Bear Grylls ultimate knife... or ultimate failure?

[King of the Cheese]

I'm amused that after all this time and all these reviews this needs any explaining.

The knife doesn't hold an edge and is still fragile, serrations are breaking off, handle is falling apart...

I mean Gerber itself produces a lot of garbage, but they do still make few decent knives.

Problem with this knife is heavy marketing as survival knife, when it's just garbage. I mean, it's better than not have anything, but for the price of it you still can get a decent knife. Which could make a life saving difference.

Listen.. it isn’t hard to understand.

The OP started this thread and came out swinging by calling the knife garbage.

I want to hear from THE OP why they feel the knife is garbage.. I don’t want to hear YOUR opinion or anyone else’s…I want to hear THEIRS.

It isn’t rocket science. Stop acting like my request is out of line.

 

[EatingSarma]

Exactly. You get what you pay for. Some people expect to buy a $20-$30 knife that says “survival” on it and act surprised when they can’t baton it through branches or split logs in half. It’s a gerber you can buy at Wally World, not an Esee Junglas. The sort of person that knife is marketed toward isn’t climbing Everest or hunting Kodiaks in Alaska.

And that's what's the problem here, they are aiming that knife on people who have no idea what they're doing.

And some of those BG worshippers do go outside once in a while, and get disappointed in garbage they bought - as evidenced by reviews on Amazon.

If some of them had an accident and got stranded or just got lost in the wild - they could die because their tool is piece of crapm

 

[scdub]

A question should be asked: "What will you be using the knife for?"
Whittling marshmallow sticks; is a lot different than building a log cabin...

If Gerber advertised it as the Ultimate Marshmallow Stick Maker we wouldn’t be having this conversation…

But if you buy into the marketing of a knife at that price: you'll spend a lot of time being disappointed.

Exactly! Or you could buy a QUALITY knife at that price without the hyped marketing or the disappointment. Glad you finally see it my way.

 

[DangerZone98]

I'm amused that after all this time and all these reviews this needs any explaining.

The knife doesn't hold an edge and is still fragile, serrations are breaking off, handle is falling apart...

I mean Gerber itself produces a lot of garbage, but they do still make few decent knives.

Problem with this knife is heavy marketing as survival knife, when it's just garbage. I mean, it's better than not have anything, but for the price of it you still can get a decent knife. Which could make a life saving difference.

The BG knife strikes me as something marketed towards people “just getting into” camping or woodscraft activities. Hardcore knife guys would most likely skip this one, but the average consumer may not be able to tell that this isn’t the most reliable tool around. And yes, someone relying on this knife in an emergency and it breaking is an unsettling thought.

”Utimately“ though (hehe), it’s the consumer’s reaponsibility to study and know his gear before counting on them to possibly save his life. The knife won’t be the last crappy product to be marketed as serious gear.

 

[Bob Denman]

"Caveat emptor."
(Sorry: more Latin)

 

[Alberta Ed]

The Bear Grylls Gerber looks like junk to me. I wasn't impressed by his woods expertise the few times I watched that show, either.

 

[Danke42]

Well colour me relieved. I had 365 of them in my Amazon Prime order so I could EDC one every day of 2022 but they'll all be going back!!

Thanks strangers!

 

[Bob Denman]

Well colour me relieved. I had 365 of them in my Amazon Prime order so I could EDC one every day of 2022 but they'll all be going back!!

Thanks strangers!

Are you sure that you could get a full day's use out of one?
You better order more!

 

[King of the Cheese]

And that's what's the problem here, they are aiming that knife on people who have no idea what they're doing.

And some of those BG worshippers do go outside once in a while, and get disappointed in garbage they bought - as evidenced by reviews on Amazon.

If some of them had an accident and got stranded or just got lost in the wild - they could die because their tool is piece of crapm

So is your argument that people will buy this knife and then go off the grid in Alaska with it… and your logic is that BG sponsorship and Gerber marketing is to blame and not the person thinking a knife called “survival” is the key to success in the wild? I’m not sure how to respond to that, other than to say you’re doing a good bit of reaching.

 

[King of the Cheese]

If Gerber advertised it as the Ultimate Marshmallow Stick Maker we wouldn’t be having this conversation…


Exactly! Or you could buy a QUALITY knife at that price without the hyped marketing or the disappointment. Glad you finally see it my way.

Maybe you could file a civil suit against Gerber marketing since you can’t chop down trees with their “survival” knife, although I don’t think you’ll get very far.

 

[EatingSarma]

Listen.. it isn’t hard to understand.

The OP started this thread and came out swinging by calling the knife garbage.

I want to hear from THE OP why they feel the knife is garbage.. I don’t want to hear YOUR opinion or anyone else’s…I want to hear THEIRS.

It isn’t rocket science. Stop acting like my request is out of line.

I'm the OP

 

[King of the Cheese]

I'm the OP

Great. You ready to summarize why it’s garbage?

 

[EatingSarma]

So is your argument that people will buy this knife and then go off the grid in Alaska with it… and your logic is that BG sponsorship and Gerber marketing is to blame and not the person thinking a knife called “survival” is the key to success in the wild? I’m not sure how to respond to that, other than to say you’re doing a good bit of reaching.

No, I'm talking about your average Joe that might go for a hike and get lost.

Maybe you could file a civil suit against Gerber marketing since you can’t chop down trees with their “survival” knife, although I don’t think you’ll get very far.

What's the point of this comment?

Great. You ready to summarize why it’s garbage?

I already did, in the comment you replied to earlier... and I don't want to waste any more of my time on you. Go troll somewhere else...

You aren't even reading, and if you are, then you have memory of a gold fish.

 

[Steely_Gunz]

Exactly. You get what you pay for. Some people expect to buy a $20-$30 knife that says “survival” on it and act surprised when they can’t baton it through branches or split logs in half. It’s a gerber you can buy at Wally World, not an Esee Junglas. The sort of person that knife is marketed toward isn’t climbing Everest or hunting Kodiaks in Alaska.

Except this is the EXACT thing Bear is known for. Young, rich guy doing the stuff that is best for your body to do when you are young and rich instead of old and rich. However, most of us aren't born with a silver spoon up our keister and have to wait until we have amassed enough wealth to check high dollar things off our bucket list.

You don't get a guy whose whole shtick is "surviving" situations under "extreme" conditions, call the knife he is marketing "the best" and expect EVERYONE who purchases it to not realize that it is absolute puffery.

Here is the long and the short of it:

This is a knife just like every other BG knife released in the last decade.

It is made of cheap steel with a weak handle and tang that relies on survival gimmicks.

It may not be "designed" to hold up to batoning, but there are absolutely knives that 100% can handle the same abuse in the same pricepoint. It not being abld to handle that which most any other $50 fixed blade can does not warrant more evidence.

BG knives are clamshell box store garbage. After over a decade, this is considered public knife knowledge where documentation is not needed. A chemist presenting a report to chemists would not need to cite that water has two hydrogen atoms and a single oxygen one. They already know that...probably.

Even if I had not seen video and photographic evidence of how these knives fail over the last multitude of years, just looking at the video tab stills posted show the kind of failure that one can expect. I can use my knife-smarts with my experience-brain to do a thinky-think to both infer and deduce why a particular BG fails without needing to put it under a microscope or haul Cliff Stamp out of his pseudo-testing cabin by his beard to give a break down on what exact part failed and why.

These are knives that uncles and grandmas buy 14 year olds for Christmas. They don't know any better, the kid is going to flip out how cool it is, they are going to break it (if they don't lose it), and HOPEFULLY they then find their way here and start down a path of knowledge and start buying smart instead of hype.

You would absolutely, without qualification, be better suited to not-die with a $15 Mora robust, a $2 Arkansas stone, and $1 safety whistle (if you feel you need it) than with this piece of overhyped, overpriced, and dangerous junk.

 

[Ruukuu]

He called the handle a sheath

 

[King of the Cheese]

No, I'm talking about your average Joe that might go for a hike and get lost.

What's the point of this comment?

I already did, in the comment you replied to earlier... and I don't want to waste any more of my time on you. Go troll somewhere else...

You aren't even reading, and if you are, then you have memory of a gold fish.

Well this “goldfish” remembers you couldn’t even explain why the knife was garbage in your original post.

 

[LEGION 12]

Great. You ready to summarize why it’s garbage?

You know why .

 

[Oklahoma Outlaw]

The Gerber is bad but that $5.00 haircut is even worse.

 

[NG VI]

Can you tell us why the knife is a POS?
Or is this simply an anti-Gerber thing?

I'm guessing it's because of the materials, build quality, and suitability for the purpose of being an outdoors knife for people who don't have specialized knowledge and just want to buy a decent knife off the rack

 

[King of the Cheese]

Except this is the EXACT thing Bear is known for. Young, rich guy doing the stuff that is best for your body to do when you are young and rich instead of old and rich. However, most of us aren't born with a silver spoon up our keister and have to wait until we have amassed enough wealth to check high dollar things off our bucket list.

He was in the SAS and did two tours in North Africa. You don’t get a free pass at SAS selection, but why should I bother trying to explain that to a hater like you?

You don't get a guy whose whole shtick is "surviving" situations under "extreme" conditions, call the knife he is marketing "the best" and expect EVERYONE who purchases it to not realize that it is absolute puffery.

How is it any different than BASE jumpers drinking Red Bull or pro football players endorsing the next nutrition supplement? If I have to explain to you why you shouldn’t take a $20 knife in to remote areas of the wilderness in an attempt to rough it with no training, we are going to have a long day. Don’t blame Gerber and BG for what some moron decides to do. That isn’t how life works…and certainly not how the law operates.

Here is the long and the short of it:

This is a knife just like every other BG knife released in the last decade.

And?

It is made of cheap steel with a weak handle and tang that relies on survival gimmicks.

So?

It may not be "designed" to hold up to batoning, but there are absolutely knives that 100% can handle the same abuse in the same pricepoint. It not being abld to handle that which most any other $50 fixed blade can does not warrant more evidence.

Which you were able to find out as a knife expert. The average Walmart shopper isn’t a “knife expert”, they just want to roast marshmallows and whittle some sticks. I think you seriously overestimate the seriousness of this knife’s marketing. Do people buy cold steel knives so they can go slam them through pig skulls?

BG knives are clamshell box store garbage. After over a decade, this is considered public knife knowledge where documentation is not needed. A chemist presenting a report to chemists would not need to cite that water has two hydrogen atoms and a single oxygen one. They already know that...probably.

I didn’t ask for ”documentation” and would appreciate a cease and desist on your (and others) strawman fallacies. I asked why the knife is garbage, I didn’t ask you to put on a white lab coat and go study the problem for a few months in a metallurgical laboratory.

Even if I had not seen video and photographic evidence of how these knives fail over the last multitude of years, just looking at the video tab stills posted show the kind of failure that one can expect. I can use my knife-smarts with my experience-brain to do a thinky-think to both infer and deduce why a particular BG fails without needing to put it under a microscope or haul Cliff Stamp out of his pseudo-testing cabin by his beard to give a break down on what exact part failed and why.

So explain why it’s garbage.

These are knives that uncles and grandmas buy 14 year olds for Christmas. They don't know any better, the kid is going to flip out how cool it is, they are going to break it (if they don't lose it), and HOPEFULLY they then find their way here and start down a path of knowledge and start buying smart instead of hype.

Now you get it. It’s about profitability and economy of scale. If you’re expecting me to grab a pitchfork and torch and head to Gerber HQ, count me out. Some things people should be responsible enough to figure out for themselves.

You would absolutely, without qualification, be better suited to not-die with a $15 Mora robust, a $2 Arkansas stone, and $1 safety whistle (if you feel you need it) than with this piece of overhyped, overpriced, and dangerous junk.

I agree, but I’m just not as angry about it as you seem to be.