An Unexpected Classic Outdoor Knife, but a Welcome One
The Cloud Peak continues a tiny section of Civivi’s line that I have always wanted them to expand on: Normal looking fixed blades.
Up to now, they’ve mostly put out fixed blades that look like rejected Star Trek prototypes (with all due respect to Maciej Torbé; I still enjoy my Kepler).
There are exceptions like the Strombridge, the Terzuola Tamishii, and of course the fixed blade Elementum, but not only are they slow to design something I could wear without having to tell people it isn’t a cosplay piece, they’re slow to do fixed blades at all.
I’ve watched Civivi through the slow trickle of great fixed blades coming from other quality Chinese manufacturers like Kizer, thinking “You know, you could be doing this too”.
Well, enter the Cloud Peak, looking like the hip offspring of a Buck Vanguard, wearing the same outfit, throwing old-timey slang like “nickel bolster” around, and instead of being embarrassed just says “Hey guess what: Suspenders are cool again”.
Then proceeds to flawlessly skin a deer and carve a little train out of a pine branch.
Specifications
| Overall Length: | 9.51” |
| Blade Length: | 4.6” |
| Blade Steel: | Nitro-V (59 – 61 HRC) |
| Blade Thickness: | 4 mm (0.16”) |
| Blade Shape: | Drop point |
| Blade Grind: | Full flat |
| Handle Length: | 4.91” |
| Handle Material: | G10 (full tang) |
| Carry System: | Leather sheath |
| Weight: | 7.8 oz (221 g) |
| Made in: | China |
| What I Liked | What I Didn’t Like |
|---|---|
| Edge grind and blade steel are great | On the heavy side |
| Big comfy handle | Not too sure about the sheath’s longevity |
| Classic hunting design done well | Handle-heavy balance can feel awkward |
The Blade
This being a hunting knife, the blade was wisely ground into a fine-slicing geometry. It prioritizes smaller clean cuts over large material removal. In list terms, that means it’s good at these things:
- Cutting cloth-like material,
- Making feather sticks,
- Cutting most cuts of meat,
- Skinning.
It’s less good at processing wood on a larger scale:
- Batoning,
- Cutting out chunks in a chest lever,
- Chopping.
This is compared to knives that fall more into the bushcraft and survival categories, though. The Cloud Peak can do all those things within reason. If it’s all you have it’ll work for all of it.
The edge has a decent bite, and the tall blade with a full flat grind gives it a smooth cut when I’m slicing through something for a bit of distance.
The blade has a semi-polished edge, which takes some of the initial bite out and can make it feel a little tricky to start a cut sometimes, but it also makes those cuts clean.
It was butter smooth through phone book paper as soon as I got my monkey grip moving in the right direction, and I like the blade for cutting up strips of cloth and food at the campsite (even though the design as a whole is bulkier than I like for campsite cooking).
Nitro-V and Edge Retention
It’s in the middle ground for edge retention, but the edge stability is great. It cut thin paper well enough out of the box, then I used it until it wouldn’t cut any paper and was able to bring it back into shape with a honing steel. A strop with green compound brought up to push-cutting sharpness.
That’s very Sandvik-like behavior (which makes sense science Nitro-V is more or less Sandvik 14C28N with a little extra vanadium). That’s very comfortable behavior for me. I don’t mind a knife that gets dull after a day’s use with it sharpens up as easily as this.
But it’s a characteristic that needs to be emphasized hard for the masses: This blade does not prioritize edge retention; it’s all about toughness and sharpenability. Don’t worry about abusing the knife or getting it dull. Just bring a strop with you on your camping trip.
The Handle
We have the G10 version, but it’s so polished it almost doesn’t matter what the material is. There’s no texture. I love the look of it. If I didn’t know the specs before I would have guessed it was a linen MIcarta.
Take it in wood or G10, this handle is exactly the kind of design I like:
- Minimal on the shaping, but enough to support the hand,
- Wide enough to stay comfortable as I tighten up my grip,
- And generally good looking.
I also have to admit, as much as I dislike the smooth texture, it does make the whole knife easier to clean. It also brings it that much closer to feeling like the phenol handle of a Buck knife.
The Sheath
A couple things this sheath does well:
- The retention strap has a snug hold on the knife,
- It’s easy to draw the knife out,
- The handle never seems to dig into my side despite riding high,
- And it feels relatively unobtrusive on the belt.
There are a couple things I’m concerned about, though.
The leather feels like middling quality at best, and it’s only single-stitched. The belt loop is also a bit oversized. It’s still stiff enough to stay immobile when I’m hiking, but over time all this leather is going to relax and change shape, and then I’m worried the stitching will come undone, and it’ll start flopping wild on a hike.
As that happens, I trust the button clasp to hold the knife in place, If nothing else I’ll have that. And I actually appreciate that they put this in leather at all. It’s a nice touch for the moderate price point the Cloud Peak landed in. I’m not sure I’d want this thing on a backpacking trip, but I could stand a few days of camping with it.
In Use
This is a heavy knife. The balance feels odd. It’s handle-heavy, but not so much that it feels like a lot of the weight is in the hand. There’s an awkward pull toward the blade that makes it feel clumsy to me.
I didn’t notice that odd balance throwing me off too much. Mostly when I was stripping branches, because that’s as close to chopping as I got.
But overall it’s nice to handle.
It’s a good knife for people who hunt, but I’m not that guy. The closest I get to that is peeling the wax bit off of those individual mozzarella cheese wheels.
But I do like a knife that can handle some cooking, carving, and quick slicing. Also, it’s a general rule of thumb I’ve noticed that good hunting knives are often good box cutters, not just because the blade geometry is ideal, but because they tend to be designed for a couple of different helpful grips.
And that’s definitely true here. The blade sings through cardboard, and it’s easy to switch my grip and continue cutting.
It also happens to be excellent for making feather sticks. The semi-polished blade does wonders if you can find any wood softer than oak, and the thick handle makes it pretty easy to adjust your angle to get the right thickness of curl.
It’s not so good for removing large pieces of material. I had trouble cutting off large chunks from branches with a chest lever (the chest-lever ergos aren’t bad, though), it’s not much of a chopper, and it makes batoning a long labor (I usually didn’t get a god split until about halfway down a piece of wood).
This is compared to knives that fall more into the bushcraft and survival categories, though. The Cloud Peak can do all those things within reason. If it’s all you have it’ll work for all of it.
Comparison and Alternatives
Two Bucks came to mind when I saw the Cloud Peak:
The Buck Vanguard, which is a good alternative if you want something a little lighter, cheaper, and USA-made. I prefer Nitro-V in a flat grind to the Vanguard’s 420HC in a hollow grind, but I think I actually like the hidden tang construction on the Buck.
The Buck Selkirk will get you a similar weight and balance experience, but with a more adaptable Kydex sheath and (arguably) better handle ergos, depending on your preferences. It’s also several orders cheaper.
The LionSteel M2M also sits close in profile shape. It leans pricier, but it’s fantastically comfortable and you won’t find many people doing leather sheaths better than the Italians.
The Spyderco Bill Moran is also worth mentioning here. I rarely see this thing brought up and it’s a shame because it’s a comfortable, lightweight hunting knife. It runs about the same price, and doesn’t look as impressive, but there’s always something about a Moran design in hand. The guy knew what he was doing. I’d put it up as the most comfortable and sliciest option, but the VG-10 steel is nowhere near as durable.
It’s a Strong Materials Update more than a Classic Throwback
I like it enough.
It looks good, it’s comfortable, rides on the belt surprisingly well, and the blade cuts like a dream.
But it’s on the heavy side, and I’m not sure how long the sheath is going to hold up.
The big selling point in my mind is that it’s a classic-style hunting knife with Nitro-V steel, which, from where I’m standing (in a place of not much hunting experience, but a lot of camping under my belt and a general appreciation for old school designs) is an ideal material for this kind of knife.
That also brings up a little piece of design philosophy that’s maybe worth keeping in mind: there’s nothing wrong with going back to a knife shape we’ve all seen before. We’re all just itching to see what design that’s been around for a hundred years can do with a steel that’s been around less than 20.
