I've been carrying this little Boker Plus Hyper for a few weeks now and I have to say, I'm not convinced it's worth the $35.00 price tag they go for, I do enjoy carrying the knife because it's so thin and easy to carry comfortably in pocket, however there's a few things I think you should consider before spending the cash on this one.
The Blade:
Well the blade is stamped 440C but is it really? In my use of this knife (food prep, cutting cardboard and plastic) it didn't seem to perform like true 440C steel, if I had to guess I'd say it's 9Cr18MoV because it's edge dulled somewhat quickly during standard cutting chores where my true 440C blades did not, we can also see that it's made in China and we all know how this goes, you get a Chinese knife marked 440C and it's 9Cr18MoV, get a Chinese knife AUS-8 and it's 8Cr13MoV, just the way it works, I will say it performed better than say an 8Cr13MoV in edge holding, but not by very much. It has a very high flat grind which I found to be decent in slicing however not as effective as an FFG blade as I did get some drag when cutting cardboard. The shape reminds me of a Kershaw Blur, very organic but I like the belly and found it to be very utilitarian. And for anyone who cares, it's 2.75 inches long and wears a very standard TiNi coating. The blade gets 3.5 out of 5
The Handle/Ergonomics:
The handle on the Hyper is somewhat small for me, I have medium sized hands and can only get a 3 finger grip on the knife and I can't say it's super ergonomic in hand because of how thin it is, I find that when I'm cutting hard with it, it tends to bite into my hands a little bit, not terribly but it's worth noting. It's G10 on one side, stainless steel on the other, not alot of grip on the G10 but I still like it and think it's attractive looking compared to all the overly simple looking knives on the market today. The handle I like but I don't love for the reasons I mentioned. The handle get's a 3.5 out of 5.
Strength And Lockup:
It is a framelock knife so it will be strong in the EDC role HOWEVER, my Boker Plus Hyper has up and down blade play :thumbdn: come on Boker, get it together, I have $10.00 Sanrenmus with tighter lockup than this, BUT I should note, the play only exists while I am not touching the lock bar, when I'm gripping the knife it engages the frame further over and eliminates the blade play, so it may not be a huge deal to some of you, but I personally think the tolerances should be tighter. Strength And Lockup get's a 3 out of 5.
Value/Overall Score:
I do not feel the Boker Plus Hyper is the best option for $35.00-$45.00, I would like it ALOT more if it was only $20.00-$25.00 but it being what it is, I'd recommend checking out other knives such as the Kershaw Cryo, CRKT Drifter, Sanrenmu 710 or Spyderco Persistence. Overall Score: 3 1/4 out of 5
