leesaj@gmail.com
Southwestern Maine
44 years old
Female
5'7" (1.7 M)
160 lb (73 kg)

Background:

        My camping, hiking and backpacking experience has included trips varying in length from one day hikes to two-week trips. My experience hiking began with my father when I was about six years old. We hiked along the river pathways in northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. While enjoying the outdoors with my Girl Scout troop, friends and family, I spend time hiking, geocaching, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and camping.    Although I am not a lightweight backpacker, I am trying to 'lighten up' and primarily use a hammock for sleeping.

Product Information:
Manufacturer: Spyderco
Model: Vagabond Knife Model FB12
Year of Manufacture: 2005
Manufacturer's URL: http://www.spyderco.com
Advertised weight: 2.8 oz (79 g)

Advertised overall length: 7 7/8 in (200 mm)

Advertised blade length: 3 1/8 in (79 mm)
Actual Weight: 2.8 oz (79 g)
Actual overall length: 7 7/8 in (200 mm)
Actual blade length: 2.8 oz (79 g)

MSRP: $39.95 US

Product Description:
    The Spyderco Vagabond is a stainless steel, fixed blade knife. It features a straight edge, with pointed tip. It has been ground on both side to an extremely sharp edge. The handle is FRN plastic that has a textured finish that is designed to improve the grip. There is a blade cover that fits within the handle and pivots upward to cover the sharp edge of the blade. This cover is made from inflexible plastic, and covers the length of the blade and up and over the tip. There is a small hole in the end of the handle that could be used to attach the knife to a lanyard or metal ring.

Field Test Information:
    My plan for testing the Spyderco Vagabond knife covered a few different areas:
    Construction quality - The knife is holding up very well. I have used it in the field for many uses- cutting food, making some quick kindling, cutting a nylon rope and cutting packing tape. It performed well in all uses, although after cutting the tape, I needed to clean it with dish soap and water to get the tape 'gunk' off the blade. Unbelievably, I have not needed to sharpen the blade - it remains very sharp, without any pits in the edge. The handle is easy to grip and has not lost any noticable texture. I haven't noticed any slippage when using the knife - even with cold or wet hands. I recently used the knife while wearing thin gloves. I was able to maintain a good grip without worry.
    One concern that has developed is the use of the sheath. It used to flip up and over the blade without a need to be 'guided'. It appears that it is out of alignment and I have to now make sure that it is aligned so that it snaps into place over the blade. I don't see any signs of damage, nor did it drop while open. I am unsure what caused it to develop this difficulty. It in no way effects the use of the knife itself. Once fully opened or closed, the sheath stays in place without a problem.
    While camping in Western Maine over a long weekend, in somewhat rainy, cool conditions, I was able to use the knife to quickly prepare vegetables and meat for a campfire stew. Because of the sharpness, it quickly sliced through everything. I've found that I've come to rely on the Vagabond quite a bit. I keep it in the house and grab it for many household purposes also.
    My kids and I were preparing for a camping trip and they decided they wanted to take a couple of chickens along to cook, spit style over the fire. Since we raise chickens, they found two that were ready to go and we quickly butchered them, using the Vagabond. It was quick and much more humane than using an axe! I was impressed at how much quicker it went then any other method we've tried.
    I've used the knife over 15 times in the field and many more around the house and yard. I've come to depend on the Vagabond and look forward to continued use. Some of the things I will be watching are; any more changes in how the sheath closes and the blade sharpness. I really would like to report on what happens when I sharpen the blade, but don't want to remove a perfectly good edge.

Test Locations:
        During the fall I hiked in western Maine and central New Hampshire, with my children, scouts and with a group of friends. We typically either set up camp and hike out from the base camp, or we backpack in to a camping area. I will continue testing in the same areas, along with trips to Vermont and Georgia in January. We are fortunate to live in an area where we can drive just a short distance and take advantage of some great hiking.    Once the lakes freeze, we will spend many weekend days ice fishing on the lakes along the western Maine border with New Hampshire.

Test Conditions:

         The majority of my testing will be done in northern New England, where the current temperature is 28 degrees F (-2 C) and winter temperatures are often below the 0 to 32 F ( -14 to 0 C) range.
    Most of my hiking is done below 3000 ft (914 m), but some spring climbs go over 4000 ft (1219 m). There is a wide range of types of terrain on these hikes - everything from well maintained trails to hiking through heavily wooded areas. Some trips involve backpacking into campsites and at other times I set up camp and hike out from there.

Read more reviews of Spyderco gear
Read more gear reviews by Leesa Joiner

Field Report

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