For all you hunters looking forward to the fall hunting season, I received and decided to review this product from Buck Knives: the PakLite FieldMaster. Now I’ll admit up front that I haven’t been an active hunter for quite some time now, but it’s an activity I look forward to getting back into – and I certainly have the firearms for it. Most people realize, though, that a gun isn’t all you need: you need proper clothing, knowledge, skill – and the necessary tools to dress your “prize” out after a successful hunt. The PakLite FieldMaster is a handy, three-in-one kit that helps with that.

The 3 blades; the haze is what happens when you take a cold camera out into hot weather.

Like the promotional material says, “pack light, cut easy.” The PakLite FieldMaster kit contains:

• a 141 PakLite Large Skinner
• a 135 PakLite Caper
• a 499 PakLite Guthook

All are carried in a black nylon pouch that has the three separate necessary pockets; each pocket with a hard plastic removable liner. If you remove the liners, the sheath is washable. Also designed into the sheath are two zippered pockets, one on the flap and one on the back, for carrying tags, ID, etc. For ease of carry, there’s an adjustable belt loop on the back of the kit, but there are also other options if you prefer.

The PakLite FieldMaster kit shown closed and open.

Carry Option One:
With the flap closed over the knives you can use the adjustable belt loop to mount the kit on your belt. NOTE: Both ends of the loop are fixed so you have to lace the kit onto your belt as you put on the belt; not after the fact.

Carry Option Two:
There is the proper nylon webbing strap at the top and bottom of the back of the kit so, if you want to mount this on a MOLLE compatible pack or vest, you can do that too – you just need something like the STRIKE Speed Strips (or other MOLLE mounting attachments) to do so.

Carry Option Three:
If you want the kit open so you can access the blades throughout your hunt, you can fold the flap over and back and do the same with the buckle at the bottom so that you buckle the flap open to the rear leaving the knives exposed. NOTE: Nothing retains the two larger blades except gravity and the flap. If you exercise this carry option you run a higher risk of losing the two large blades. I don’t recommend this option.

Guthook safety snap strap.

The Guthook is held in place by an additional snap-strap. I imagine this is done because the Guthook is short enough that, even with the kit’s flap closed, there’s enough clearance for the Guthook to come out of it’s sheath pocket and fall free. When you go to draw the Guthook though, and you unsnap that strap, the face of the strap, which has a piece of hook-n-loop (Velcro) on it, mates up with the other half of that hook-n-loop on the kit’s body, so the snap strap is held out of your way when you go to resheath the Guthook. A well-thought detail in design that indicates the consideration put into this kit as it was being built.

All three knives in this kit are manufactured from 420HC stainless steel and have skeletonized handles. Grip security is a function of handle shape, ridges on the spines and the added friction afforded through the skeletonized cutouts.

The PakLite Large Skinner specs:
Blade Length: 3.5″
Weight: 4.1 ounces
Overall Length: 8″

The PakLite Caper specs:
Blade Length: 2.5″
Weight: 1.1 ounces
Overall Length: 6.75″

The PakLite Guthook specs:
Weight: 1.5 ounces
Overall Length: 4″

On the Buck Knives website the MSRP for the kit is $85. That’s exactly equal to the price of the MSRPs for the three included knives added together. A Google search discovered some sellers making them available for as low as $43 online. As always, do your research before you buy.

Happy Hunting!

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