Review: Ridgeline Field Processing Kit

Gear, Reviews

The Ridgeline Field Processing Kit is a light and portable suite that has all the essentials you need to field-dress game in the bush, and it’s pretty decent quality at a modest price.

For $130 you get knives, a game bag, an apron-cum-knife roll, a sharpener, some paracord and a pair of rubber gloves.

I’ve used it a number of times now and reckon it’s the best, most well-conceived budget-price kit of its kind that I’ve come across.

There are two knives: a skinner with gut-hook and a butcher’s knife. For field dressing, this is a good combination that will get the job done very well, from stripping off the hide and cleanly removing the internal organs to quartering the carcass and removing the head.

They have bright orange polymer handles so they’re easy to find and robust.

The blade steel is a medium-hard stainless which, with the compact sharpening tool provided, is easy to keep an edge on if you give it a regular touch-up. The sharpener includes V-notch stones for sharpening and honing as well as a flat file and a round file.

The knives each have a nylon sheath to put on your belt and to protect the blades when they’re packed away.

The heavy-duty polyester apron is big enough to cover you right down to the knees. It has a number of pockets in the front to keep things handy, and when you’re finished you just roll up all the kit inside it, tie it off and drop it into your pack.

I’ve also used the apron as a groundsheet to put meat on, avoiding the risk of contamination from the ground.

The game bag is a stretchy, breathable polyester one that will take more meat than you would think.

The length of nylon paracord is handy for all sorts of things, from tying off to tying up if you want to hang meat overnight.

Finally, the single pair of rubber gloves will only be useful once but it’s a good reminder to stock up on them for the sake of hygiene and cleanliness.

You can get the Ridgeline Field Processing Kit from gun shops for a recommended $129.95. Find out more on the Ridgeline website.

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