Most knives that people take hiking, for any period of time, fall into one of two categories: the overkill, giant, 2lb hunting knife, or, mostly, the 1in, 5$ walmart pocket knife. I recently found a happy medium. It's made of Givory, a type of plastic, so it's light, cheap, and won't rust, but it's still incredibly sharp and you can sharpen it with a piece of sandpaper. They're part of the Nightshade series made by Cold Steel. They're made to be compact and easy to carry. I'd recommend either the small boot knife or the karambit. Just throw it in your pocket(or boot) and forget about it until you need it. Go check it out.