2 for the Trail
The author travels the middle ground between “light and inadequate” and the 3-pound fantasy blade.
A few weeks before the holidays, I was in the Portland, Oregon, REI Co-Op (Recreational Equipment Incorporated) Store shopping. As I paid for my purchases, the clerk asked for my phone number. My reply was “Wouldn’t you rather have my Co-Op membership number?” The clerk seemed extremely surprised that I actually had mine memorized. As it turned out, now that REI’s membership runs into the millions, few customers pay much attention to their number.
It hasn’t always been like that. There was a time when a low REI number was a status symbol among outdoor people here in the Northwest. Let’s just say they assigned my number a long time before they hit their first million members. With close to 40 years of hiking and backpacking experience in Oregon, Washington and Idaho wilderness areas, plus hundreds of miles of other backcountry trails, I think I’ve earned the right to have a few opinions on suitable knives for the sport.
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