Being an avid fan of the outdoors, I have been known to spend many a night browsing the Netflix que for the best outdoor documentaries and videos available. More then once I have watched an entire season of Man vs Wild in a weekend. So when I heard that Bear Grylls was coming out with his own knife from one of my favorite knife manufacturers, Gerber, I was naturally interested. With all of the hype leading up to the release of the knife, and all of the reviews I read saying that the pommel breaks off easily, I was interested to get out and try it myself. I received the knife a month or so ago but had not had ample time to go out and give it a test until this past weekend. Read on for the full review.
This features of this knife, directly from the manufacturer are:
- Full tang stainless steel blade
- Hammer / pommel
- Textured TacHideTM handle
- Partially serrated blade
- Utility saw
- Lanyard cord with emergency whistle
- Fire striker on blade with magnesium rod in sheath
- In sheath sharpening stone
- Weatherproof survival guide
This is no bare bones knife, and it really tries to include the things you would need if you are ever stranded over night.
Pros:
- I love the overall weight of the knife, it is not too heavy but not too light, and it feels like it can withstand the punishment you throw at it.
- I also like how many accessories they have included in this small sheath. The back of the sheath has a sharpener on it, while the fire starter snaps right into the front, and the blade have the striker as well as a serrated edge for sawing. These all add to the value of the knife.
- The holes at the bottom of the blade are an interesting addition, and they allow the knife to be added to a piece of wood to make a spear. Now while I don’t see myself using it very often it is a cool addition that adds to the knife.
- The knife handle, while plastic, does have a good grip that really allows you to have control over the knife.
- I used the pommel on some loose pieces of rock and it functioned surprisingly well, easily breaking up the rock without showing damage to the pommel.
Cons:
- The knife has a lot of plastic. While I like the feel of the handle, it is still plastic, as is the base of the fire starter, and I can’t help but wonder if they will be able to stand up to the knifes many uses.
- The survival guide has a pouch in the back of the knifes sheath, but it fits very awkwardly and I don’t see myself keeping that with me due to the way it fits.
Overall this is a great fixed blade knife. It has strength and accessories to live up to the survival knife name, at a price point that makes it an easy purchase to add to your hiking pack. You never know when you will need one of these add ons and you can do worse than picking up this great survival knife. I would give it my full recommendation and will update the post as I test it more.
You can purchase the Bear Grylls Survival Knife here.
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