CRKT Niad Knife

Any thoughts on this knife an knifes in general when climbing?

crkt.com/niad-climbing-knif…

There's a lot of personal preference to a knife. I carry one of these: spyderco.com/catalog/detail…
Good grip is important to me. ZDP-189 I'm liking a lot more than VG-10, feels like it bites in more.

I had a similar CRKT knife to the niad, thumb stud fell out which didn't endear me to it.

...I carry a razor blade taped to the inside of my helmet. Stole the idea from some thread on here. I think it's brilliant.

I got the trango nut tool it has a built in knife. Pretty sweet just kinda expensive

Rusty Finkelstein wrote:...I carry a razor blade taped to the inside of my helmet. Stole the idea from some thread on here. I think it's brilliant.

Genius!

CRKT's aren't a bad brand it's probably the most widely carried knife in the Marine Corps. Probably just because they sell them on base at a good price, but they get lost or stolen before they break or dull down. I'll probably end up using the razor blade idea from ^^^ top.

It is larger and more ergonomic than the Trango, yet 4 grams lighter (16.5g v 20.5g).

I like it.

Just make sure you get something that locks closed in one way or another. I didn't and looked down to find an open knife hanging from my harness. I caught it before I nicked anything. I climb with an serrated kershaw scallion kershaw.kaiusaltd.com/knive…. Small and pretty light

Thanks for the heads up. I have a Trango Pirana I have zipped in my chalk bag for emergencies (ie, not climbing as fast as Hans and getting overnighted). This would be better for several reasons. 1st) lighter. 2nd) CRKT serrations cut webbing so much better and faster than Trango knives. Midway has them on sale for $22 and change and free shipping if you buy 2 of them. Pretty reasonable when you consider the Titanium handle.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/950196/crkt-niad-folding-pocket-knife-156-serrated-tanto-point-5cr13mov-blade-6ai4v-handle-stainless

Nice vid
crkt.com/niad-climbing-knif…

ps, personal side note on the Trango knife nut tool. I had gone through 3 Airport inspections before an inquisitive woman in Thailand pulled my rack out of the backpack and I almost shit when I saw the Trango nuttool/knife on the rack as she held it up. She didn't catch it either. 4!

r m wrote:There's a lot of personal preference to a knife. I carry one of these: spyderco.com/catalog/detail… Good grip is important to me. ZDP-189 I'm liking a lot more than VG-10, feels like it bites in more. I had a similar CRKT knife to the niad, thumb stud fell out which didn't endear me to it.

You carry a $125 dollar knife on your harness? Holy balls.

I have the petzl spatha serrated version. I like it because I rarely have to use it,and the plastic makes it easy to keep clean and not worry about rust.

While I like the taped razorblade idea, it would be too easy to drop, and horrible to use without a handle.

I climb with the $15 Gerber Dime knife that you can buy at any REI. I have a couple of older lockers whose barrel gets stuck in locked mode and the pliers have helped me recover them.

amazon.com/Gerber-Dime-Mult…

Rich zz wrote:Any thoughts on this knife an knifes in general when climbing? crkt.com/niad-climbing-knif…

Junk Chinese steel. If you're dying to carry a knife on your harness and need a carabiner loop, get a knife with a lanyard loop provision.

alpinejason wrote: You carry a $125 dollar knife on your harness? Holy balls.

Maybe it's just me but I've always hated the feel of the plastic handle Spyderco's, still about 100% better than the crappy CRKT. Regardless, you can buy that knife for about $75 new Dragonfly2

I've been carrying a Benchmade 940-1 for a while now and absolutely love it. Not on my harness, mind you, but in my pack. Drops into my suit pants pocket too. Worth every penny.

Ray Pinpillage wrote: Maybe it's just me but I've always hated the feel of the plastic handle Spyderco's, still about 100% better than the crappy CRKT. Regardless, you can buy that knife for about $75 new Dragonfly2 I've been carrying a Benchmade 940-1 for a while now and absolutely love it. Not on my harness, mind you, but in my pack. Drops into my suit pants pocket too. Worth every penny.

Would like to add for knives not on the harness the Leatherman Skeletool. Great for a blade, pliers, philips, flat and bottle opener. Loving it so far and much less obtrusive than standard leatherman multitools. Just wish it had a file then it would be golden for ice climbing too.

leatherman.com/skeletool-18…

Ray Pinpillage wrote: Maybe it's just me but I've always hated the feel of the plastic handle Spyderco's

I don't hate it, but there's definitely room for improvement. Will check out that benchmade next time I'm shopping for a knife.

Re price, you get what you pay for with knives. In expensive knives you're paying for a better steel amongst other things. It does make a difference that you'll easily notice, but if you've only ever used cheap knives (most peoples kitchens) then a cheap knife might not hugely disappoint you.

I have been keeping a razor blade in my helmet since I started climbing. It weighs nothing and is out of the way all the time... until needed. I also keep a little Trango Piranha in my chalk bag. It may be just me, but I like blades and feel better with a backup somewhere on me just in case one is lost.

With a little time spent, you can make a nice little pouch for the razor to slide into. Not seen in the picture because I revised the setup after this was taken, but I attached a small cord through the razor so that it will protrude out of the pouch for my fingers to grab. Easy to get out and easy to fit back in.

I think the dragon design Duct Tape was a nice finishing touch. :)

By the way, the new CRKT reminds me of the PECK design they had out years ago, but with a different blade design. I have one on my key chain.

Other than cutting tat or webbing at rap stations, what do you need a knife for when climbing? Touching the Void? An off-belay knife?

Edit: I have carried one for years, but have never needed it, nor am I sure what I would use it for. Other than cutting my sandwich in half.

FrankPS wrote:Other than cutting tat or webbing at rap stations...

You answered your own question, but they are good for other uses too.

All I can think about is the opening scene of Vertical Limit

trango.com/p-235-shark-nut-…

This is what I was referring too.