If a friend or relative were to come up to me and say "I'm thinking of buying a knife, what do you think about the Bear Grylls stuff?" I'd advise them not to buy it. But probably not for the reasons you'd assume.
That opinion isn't informed by personal experienceI've never owned oneor even by other people's reviews. In fact, I've never actually seen someone say "I took it out camping, and on the first weekend it snapped right in half!"; on the contrary, the few reviewers I've seen give them a chance have admitted that they're perfectly serviceable, and I have no reason to think otherwise. (They do have warranties, after all.) Honestly, I think that anyone who says things like "Gerber took a crap and the result was the Bear Grylls line" is almost certainly buying into the negative hype rather than speaking from experience.
Instead, I look at the materials used, factor in the cost of branding, and conclude that they're certainly overpriced. Then I look at all of the other options with much better value for money (Mora, Opinel, Victorinox, the Ontario RAT 1 and 2, etc.) and am convinced that one's money is better spent elsewhere.
And yes, I personally don't care for the branding, but that's a matter of personal opinion.
