Well, the answer is actually an easy one.  There is no perfect survival knife.  The closest thing to it is the one that you have with you in a survival situation.  The brand name and quality of the knife are irrelevant at that point.  A sharpened rock, a razor blade, broken piece of glass or an expensive, name brand knife can all be useful in a survival situation.  However, life is much easier with a good quality knife.

With so many different types of knives and manufacturers out there, what should you buy?  There is no hands-down, single knife that could do everything or that should be used by everyone.   However, there are characteristics that should be considered when looking for your knife.  Here are a few characteristics to consider when choosing your knife.

1) Fixed blade with a full Tang: A “tang” is the rear end of the blade that continues to the handle.  A full tang is when the blade and handle are made from one piece of steel.  Even if the handle “grips” were to break, you could still use the tang as your handle.  You could wrap it with some other material (550 cord, clothe, etc…) for comfort, and still have a fully functional knife.  There are knives that are made with partial tangs that do not provide the same strength as a knife with a full tang.  Hollow handled survival knives do not have a full tang and have a higher breaking point if you were to chop or baton with it.  Also, if you lost your knife and your survival kit was inside that handle, well, you also just lost your kit.  Keep your survival kit separate from your knife.  Place it either directly on your body, or on your sheath.

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(Featured image courtesy of tacticallockerroom.com)