ebay). I have had many large fixed blades in the past, but was afraid to really use them because I didn't want to tear up a +$100 piece of equipment. But not with this Becker, it's built like a tank. I've got a 4 day trip to the Mark Twain Nat'l Forest in Missouri at the end of the month and plan to put it through some tough tasks.

Behind the insert in the sheath I managed to pack in a 50 gallon trash bag, two oven roasting bags, 8 six inch long tie-wraps and a DMT diamond sharpener. In the pouch I have a standard Altoids tin, bottle of iodine tablets, an old Bic lighter packed with wax-dipped matches and vaseline soaked cotton, and could probably pack something else in there. (I'm on revision 20 something, as I am trying to find the perfect combination...like that will ever happen.) In the handles, I managed to squeeze in two scalpel blades, 2 x 2 sheet of aluminum foil, 5 wax-dipped matches, an inch soda-straw with vaseline soaked cotton, homemade zippo flint/house key sparker and 20 feet of 22 gauge snare wire. Wrapped around the bottom of the sheath is 20 feet of 550 cord, and 6 feet of self-adhesive ace bandage secured with inner-tube improvised ranger bands.

While my friends are "everything plus the kitchen sink" backpackers, I generally bring some food, a coffee can and a tarp, then try improvise what I need in the field. Can't wait to put the Becker to the test next week.