[Bearack]

I've finally done it. I bought the Bear Grylls Gerber 31 survival knife. I've been completing a couple other bags and have some nice knifes I'm comfortable with and know their quality. I'm skeptical on this knife only for the fact I'm just not familiar with it.

Has anyone else purchased it and what's your opinion of it? The price is right so if I don't like it, I'm not out a ton.

 

[fullofit]

Bear Grylls shows are pretty much "what not to do" in a survival situation, he takes utterly idiotic risks with little or no reward, burns calories unnecessarily, he must be eating cipro like candy for all of the food and drink risks he takes and is the last person I would want to be stuck with in a survival situation. That said because he endorsed the knife, I would stay far away from it.

 

[Crutch]

They sell them here at Walmart for about $29-49 depending on the size.

Personally, I am on the fence about Grylls. He provides a service, and his show is entertaining, even if he is proven to be a fake. So I don't know how to take him coming out with a knife.

I can however say that Gerber who makes his knife, has a long standing reputation of making excellent equipment. However they too here in the last 5 years have started to slip on quality.

Ultimately, I look forward to hearing what YOU think of the knife. I hold no prejudice against the company or the celebrity endorsement. However as knives go, I have a hard time spending $50.00 with out it being or doing something unique.

Especially when a comparable SOG goes for $20.00 less.

 

[Flex]

The fire starter is the only thing that I would get with Bear Grylls name on it. And the price is right.

 

[Keylitho]

I bought a Gerber knife a while ago and the steel sucked and I have a feeling the same is true with this knife.
But I still would buy this knife because I love the show and the knife is pretty sweet looking and I would just like to have it.. and if for some reason I needed to use it I guess it would work for a while.

Check out this video... he does a quite Honest review of the knife..

 

[Slovak]

The amazon reviews I read about his knife were disappointing. People complained about the build quality, especially the butt of the knife.

 

[kev]

For the price, I am thinking of buying one just to say that I have it.

If nothing else, strap it to an alice pack and leave it there.

 

[Slovak]

For the price, I am thinking of buying one just to say that I have it.

If nothing else, strap it to an alice pack and leave it there.

That's how I treat a lot of unproven equipment. It's just there as backup, especially for the wife, who won't use it as often. Car maintenance tools for example.

 

[Bearack]

Thanks Keylitho. Awesome review.

 

[2DOGS]

Went yard sale/flea mkt. hunting again today. My friend picked up a Gerber Bear Grylls knife today for $20.00. Gentleman selling it wanted $35.00 but was talked down to the current price. It was new looking and had knife, sharpening stone, fire striker and a little whistle attached by a nylon cord to the sheath. For the price I suppose it is OK for I thought Gerber was a good company since they make some knives for the US military. Just my .02 anyways....SEMPER FI

 

[Kingfish]

I watched several reviews on this knife and the first ones sucked as they broke the butt end off in hammering. I wanted a full tang through the handle. This has been fixed and also I do not think its built in Oregon like most Gerber knives are. My wife and I went with the Prodigy instead and can tell you the Prodigy is an excellent knife in the 50 dollar range. Good steel and even better built. And made in the U.S.A. Kingfish

 

[kev]

That's how I treat a lot of unproven equipment. It's just there as backup, especially for the wife, who won't use it as often. Car maintenance tools for example.

Last year my son and some people we know went camping on the angelina river. Well, I ended up loaning them some backpacks, tent, sleeping bags, MREs,,,, just general stuff.

I like to keep my spare packs outfitted with decent gear, nothing too expensive, but not junk either. If one of our guest loose a knife, I would rather it be a $20 - $30 knife, then a $100 knife.

 

[Lutraphobia]

I typically stay far away from any "celebrity" endorsed products. Especially if my life depended on it.

Congrats on your purchase though. Hope you enjoy it!

 

[Bearack]

BTW, I went ahead to purchased it with my Amazon account to which I've been holding onto a $40 coupon on purchases so the nice only cost $15 so regardless, I'll love it for it's price.

I'll let you know how well it is when I receive it though. Maybe put a review of my own up.

 

[Armageddon2012]

I bought the knife and like it , & there's no doubt he is Ex-Special Forces...........Who else would drink thier own urin to survive !!! :

 

[25074]

My wife Bought me the larger knife.

I think it's pretty nice. Seems well build.

Not sure about the half serrated blade though.

Don't be so hard on Bear Grylls. Yeah, he does stuff for the WOW factor, but he's probably tougher than most of us! LOL

 

[Xi Bowhunter]

I bought the Bear Grylls knife after it was re-done with the full-tang, and I don't have any complaints about it. I have used it on 2 backpacking trips, one cave exploration, and several hikes.

I put the knife through it's paces on purpose, because I witnessed the pommel break off on a friend's 1st gen Bear Grylls knife first hand, and it has held up to everything I think a knife should hold up to.

I even lost the fire starter/whistle after I foolishly put the whistle/lanyard onto the fire starter, and it got caught on something on the trail, causing it (fire starter) to pop out of place and fall out. I contacted Gerber the next Monday, and had a replacement fire starter and whistle/lanyard by Thursday. You don't get better customer service than that in my book.

Love or hate BG, the knife is actually a quality product.

 

[Lazarus29]

So many good knives from mora or kabar. I would avoid anything with Bears name on it.

Unless you find yourself regularly back flipping while skydiving out of a helicopter into the middle of a desert, sprinting as fast as you can to the top of the first hill then immediately drinking your own urine.

If so then this knifes for you.

 

[PLA]

I couldnt get past the batoning BS.

If your father didnt beat you for not taking care of your tools , he should have. Tools taken care of which are solidly built from the start will last as long as you do, and hopefully can be passed to your children.

I have a drawer full of Gerbers. They are famous for 2 things. Very hard steel, and harder to sharpen than carbon steel. The second thing is once an edge is on it, its on it, of course unless you do something dumb and chip or roll the edge.

I reviewed the LHR in my gear thread on the last page , its stickied on top. Gerber went a long way for the Army with that blade, and its worth a look if you are looking for a knife.

 

[Bearack]

So, I got my Bear Gryll's knife yesterday so I haven't fully entrenched myself in analyzing the knife, however, first inspection seems like a pretty solid product. Excellent grip, steel seems fairly good quality and the Kydex sheath is actually much better than I anticipated.

As the reviewer in a previous post mention, I can see the sharaded knife becoming an issue over time.

I'll let you know how things progress.