Recon,

I carried a MK 3 during my stint in the Navy. I carried it in the Sandbox when I was in Desert Storm, it went with me to Somalia, and it traveled to a few other places that I'm not supposed to discuss. I have no regrets and qualms about carrying that knive. It did its duty and served me well.

How much gear are you going to be humping? Is the extra weight and hassle worth it? Probably not in my opinion. Keep in mind that this is a chopper; what exactly are you going to be chopping over there? Choose your gear based on your needs and your mission, not your emotional desire. The right tool for the jod isn't a chopper in my opinion.

Personally, I'd opt for either a BATAC, Scrapper 6, or a Dumpster Mutt, one of the newer models (DMDC, DMLE, etc....) one's with full height grind and not the original CG model. Any of those knives are more than adequate for the task at hand. And if you happen to loose it then you're not out a huge chunk of cash.