update:
wrt sheath for the Bravo: it is actually not so bad, and despite the information from a YouTube channel I saw, it is actually not so tight as it looks like. Due to the design / style it comes totally flat out of the box, but it actually breaks in pretty fast. For the width of the Bravo blade, it is a little bit too wide, hence the Bravo wiggles a little bit in it. However, it actually fits the Reiff F5 with the little bit wider blade like a glove
.
wrt Bravo 1.25 LT vs F5:
- if you are younger and want to impress the chicks: Bravo wins, but you may choose a fancier handle, maybe with a liner and some fancier colours instead of old fashion classic black micarta
.
- as a hunting knife or for meat processing: I give the Bravo the edge here as it is lighter (204 g vs 284 g) and nimbler... I assume the same is valid for food processing (still have to test this so).
- feather sticking: no clear winner - more testing required. That is a little bit a surprise, I thought the Bravo would be better here, but - due to the F5 "custom" handle? - the F5 is surprisingly good. Interesting: the v-edge of the F5 seems to facilitate extreme tight curls, while the convex of the Bravo seems to give me more control wrt to producing finer or rougher feathers; I never noticed this (difference between v-edge vs. convex) before.
- carving / typical bushcrafting: I give this to the Bravo - everything I can do with the Bravo I can do also with the F5, but the F5 is just heavier, and the same work seems to be a tad (only a tad) easier with the Bravo.
- batoning: the Bravo is not bad, but the F5 is / seems to be just more robust. I picked - by accident - a pretty dried out piece of hardwood which proved to be pretty challenging. With the Bravo I might have given up as I didn't want to risk any edge rolling, but the F5 (thicker spine, "heavier / more steel", robust v-edge vs very acute convex) seems to be just more suitable for this kind of tasks (disclaimer: this is not scientific evidence - it is just based on the 'feeling" I had when doing those testing).
- chopping: F5 is the clear winner here due to the weight advantage, the overall handle geometry and this little bit real estate more of the handle that allows a more secure grip towards the end of the tang.
- buying experience: for both knifes a 10 out of 10 - I bought the Bravo 1.25 LT (first and only BR knife so far) via DLT Trading, the F5 from Reiff's website; I had some email traffic with both companies, and both companies made a real effort to answer my questions in a timely manner. I'm aware that some BR customers had disappointing experiences, however - note that my comments here are just anecdotal - I really can't complain.
in a nutshell: both are fantastic knifes, both knifes tick all the main boxes (3V steel, 5" blade, kind of allrounder / good compromise between bushcraft and field knife). The handle of the F5 is like custom made for me, the fit is really remarkable. Every task I can do with the Bravo I can do with the F5 too, also for some tasks (bushcraft, meat processing) the Bravo seems to be slightly more suitable. However, for tasks that require extreme toughness I trust the F5 a little bit more - it is possible that the normal version of the Bravo 1.25 with the much thicker spine could match the F5 for these tasks, but I leave this to others to find out.
Thanks for all the comments here that helped me with the decision making - very appreciated. I ended up with not 1, but 2 quality knifes, both excellent suited for the intended use. The only problem I left with now is, that every time I go on a 3-day hike with minimal gear I have to decide, which one of these 2 beauties I will pick for the particular trip.... could be worse.
Eta: I will add some pictures of these 2 beauties once I find the time to figure out how to do this....
wrt sheath for the Bravo: it is actually not so bad, and despite the information from a YouTube channel I saw, it is actually not so tight as it looks like. Due to the design / style it comes totally flat out of the box, but it actually breaks in pretty fast. For the width of the Bravo blade, it is a little bit too wide, hence the Bravo wiggles a little bit in it. However, it actually fits the Reiff F5 with the little bit wider blade like a glove
.wrt Bravo 1.25 LT vs F5:
- if you are younger and want to impress the chicks: Bravo wins, but you may choose a fancier handle, maybe with a liner and some fancier colours instead of old fashion classic black micarta
.- as a hunting knife or for meat processing: I give the Bravo the edge here as it is lighter (204 g vs 284 g) and nimbler... I assume the same is valid for food processing (still have to test this so).
- feather sticking: no clear winner - more testing required. That is a little bit a surprise, I thought the Bravo would be better here, but - due to the F5 "custom" handle? - the F5 is surprisingly good. Interesting: the v-edge of the F5 seems to facilitate extreme tight curls, while the convex of the Bravo seems to give me more control wrt to producing finer or rougher feathers; I never noticed this (difference between v-edge vs. convex) before.
- carving / typical bushcrafting: I give this to the Bravo - everything I can do with the Bravo I can do also with the F5, but the F5 is just heavier, and the same work seems to be a tad (only a tad) easier with the Bravo.
- batoning: the Bravo is not bad, but the F5 is / seems to be just more robust. I picked - by accident - a pretty dried out piece of hardwood which proved to be pretty challenging. With the Bravo I might have given up as I didn't want to risk any edge rolling, but the F5 (thicker spine, "heavier / more steel", robust v-edge vs very acute convex) seems to be just more suitable for this kind of tasks (disclaimer: this is not scientific evidence - it is just based on the 'feeling" I had when doing those testing).
- chopping: F5 is the clear winner here due to the weight advantage, the overall handle geometry and this little bit real estate more of the handle that allows a more secure grip towards the end of the tang.
- buying experience: for both knifes a 10 out of 10 - I bought the Bravo 1.25 LT (first and only BR knife so far) via DLT Trading, the F5 from Reiff's website; I had some email traffic with both companies, and both companies made a real effort to answer my questions in a timely manner. I'm aware that some BR customers had disappointing experiences, however - note that my comments here are just anecdotal - I really can't complain.
in a nutshell: both are fantastic knifes, both knifes tick all the main boxes (3V steel, 5" blade, kind of allrounder / good compromise between bushcraft and field knife). The handle of the F5 is like custom made for me, the fit is really remarkable. Every task I can do with the Bravo I can do with the F5 too, also for some tasks (bushcraft, meat processing) the Bravo seems to be slightly more suitable. However, for tasks that require extreme toughness I trust the F5 a little bit more - it is possible that the normal version of the Bravo 1.25 with the much thicker spine could match the F5 for these tasks, but I leave this to others to find out.
Thanks for all the comments here that helped me with the decision making - very appreciated. I ended up with not 1, but 2 quality knifes, both excellent suited for the intended use. The only problem I left with now is, that every time I go on a 3-day hike with minimal gear I have to decide, which one of these 2 beauties I will pick for the particular trip.... could be worse
.Eta: I will add some pictures of these 2 beauties once I find the time to figure out how to do this....
