The popular debate over for the ideal size of a survival knife rages on, usually dividing opinions into three following camps. The first group gives preference to the small size bushcraft type knives that afford the most control of the blade, the second group argues for a mid-size survival knives for a balanced approach, while the third group wants the biggest and meanest blades possible. The obvious logic behind the third camp’s argument is that large survival knives will generally perform better for important wilderness survival tasks such as chopping wood, making a shelter and (if not too heavy and clumsy) for self defense… as a vivid illustration of this point, you might remember the classic line: “That’s not a knife. This is a knife!” from the Crocodile Dundee movie.

If you found yourself in the third group, because you just gotta have that big survival knife and you’ve set aside a budget for up to $150, may we suggest you review the below list featuring the best large survival knives in that price range.

We start with our Top Pick in this category: Buck Hoodlum, which is a legacy of the Hoods Woods founder Ron Hood. The Hoodlum is built for ultimate survival. It’s still light enough to carry in a sheath, but heavy duty enough for any task out in the wilderness. The handle is built with a Shock Mitigation System (SMS) to alleviate shock and wasted energy when chopping. It has a large finger choil for providing control while whittling or other detailed activities. A groove is cut into the blade spine for scoring bone, bending wire, removing pots from a camp fire, or other small tasks. Also, the Micarta handles can be removed to create a spear by lashing a branch to the tang of the blade and there is an integrated hammer and lanyard hole in the butt of the handle. The Hoodlum will serve all your survival needs from protection to food prep while out in the wilderness, so we highly recommend this knife. Here are the specs:

Buck Hood Hoodlum

Our Top Pick as the best fixed blade knife (7.6″-11″) under 150 dollars is Buck Hood Hoodlum. Based on Ron Hood’s design and built to Buck’s quality standards, the Hoodlum helps ensure survival in extreme conditions. It is light enough to carry in a sheath, but heavy duty enough for any task out in the wilderness.

• Blade: 10″ length, 5160 carbon steel with a powder coat finish
• Handle: 5.5″ length, removable micarta material with scales
• Weight: 14.6 ounces

Top large survival knives under $150

ESEE Junglas

Ontario RTAK-II

Ka-Bar Becker BK9

Cold Steel Trail Master

SOG Tigershark

Ontario GEN II SP50

Condor Boomslang

Ka-Bar Big Brother

Cold Steel OSS