Bark River Bravo necker VS RAT Izula

L

Loonatic

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Jan 5, 2007
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Ok the debate is ON :D

Your opinions and thoughts on the Bark River Bravo Necker and the RAT Izula.

I'm thinking about purchasing a neck carry and theses are my prime candidates any opinions is welcomes or other suggestions.

Also which one as the better sheath ? Since I'm quite active and moving around and worried about the blade slipping off. :eek:

bravo.jpg

izula.jpg


Thanks for your time :)
 
The Izula sheath has slightly better retention, the BR necker sheath is pretty poor IMO but does work. Both knives benefit from custom sheaths IMO.
Izula is a stouter knife, feels better to me with a cord wrap and is a lot cheaper. It also has about 1/8" longer blade.

The Bravo necker has a better grind (convex) and is thinner so slices much better. Also stainless if that matters to you. It feels way better with handle scales on although mine required some sanding to eliminate harsh corners.

Of course the handles make both knives heavier which may be a factor if you neck carry.

If money is not a concern, to me the Bravo necker is a better knife with the handles. If you want bang for your buck, the Izula with a cord wrap is great as well.

I have both and plan on keeping both but will keep multiple Izulas and probably just the one Bravo necker.

If I think of anything else to add I'll be sure to comment.
 
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Loonatic said:
Your opinions and thoughts on the Bark River Bravo Necker and the RAT Izula.
Click to expand...
Personally, I would rate them starting with the best as BRKT, ESEE and Ka-Bar, which coincidentally coresponds with their prices from highest to lowest. In other words, I think each of them is well worth the cost, but if money is not a deciding factor I would go with the Barkie.

Also which one as the better sheath ? Since I'm quite active and moving around and worried about the blade slipping off. :eek:
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I'd have to say, the IZULA sheath is probably the best. The Barkie is secure enough (no knife falling out!) but not as nicely designed as the ESEE.
 
There's no way an Izula is accidentally slipping out of that sheath. I filed down the bumps on the inside that lock it in place to maybe 1/2-1/3rd of its factory height (because I disliked how much effort it took to get it out), and I'm still 100% confident in it.
 
Like others have said the BRKT has a better grind and full handles. When paid for the Izula is a lot cheaper including handles.

For either of the sheaths, if retention was a primary concern, you can always improvise a retention strap with paracord and a cord-lock.

e0ac41a6.jpg
 
-Pretty much what hoopster said :thumbup:

various2008-2009181.jpg


I'll add that I like that the barkies sheath will hold a firesteel, and I like the smooth uncoated cutting surface on the barkie. -But then with a little work you can clean up the blade on an Izula too....

various2008-2009194.jpg


...but then rust may become more of an issue, if your not carefull.

Both good knives though!
 
Here's the Bark River Gallery thread for their Necker. At the bottom of the page there are comparison shots of the Necker and some of the smaller Bark River knives.

http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/865460/

I think I'd go with the Izula for a handless knife cuz I love the round cut out on the end of the handle. My preference would be to buy one of the small Bark Rivers that have attached handles rather than the Necker and it's add on handles. The Bumble Bee looks pretty sweet. YMMV ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own either, but I'm in the market.
 
The Bravo Necker is a fantastic knife, but I must admit I only like mine with the handles attached. I dislike the look of the Izula's optional handle, I don't think I'd like having a half-length handle. I also had to radius the corners of the handle scales and the butt of the tang on my Necker to make it comfortable.

As mentioned above, take a look at a few other Barkie's that fall into a similar price range (when you add up the necker and scales). The Little Creek has now replaced my Neckers for pocket carry, and I am contemplating making a neck sheath for it too.

The Necker has a perfect grind and blade thickness for it's size, and is a great intro to the highly addictive Bark River line of knives...:)
 
I've got both. Get both. They are very similar, but have different fundamentals, like convex vs. v-grind. I prefer convex over v-grind, but the handle on the Barkie has some sharp corners, which I had to sand down. The Izula 20° edge was too dull IMO, so I took it to 15° and now it's a much better cutter. I'd love to get another Izula and just full convex it, because the handle design + the hole makes it a winner. The Necker is really nice too though, so get both.
 
One reason i got my izula was because of the awesome ESEE warranty! it basically says if you break it, you get a new one, no matter what! i dont know about the BRKT warranty but the ESEE one is awesome!
 
As to the sheath issue on the Bark River. The sheath was made to work with or without handles. It is a little looser than I would like, but I haven't had any issues with retention.

As to the knives...

IMO, if you want one with handles, there is no comparison. I would go with the Bark River.

If you want one without handles, there is no comparison. I would go with the Izula.

The Izula is more comfortable without handles because it is a little thicker and so it feels more substantial without the scales. I don't think it is heavier duty in actuality because they are both plenty tough.

I prefer the convex grind and no coating, but that is easy enough to fix with a little work.

:)
 
okbohn said:
IMO, if you want one with handles, there is no comparison. I would go with the Bark River.

If you want one without handles, there is no comparison. I would go with the Izula.
:)
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That sums it up nice and simply Derrick. :thumbup:

I would also like to add that for neck carry I think the Bravo necker is better than some of the other small BRKT knives due to the skeletonized tang and thickness. I also like the tiny choil as opposed to some of the other knives like the micro canadian or Imp.
 
Not looking to specifically reduce revenue to this excellent site, but you can use google to search a site as follows...

if searching for Izula for example... type in google main search page

Izula site:www.bladeforums.com

It is still a bit of a pain to use, so I can see people paying for membership, given that the more they use/explore the site, the more likely they are to make that next step...
 
anotherbrother said:
Not looking to specifically reduce revenue to this excellent site, but you can use google to search a site as follows...

if searching for Izula for example... type in google main search page

Izula site:www.bladeforums.com

It is still a bit of a pain to use, so I can see people paying for membership, given that the more they use/explore the site, the more likely they are to make that next step...
Click to expand...

Yes, you can :thumbup: But you can't do customized searches (search only in thread titles, search for threads/posts by specific members, search certain subforums only, etc).

There is a sticky in Service & Support with tips, Spark even set-up a customized google search page just for Bladeforums :thumbup:
 
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First of all thanks for all the info guys,

I can now say that i will be the proud owner of a Izula in a near future :D
Can barely wait until it come in.

rksoon: No worries :)

anotherbrother: I took good note of that Google search thanks

hoopster&okbohn: thanks for the info on the retention of the sheath.

The Gov: I really like the improvise retention strap i'll use that.
 
Loonatic said:
First of all thanks for all the info guys,

I can now say that i will be the proud owner of a Izula in a near future :D
Can barely wait until it come in.

rksoon: No worries :)

anotherbrother: I took good note of that Google search thanks

hoopster&okbohn: thanks for the info on the retention of the sheath.

The Gov: I really like the improvise retention strap i'll use that.
Click to expand...

I don't think you'll be disappointed with the Izula. It will just be a matter of finding out what makes the grip usable for you and what carry method works best for you.
 
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