Opinel No 08 Outdoor Knife
Opinel are a French maker of knives. With
several sizes/styles. 08 being the specific size of the knife in question
today.
I have always been a fan of the traditional Opinel
knives, ever since I bought my first in a French supermarket 20 years ago. They
use a very high carbon content blade. This is similar to some high end chefs knives. They do not use stainless steel, and as such the blades do
tarnish, look dull and can rust. However look after it and clean it correctly
after use, and it is one hell of a sharp knife. The edges these things are
able to hold are astonishing.
I was after something similar to the traditional one, but
different. Something perhaps a little more outdoors oriented.
A few years back when I was living in Morzine, I walked past a
hardware shop daily, and spotted the Opinel No 8 Outdoors knife. I walked past
it day in, day out for months. Contemplating the knife. Nothing became of it,
until I saw it more recently. The knife is the classic folding Opinel design,
it has a metal "virobloc" locking system, used on all of Opinel’s
knives. Simple but effective.
So I bought the knife. It has a loud survival whistle built in
to the handle, a partially serrated blade, and the thumb nail-knife pull-out is
hollow, and can be used as a shackle key (Something to do with boats I believe).
So the knife feels good in hand-exactly the same geometry as the
traditional beechwood handle. The knife is sharp. Sharper than I thought being
stainless “Inox” steel.
To test the knife I thought I would do some bushcraft styling,
and do my best to create a fire drill kit. Normally a fixed tang knife is
tougher for this kind of wood re-shaping, but hey. The outdoor knife is a
survival knife-so I gave it a go.
I have never started fire with a fire drill before, but am aware
of what is required. I found a big lump of wood-, and managed to split it,
using the knife as a chisel/wedge. Locked with the locking bit. The wood turned
out to be an old seasoned hardwood branch-from either Ash or Beech. The wood
was hard, really hard. However the knife, it took some effort, but it did what
it does. The serrated bit sliced as a plane, and the sharp end, used as more
precision. It was a joy to shape the wood. I got quite obsessed, to the fact I
started wanting to decorate my drill spindle. I decided not too, as my first
careful blade sweep cut deep in to my thumb, and sent blood dribbling all over
the gorgeous pale wood. The knife is a corker. I have created all parts of the
set now, and am simply looking for a specific cord to string the bow with. The
set has darkened from working it, so I am confident it will light. However I
may have to give it a few days, or at least until i can use my left thumb
again.
So the knife I was impressed with. Even now, the blade is sharp.
I have done my best to blunt it, but it is still incredibly sharp. So I was
very impressed. The only one part I was not so keen on was the lock. On my
knife, even when fully locked the blade moved a mm or two. Although this isn't
a problem, as it is still locked, and as such cannot fold on your fingers, I
felt the lock should be absolute-like their traditional Beech handled ones.
Perhaps it is an issue with the moulded mana made handle-who knows. Despite
this I like the knife a great deal. Even though it hurt me. It folds up small,
it is light and comfortable to use.
Highly recommend!!
This post was kindly supplied as guest post from the good people at Kernow Outdoors writers of independent outdoor gear reviews and stories of their travels around the world.
If you enjoyed this article and wanted to read up on the specs of the Opinel No8 knife you can find it on our website HERE.
Not content with 'normal tents', want to standout from the crowd? How would you like your very own circus tent? At least that's what we think it looks like! Coleman's Cortes Octagon 8 tent won Camping Magazine's 'Tent of the Year' Award in 2015 and we can see why. As far as we are aware there are no other octagon shaped tents on the market but maybe there should be. Its' unique shape and 360° wrap around windows makes the tent feel far bigger than it really is. Even though it's classed as an eight man tent you wouldn't realistically want to sleep more than four, or two if you'd like to make the most of the Octagon's layout. There is a divider which splits the space in two but that kind of defeats the point of the tent in our opinion.
A few years back when I was living in Morzine, I walked past a
hardware shop daily, and spotted the Opinel No 8 Outdoors knife. I walked past
it day in, day out for months. Contemplating the knife. Nothing became of it,
until I saw it more recently. The knife is the classic folding Opinel design,
it has a metal "virobloc" locking system, used on all of Opinel’s
knives. Simple but effective.
This deal is included when you are buying the Outwell Montana 6AC, an inflatable, 6-man tunnel tent that is part of Outwell's Comfort Air range. With a set up time of under 10 minutes, and plenty of space for all the family, this tent was a great deal before the 2 chairs were included! This tent is new for 2016, and with Outwell's reputation growing rapidly for great quality tents, we are positive that our stock won't be hanging around long, so make sure to grab this great deal while you still can! 
You will also bag the two free chairs with one of our most popular traditional pole tents, so if the air tent idea isn't for you, we've got you covered! 
