Well, in my defense…<br><br>First, I didn’t bring up the neck carry, my message was in response to McGuyver’s, who said he was thinking about one. Perhaps your message was in response to his and not mine? He didn’t specify context, I did say “in the woods”.<br><br>The legal situation with regard to backpackers and knives is no clearer than it is in civilization; perhaps less so, since you’re likely to be in a mixture of state parks belonging to different states, on federal land, perhaps in true wilderness areas, maybe even in towns and on private property. My limited experience, though, is that enforcement sort of expects a long-distance trekker to have some sort of knife, and doesn’t automatically regard it as criminal activity. Rangers, by and large, seem to care mostly about longarms and illegal hunting unless there's an incident.<br><br>I am not advocating, and would not advocate, a neck knife for civilization (where one is more apt to have pockets and a belt anyway). I’ve never carried one "in town"- not counting historical reenactment settings, where such cutlery is regarded as part of a costume. With black powder firearms and swords about, I doubt that a neck knife is going to be a bone of contention.<br><br>You mention that you carry a pocketknife in and out of court. That sort of behavior itself would make you a criminal in many areas of the East, where metal detectors are routine at courthouses, no knife of any size is allowed inside, and knives with blades over some arbitrary length- often three inches- result in immediate arrest. I doubt that you consider yourself a criminal for doing what you do, where you do it. Context is everything.<br><br>In a similar vein, I am unable to regard any encounter with police as “routine”. I suspect that if you are “patted down” there is an excellent chance you are going to be arrested no matter what they find. The police will search or arrest you if they feel like it, whatever the law may say about it- the only defense I'm aware of is not to give them an excuse to feel like it. I’m sure you know the meaning of the phrase “drop piece”. Those searched don't always have to supply what's "found". <br><br>I myself have never been searched or arrested (I did find myself staring down the barrel of a police officer’s revolver once, but he apologized later). On the other hand, I’ve had a the presence of a knife save me from beatings, robbings or worse more than once, at least once along with the lady I was escorting.. and it saved an unknown “lady” (there was room for doubt) in distress (I think being dragged by her hair qualifies), once. The police were not there to “protect” anyone in any of these cases. Adults have to balance risks and make their own choices. As undesirable as arrest and court may be, it’s preferable to death or maiming. IMHO, we should all be ashamed that Americans have to make that choice.<br><br>This sort of morbid discussion, however, is not what I’m here for.<br>