The Ultimate Knife (suggested retail: $60), the first product representing Bear Grylls' collaboration with Gerber, comes with a firestarter, sharpener and emergency whistle packed in the sheath. On its own, the knife is a solid hunk of a blade. The drop point, 4.8-inch blade is nearly a ¼ inch thick at the spine, hollow ground, and made from 440A steel with a Rockwell score of 52-59, making for good strength and easy sharpening.
The handle has a great ergonomic shape that fits well in the hand with a double guard to prevent slippage and a textured rubber grip that’s pretty sticky, even in wet conditions.
Some will gripe about the fact that a full half of the edge is serrated. It’s a personal preference and a full smooth blade option is not currently available on this knife. During my tests the serrations didn’t impede the tool in any way, so take from that what you will.
The handle has a great ergonomic shape that fits well in the hand with a double guard to prevent slippage and a textured rubber grip that’s pretty sticky, even in wet conditions.
Some will gripe about the fact that a full half of the edge is serrated. It’s a personal preference and a full smooth blade option is not currently available on this knife. During my tests the serrations didn’t impede the tool in any way, so take from that what you will.
The pommel is checkered stainless steel (left) giving the knife decent hammering capabilities. It made short work of driving some improvised tent stakes and the checkering had me shattering the ends of softer stakes rather than slipping off onto my knuckles. It also gives the otherwise synthetic handle a nice balance and weight, but with the knife clocking in at 11.2 oz., larger hammering chores would be better suited to a nicely contoured rock.
Gerber. They make excellent knives and this is no exception. Now onto the stuff that makes this package a survival knife...and it's all in the sheath.
When fully disassembled, the knife and sheath break down into four pieces: a ferrocerium fire starter rod, the knife, the zytel sheath with a diamond sharpening stone on the back side, and the heavy-duty nylon platform.
When the center strap on the outside of the sheath is released, the zytel portion swings down on a nylon loop at the bottom to reveal the diamond sharpener. Oddly, that loop is Velcro as well and can be opened, allowing the zytel to be completely removed from the platform.
I suppose this could be an advantage if you want to lash the zytel sheath to a pack or gear, but then you’re only relying on the retention cup around the guard to hold the knife in place, as the retention strap (which is Velcro as well where I would have rather seen a snap) is sewn to the nylon platform. To me, it seems an unnecessary weakness, especially considering the nylon platform includes horizontal loops in addition to a belt loop for attachment to MOLLE-type rigs, or even old-school A.L.I.C.E. attachments.
Gerber found a way to pack a lot of traditional survival knife features into a very streamlined, compact package, but when you get right down to it, only two narrow pieces of Velcro-lined nylon hold the whole works together.
When fully disassembled, the knife and sheath break down into four pieces: a ferrocerium fire starter rod, the knife, the zytel sheath with a diamond sharpening stone on the back side, and the heavy-duty nylon platform.
When the center strap on the outside of the sheath is released, the zytel portion swings down on a nylon loop at the bottom to reveal the diamond sharpener. Oddly, that loop is Velcro as well and can be opened, allowing the zytel to be completely removed from the platform.
I suppose this could be an advantage if you want to lash the zytel sheath to a pack or gear, but then you’re only relying on the retention cup around the guard to hold the knife in place, as the retention strap (which is Velcro as well where I would have rather seen a snap) is sewn to the nylon platform. To me, it seems an unnecessary weakness, especially considering the nylon platform includes horizontal loops in addition to a belt loop for attachment to MOLLE-type rigs, or even old-school A.L.I.C.E. attachments.
Gerber found a way to pack a lot of traditional survival knife features into a very streamlined, compact package, but when you get right down to it, only two narrow pieces of Velcro-lined nylon hold the whole works together.
Gerber. They make excellent knives and this is no exception. Now onto the stuff that makes this package a survival knife...and it's all in the sheath.
When fully disassembled, the knife and sheath break down into four pieces: a ferrocerium fire starter rod, the knife, the zytel sheath with a diamond sharpening stone on the back side, and the heavy-duty nylon platform.
When the center strap on the outside of the sheath is released, the zytel portion swings down on a nylon loop at the bottom to reveal the diamond sharpener. Oddly, that loop is Velcro as well and can be opened, allowing the zytel to be completely removed from the platform.
I suppose this could be an advantage if you want to lash the zytel sheath to a pack or gear, but then you’re only relying on the retention cup around the guard to hold the knife in place, as the retention strap (which is Velcro as well where I would have rather seen a snap) is sewn to the nylon platform. To me, it seems an unnecessary weakness, especially considering the nylon platform includes horizontal loops in addition to a belt loop for attachment to MOLLE-type rigs, or even old-school A.L.I.C.E. attachments.
Gerber found a way to pack a lot of traditional survival knife features into a very streamlined, compact package, but when you get right down to it, only two narrow pieces of Velcro-lined nylon hold the whole works together.
When fully disassembled, the knife and sheath break down into four pieces: a ferrocerium fire starter rod, the knife, the zytel sheath with a diamond sharpening stone on the back side, and the heavy-duty nylon platform.
When the center strap on the outside of the sheath is released, the zytel portion swings down on a nylon loop at the bottom to reveal the diamond sharpener. Oddly, that loop is Velcro as well and can be opened, allowing the zytel to be completely removed from the platform.
I suppose this could be an advantage if you want to lash the zytel sheath to a pack or gear, but then you’re only relying on the retention cup around the guard to hold the knife in place, as the retention strap (which is Velcro as well where I would have rather seen a snap) is sewn to the nylon platform. To me, it seems an unnecessary weakness, especially considering the nylon platform includes horizontal loops in addition to a belt loop for attachment to MOLLE-type rigs, or even old-school A.L.I.C.E. attachments.
Gerber found a way to pack a lot of traditional survival knife features into a very streamlined, compact package, but when you get right down to it, only two narrow pieces of Velcro-lined nylon hold the whole works together.
he Ultimate Knife, and every product in the Survival Series, includes the Bear Grylls Priorities of Survival Pocket Guide, which slips into a weather-resistant pocket on the back of the sheath. The pocket also includes land to air rescue and SOS instructions on the outside.
In my opinion, the booklet is a handy thing to have on you at all times and provides easy-to-understand survival priorities that would be a blessing for a panicked mind in a survival situation, like Grylls’ mnemonic device for the four survival priorities: Please Remember What's First (Protection, Rescue, Water, Food). The booklet also includes simple instructions and illustrations for basic navigation, building simple shelters, building fires, tying knots, purifying water, making snares and more. It even has a handy ruler across the bottom edge.
In my opinion, the booklet is a handy thing to have on you at all times and provides easy-to-understand survival priorities that would be a blessing for a panicked mind in a survival situation, like Grylls’ mnemonic device for the four survival priorities: Please Remember What's First (Protection, Rescue, Water, Food). The booklet also includes simple instructions and illustrations for basic navigation, building simple shelters, building fires, tying knots, purifying water, making snares and more. It even has a handy ruler across the bottom edge.
Photos by Madeleine Maccar
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