Goat Knives’ Chamois give backcountry hunters a sharp, durable, lightweight option that doesn’t break the bank and promises results.
by Jace Bauserman
When bowhunting the backcountry, a hunter must have a few key things. One of those must-have items is a durable, fixed-blade knife, and for good reason. A reliable, solid-blade knife can come in handy for many uses, not just for quartering and caping out that next big buck or bull you harvest.
A good knife is invaluable, from camp chores to fixing boot laces and everything in between. There are a few key ingredients to a perfect fixed-blade knife make. I demand them all. If I’m going to take the time to carry a knife into the field, I want every key box checked. When I first got my hands on Goat Knives’ Chamois knife, I immediately knew this was the knife for me.
Goat Chamois
The Goat Knives Chamois is a fixed-blade knife with a blade design that excels at skinning, fleshing, and caping. The Chamois weighs a mere 2.8 ounces and is 7- ⅜-inches long. The blade length comes in at 3.25 inches, which in my opinion, is the perfect hunting size for a lightweight knife. The Chamois is cut from a piece of Nitro V hardened to a Rockwell Hardness rating of 62.
This means it will keep its ultra-sharp edge, even after breaking down and deboning a whole deer or the better part of a bull elk. Like all Goat Knives, the Chamois comes with a custom-molded Kydex sheath. I like this sheath style because of its tight fit and sleek design. This knife is part of Goat Knives’ high-end lineup and features a comfortable full-length handle machined from durable GIO material. It feels excellent inside your hand. The Goat Knives’ signature 1/4-inch drive hole has been added to the end of the handle. This hole allows you to utilize the 1/4-inch bit to repair and work on anything you may encounter while in the field.
Why this Style of Knife?
Now that we’ve gone over the technical features of this knife, I will give you the blue-collar facts on WHY this knife is the real deal. For a solid blade knife to be useful to a backcountry bowhunter like me, it needs to be functional yet packable. This knife is both. I can stuff this knife in the pocket of my bino harness, or inside one of the accessory pockets on my harness, for easy access. This feature alone is a make-or-break for me because a bulky, cumbersome knife is useless to a guy whose entire hunting system is sleek, lightweight, and performance-driven design. The Chamois, for me, checks all of those boxes.
For functionality, this knife has a large number of uses. For one, the knife has a fixed, solid blade and can be used to cut, slice, peel and it will handle pressure from prying. This may not sound like a big deal, but let me emphasize how important a solid blade strong enough to pry with can be in the backcountry.
When cutting up large game, like an elk, it takes significant pressure to pop joints, vertebrae, and cartilage. This is a job for a robust and solid-blade knife. Replaceable-blade knives have their place and work great for many chores. However, try prying with one, and you’ll rack up more broken blades than you can shake a stick at. Plus, you lose a lot of time and become very frustrated when trying to break down a big animal and get out of the backcountry but keep snapping blades. Snapping blades can zing away at high speed, creating a dangerous situation. The last thing you need in the backcountry is a sharp piece of metal lodged in your body.
Another example of why a good solid-blade knife is needed happened a few years ago. I encountered a situation where I needed a solid knife to pry the bottom lip of my bow cam off the string. I took a nasty fall, and my bottom cam hit hard. The cam contacted the ground and the contact bent the lip of the cam over my string. I knew right off that if I drew my bow, I would fray or cut my string.
I had a replaceable blade knife with me, but that was it. Unfortunately, the blades kept popping off, and I couldn’t get my cam lip bent back over to work on. I had to leave my camp, hike to my truck, drive to a bow shop 40 miles from the trailhead and have my cam fixed. In this scenario, a solid blade knife like the Chamois would have been worth its weight in gold.
Drive It
Also, because of the ¼-inch drive bit slot built into the handle, I can quickly fix loose bolts or tighten screws back down. I carry an assortment of bits inside an old jerky can and can quickly tighten a bolt on my tripod, tighten my camera adapter, or fix a loose piece of plastic on my trekking poles, etc. These are all real-world scenarios that I encounter all the time, and I am always happy that I have this knife and the bits instead of an assortment of heavy, clumsy, loud screwdrivers, wrenches, and hex keys. Half of which I would leave in the truck anyways and would NOT have them in the exact moment that I needed them.
Final Thoughts
All in all, a guy can’t go wrong with spending his hard-earned dollars on this knife. The Chamois is a solid blade knife with a multi-tool type of feel because of its many uses and innovative design. The hex-bit cutout makes this knife even more useful and worth every penny. I can tell you from experience that this knife has an incredible edge and various sharpeners will polish it right back up. I highly recommend this knife. I have been using and testing it thoroughly throughout the last year with excellent results! Pick one up this fall; I am sure you will not be disappointed.
