Yes, any small pocket knife should be plenty useful to climbers, who sure can use one for a variety of life-saving duties while scaling a crag. If you want one that’s designed specifically for climbing, though, you might want to trade in that EDC folder for a CRKT Niad.
Designed by record-holding speed climber Hans Florine, it’s a pocket knife that drills everything down to the essentials, ensuring you don’t expend unnecessary energy carrying it in your stash. Lightweight, compact, and dead-simple to use, it’s a knife that will let you focus on the climb, all while being ready to serve its function in a jiffy.
The CRKT Niad uses a simple two-piece construction, ensuring there’s no complicated machination that can distract you during a climb. Measuring just 2.5 inches long when closed, it’s the perfect size to hang on a carabiner (there’s a large hole on the handle), all while deploying a 1.56-inch blade that should serve you well, whether you’re clearing old cords at a rappel horn, cutting away damaged sections of a rope, or pricking yourself because you’re getting sleepy in the middle of a steep climb (yeah, not a good idea). Construction is stainless steel for the flat top serrated blade, with the handle cut in much lighter titanium, allowing the whole thing to weigh just 0.6 ounces. Features include a 0.8-inch thick blade with a stonewash finish and a straightforward frame lock mechanism.
Available now, the CRKT Niad Climbing Knife is priced at $26.44.