This subject must be the alltime favourite. You have to consider budget and intended use. WIll this be your sole tool, or will you have a bowsaw and/or axe in your kit? How much ( or little) maintenance are you prepared to perform? Can you sharpen a knife? Do you understand the different edge geometries? Where will the knife be used? A blade suitable for northern arboreal forest in winter may be found lacking on a south pacific sailing trip. What will the knife actually be called upon to do in these environs? Sometimes a knife never leaves the sheath in a survival episode. Then again it may have to split wood for a fire, generate sparks for that fire and then help resew your sleeping bag when the fire melts a large hole in it. <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> Finally, there is the intangible quality of personal preference. This is also known as marketing by the makers. Think about these issues and lets start another knife thread. I wish I had a lifeboat match for every one I've heard and shared <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />