Gerber Instant- The Comeback Kid?

Interesting read... However, calling it the best knife under usd50 is maybe somewhat over the top? You've got a Spyderco tenacious, kabar dozier, rat 1, kershaw skyline,... not to mention SRM knives for (far) less than fiddy bucks... Heck, at 50 you've got yourself a spydie delica. Just a thought;-)
 
Great review, thank you! And that commercial is one of the best knife commercials I've seen. I may have to try out the Instant or at least remember it come Christmas time as I think it would make a great gift to non-knifenut members of the family.

I'm one of those people that would love to see Gerber make a triumphant return. In fact, a few months ago I bought a Gerber Dime to replace my Leatherman Squirt P4. Had it on my keychain for a few weeks but alas, I ended up going back to the Squirt. The bottle opener on it is superior to the Leatherman's, but falls a little short on everything else (and the file on the Dime is almost completely useless). Plus, the Dime's tools are kinda hard to open even after working in some lube.

Anyway, I don't think the Gerber Dime is a bad little tool at all, its just that the Leatherman is a tad bit better.

squirtdime.jpg
 
Galeocerdoshark said:
Interesting read... However, calling it the best knife under usd50 is maybe somewhat over the top? You've got a Spyderco tenacious, kabar dozier, rat 1, kershaw skyline,... not to mention SRM knives for (far) less than fiddy bucks... Heck, at 50 you've got yourself a spydie delica. Just a thought;-)
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Well, I couldn't say that it is objectively the best, and like you mention, there are a lot of very fine knives in the under $50 price range, to say nothing of the delica for a few dollars more. Its no secret that I love me some delica, one of my favorite knives at any price range, and if given the choice between buying a delica for $55 or so, or the instant for $40, I'd buy the delica every day and twice on Sunday.

That said, I do like this one a great deal more than almost every other knife that I've used under $50, the exception being the Tenacious, but again, that's my opinion, not a fact. There's nothing objectively better about this one on the price v performance spectrum, especially when you factor in SRM, but...I dunno...something about the shape, the ergos, the feel of it in my hand, the pop of the AO, I just find myself reaching for it time and again. Anyway, that's just my $0.03 (2 cents adjusted for inflation).
 
mlanghornes said:
Well, I couldn't say that it is objectively the best, and like you mention, there are a lot of very fine knives in the under $50 price range, to say nothing of the delica for a few dollars more. Its no secret that I love me some delica, one of my favorite knives at any price range, and if given the choice between buying a delica for $55 or so, or the instant for $40, I'd buy the delica every day and twice on Sunday.

That said, I do like this one a great deal more than almost every other knife that I've used under $50, the exception being the Tenacious, but again, that's my opinion, not a fact. There's nothing objectively better about this one on the price v performance spectrum, especially when you factor in SRM, but...I dunno...something about the shape, the ergos, the feel of it in my hand, the pop of the AO, I just find myself reaching for it time and again. Anyway, that's just my $0.03 (2 cents adjusted for inflation).
Click to expand...

Haha, thanks for clarifying, I appreciate it. You're right though, a lot of it comes down to personal preference, look, feel... Nothing wrong with that. I'm glad you're happy with the blade and I'm sure you'll get a lot of use out of it. Thanks again for the detailed review!
 
I purchased and Instant one a week ago as part of a package that included the Gerber Kurhki Machete, both for $40.
The knife was a bit unsmooth in it's opening at first.
The leaf spring thing that thrusts out the blade seemed to be coated and I thought that the more I opened it, the more "polished" the area of that spring that contacts the blade seemed to get.
After an evening of "knifesturbating" with it, it is now very smooth opening.
Used it as EDC for a few days now and like it.
Great deal for the $$.
 
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