A survival knife is one knife that your life depends on. If it does not have a full tang, it may break when you needed it most. So, folders are out of the question. As to the metal alloy, it is a personal preference but generally speaking you should strike a balance between hardness and resilience. Bear Grylls' ultimate survival knife is not bad. I also use a cheap Buck full tang knife for the rough works. Sometimes I use a Winchester. They are all good as long as they have the most important feature of a survival knife - full tang.

I've owned two BG (Bear Grylls) knives and i would rate them as very good to have with you in a survival situation.
also, has anyone ever heard of AG Russell?
It is a company that hand-makes (not mass produces) very high quality wilderness knives and pocketknives.
i own one of his blades and it holds an edge very well and is very easy to sharpen.

I'm sure barkriver and fallkniven should be in here!
Maybe you didn't put them in because they are less known in the USA but actually they make great survival knives

If it had to be only ONE knife, I wouldn't touch anything less than a full 6" and that'd be my minimum. Folder? For survival? No way. A "survival" knife would ideally have a full tang, have a high carbon content steel blade and IMO have be of a substantial size so as to be able to built shelter. It's a tool, not a hobby implement.

I have an ESEE-6 that gives me all the confidence that it can do what I need it to do. The next knife up for me would be a Junglas (no doubt), and my very next ESEE will be an ESEE-3.

I agree with Michael S.'s choices myself. Of these, the RTAK is the CLEAR choice. A Mora Companion or Robust is the budget-minded choice for a smaller blade to prep food and do detail work.

My 2 cents.

bestmachete.net/what-are-the-best-survival-knives/ stated the kabar is the best!

With the exception of the 'Hoodlum' and 'RTAK II', I don't see any knives in your list that would even qualify as true 'survival' knives.

There's some nice little utility blades on your list that would help out in backyard food prep or whittling on the porch, but only those two that I'd even consider carrying for serious wilderness use. Even those two are nowhere near the top of the line when it comes to serious blades. Consider a Busse or Scrap Yard if you're serious about your gear.

Anyone who is familiar with life close to nature knows that a large blade can do anything that a little blade can, but the opposite is simply not the case. You're not going to quickly chop/split firewood, hack your way through dense brush, whip up a fast shelter, limb trees, fell saplings, etc etc... with a 4 inch blade.

Remember, survival situations are NOT planned events. When they happen, you don't typically have hours to muck around with a little blade. If you're 'stuck in the muck', it's getting dark and a freezing rain is starting to fall, you may only have a few hours left to LIVE. Making shelter FAST means serious limbing and chopping tasks, NOT whittling sticks. For actual survival (and not this silly 'bushcraft' stuff) I'll take a $20 Ontario machete over pretty much everything in your list.

I DO carry smaller blades (typically a multi-tool) for small tasks, but when big tasks are required, so is a big blade.

PS - In the third world where life and nature are inseparable, you don't see ANYONE running around with those little 'bushcraft' blades. They carry parangs, kukris, machetes and other effective tools that are up to the job!

Have the brother to #8 at home on a shelf, used it to scare more than a few guys when I went to college…Might have to get it down, now that Little Miss Gyrene’a almost old enough to date!! Just because it’s a little smaller, and easier to leave on my holster belt, I have a Schrade,( probably the Woodsman judging by the picture, but I remember it with more of an upsweep at the point) that’s pretty handy for a hunting/ skinning knife…Several of these look tempting...Wonder how Mrs Gyrene would react to yet ANOTHER knife!!

It was nice to see the scandanavian knives get some respect. I have started making my own knives, and have quickly learned that it's hard to beat a Helle, Kellam, or Mora blade at any price.

My vote would go for the KA-BAR, if it's good enough for the Marines, it's good enough for me!

i agree w/ blue ox. my ka-bar usmc knife is my ONLY knife. that knife does everything! dressed my 2 deer last season like a hot wire thru butter... sternum, too.

I enjoy knives almost as much as guns and I have quite a few knives. My go to folding knife is a Swiss Army knife, an electrician's knife to be specific. My go to fixed blade knife is a Mora Clipper. I have one almost every where that I might need one.

i have two of the CRKT ultima the 4.95 inch blade and the 7 inch blade they are great i use them for everey thing