The best pocket knives you can buy

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The Insider Pick:

• With the right pocket knife close at hand, you'll always be prepared to handle the tasks life lines up before you, from cutting apple slices on the trail to slashing through your seatbelt after an accident. The Victorinox Swiss Army Fieldmaster Pocket Knife is our top pick, thanks to its carefully curated tools and its lifelong dependability.

In keeping with a family tradition, I received my first pocket knife on my 10th birthday. It was a classic red Victorinox Swiss Army Knife with twin blades, a saw, a can and bottle opener, a corkscrew, and that weird hook thing that confuses everyone. The hook is a parcel carrier, FYI, designed to help you carry a package wrapped up in twine. Things were different back in the day, apparently.

The word pocket knife (they are also called jackknife or simply folding knife) is something of a blanket term. It might be applied to a single-bladed implement or to a unit with multiple blades, tools, and accessories all housed in a single handle. The primary defining characteristic of a pocket knife is that its blade or blades, tools, and so forth can all be folded away for safe storage in one's pocket, purse, pack, or anywhere else.

They are hardly a recent invention. The first known pocket knives date back more than 2,500 years. But modern materials and machining techniques mean that today's pocket knives are more capable, lighter weight, and more durable than ever before.

Now having a child myself, I'm not sure I'll keep the 10th birthday knife tradition going, as Swiss Army knives are frighteningly sharp, especially when brand new. We'll have to see about that in a few years. Regardless, as an adult myself, I can attest to the convenience and utility offered by a good pocket knife. When away from home (especially if hiking or camping) I use one almost every day of my life.

Whether you choose a single-bladed knife used for campsite cooking or hunting, or if you opt for a pocket knife multitool that can help with everything from construction to repairing electronics to fishing, if you choose the right pocket knife for your needs, life will always be a bit easier when you have your pocket knife close at hand.

We've chosen five great pocket knives based on their range of function, size to weight ratio, quality of materials, and with input from experts and everyday customers alike.

Although the Victorinox Swiss Army Fieldmaster is our top pick, for the reasons laid out in the slides below, you should also consider the Keyport Pivot Everyday Multitool, the Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops SWA24S, the Cerberuso OddJob Pocket Knife Multitool, and the SOG SlimJim SJ33-CP Assisted Folding Knife.

The best pocket knife overall

Victorinox

Why you'll love it: The Victorinox Fieldmaster is a true classic, it features a selection of tools you will find useful, and it comes with nothing superfluous.

Victorinox has been in business since the 1880s, so more than 130 years of experience and refinement goes into every iconic Swiss Army knife the company constructs. For the record, they actually do distribute knives to the Swiss army — in fact, they've done so since the 19th Century. Made from genuine Swiss steel and with that instantly recognizable red casing (which is fabricated from high-impact ABS resin), the Fieldmaster Swiss Army pocket knife is my favorite of the many Swiss Army knives out there.

The Fieldmaster packs eleven tools into its 3.5-ounce body to provide fifteen total functions. The bottle opener doubles as a wide flathead screwdriver, while the can opener features a compact flathead. While you'll probably use the razor-sharp blades, scissors, screwdriver, and the bottle opener more often than the wood saw, reamer awl, or parcel carrier, it's still nice to know all those tools are at the ready any time you need them.

I've brought my Fieldmaster on dozens of camping, hiking, and mountaineering expeditions and I have used it to cut wood for fires, prep meals by the camp stove, attend to minor first aid needs, and of course, to open a bottle or two. When I'm not out in the field or traveling, the Fieldmaster lives in the glove compartment, so it's always nearby when I'm on the road.

My only complaint about this knife is its lack of a corkscrew, a common feature on so many Swiss Army pocket knives. But frankly, most of the time I don't haul bottles of wine along on backpacking trips anyway, and adding the corkscrew does mean a bit more bulk and less sleek, compact shape.

Do watch out when folding those blades shut, as they are sharp enough to be dangerous in careless hands. Fold with your palm against the back of the blade, and oil a Swiss Army knife that is hard to operate. The tools should open and close smoothly, never requiring notable effort.

Not surprisingly given the decades of vaunted history behind this knife, buyers love the Fieldmaster. It has a 4.8-star rating with hundreds of reviews posted on Amazon. One owner summed up common sentiments perfectly: "Five stars do not do justice to this. Quality: Unrivaled."

If you prefer to listen to professional reviews, Dean with All Camping Stuff calls the Fieldmaster an Editor's Choice, praising its high-quality saw and its low price point, while a Black Owl Outdoors video demonstrated the impressive sharpness and toughness of the main blade, easily slicing away large chunks from a thick piece of wood.

Pros: Lifelong durability, excellent blade sharpness, thoughtful curation of tools

Cons: No bottle opener, awkward Phillips screwdriver placement

Buy the Victorinox Fieldmaster Swiss Army Knife on Amazon for around $35.91 and up

The best customizable pocket knife

Keyport

Why you'll love it: The Keyport Pivot is fully customizable, so it can hold multiple knives, keys, a mini flashlight, a USB drive, a screwdriver, or pretty much whatever else you want.

The cool thing about the Keyport Pivot is that you and your friend could each have one in your pocket, but you could essentially be carrying tools that are completely different. The Pivot is nothing more than a readily updated shell before you start adding your chosen modules. Without the addition of various tools, accessories, keys, and more, it would be a pretty pointless device. Once carefully curated to meet your personal needs and preferences, the Keyport Pivot becomes a true one-of-a-kind pocket knife.

Many people use their Keyport Pivot to actually keep house, office, and car keys all in one place. Most standard keys can be easily connected to the Pivot's base unit. You can also add several Keyport modules to the Pivot, which include a bright LED flashlight, a sharp 2.2-inch blade, a ten function multitool insert, and even a USB flash drive, among others.

Truth be told, it took me a while to get around to assembling my Keyport Pivot when I first got one, as the process seemed daunting — which it's not, after a slight learning curve. The handle feels a bit bulkier and less natural in the hand than does a Swiss Army knife or an ergonomic blade only jackknife, but a Keyport, of course, offers adaptability other folding tools can't match.

Most reviews of the Keyport Pivot come with five stars. One owner praised her Pivot as "handy, useful, convenient and [a] neat way to carry your keys," while another customer cleverly called it "flipping awesome."

A writer with Technabob called the Keyport Pivot a "great way to reduce clutter in your pocket," while a gear review expert from The Manual said that the Pivot is a great way to boost your utility and preparedness with just one simple gadget."

Pros: Amazing versatility, lightweight and durable, suitable for variety of users

Cons: Price adds up with multiple modules, slightly tricky to set up

Buy the Keyport Pivot on Amazon for a base price of $39.99 (adds up with custom modules)

The best pocket knife for tactical use

Smith & Wesson/Business Insider

Why you'll love it: The Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops SWA245 lock back folding knife is part utility tool, part self-defense weapon, and it's well-made and ready for regular use.

I hope you're never in a situation where you need to brandish a knife in self-defense. (And I sure as hell hope I'm not, either.) But if you are, drawing this savagely sharp knife from your pocket and holding it up before a potential attacker may well help prevent physical aggression from ever occurring.

Whether you're using the Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops SWA245 to ward off an assailant or to slice through some knotted rope on the farm or at a campsite, you'll be glad that its super sharp blade locks in place when it's open. You'll also appreciate the blade staying securely stowed in the handle when the pocket knife is in your pants or jacket. The blade snaps open fast and with just one hand, though, thanks to ambidextrous thumb knobs.

The Extreme Ops pocket knife features a blade made from high carbon stainless steel that has been treated with a black coating. This helps prevent corrosion and reduces any chance the knife will glint in sunshine or a flashlight’s beam, helping to keep you in stealth mode, in case that's important to you.

The blade has serrations across it slower half and a blunt sawtooth back, and between the three cutting surfaces, you can make short work of most materials. Its handle is forged from rugged aluminum, reducing the weight as compared to steel. A clip can be used to keep the knife in place in your pocket or on a belt or pack strap.

With more than 400 reviews logged on Amazon, the Extreme Ops SWA245 enjoys a solid 4.3 out of five-star rating. A customer named Monty says it's "pretty spectacular for the price," and an owner named Nate calls the blade "easy to open" and say it "locks in immediately."

A knife expert with LegalSelfDefenseWeapons gave the Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops SWA245 perhaps the highest possible praise in saying: "This is the knife I personally carry and even use around the house."

Pros: Very sharp blade, multiple cutting surfaces, locking mechanism

Cons: Hard for some users to close, sometimes requires excessive pressure to open

Buy the Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops SWA245 pocket knife on Amazon for $13.18 (originally $17.24)

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