- Joined
- Feb 3, 2006
- Messages
- 8,250
Sorry no pics.
I had the Gerber for awhile and I like it a lot but was trying to cut some weight off my pack. So, I decided to go with the GB mini and see how they compared. The goal was to save weight with the mini but by virtue of it's better geometry, still have the same chopping power as the Gerber. The test was pretty informal and the results were based on my general feel for both. Test media was 4" diameter tree limbs, Cottonwood I think and general utlity around the house. Both were shave sharp and since I didn't do much cutting, stayed pretty much that sharp throughout.
On the tree limbs the Gransfors did really well, but it didn't do as good as the Gerber. The Gerber produced slightly bigger chips and went through the branches a little faster. If I had to take a guess I'd say it took the mini about 1.25 times longer to go through.
General utility included opening boxes, pesky candy/chip wrappers, and both were used to prepare chicken fajitas. My favorite.
Here it's pretty obvious, the mini blew the Gerber out of the water. The weight, the knife like edge geometry and the large beard on it just made it really easy to use. Obviously there is a slight learning curve to using a hatchet to cut up peppers but once I found a good hand position, it went pretty quick.
Overall, would I recomend the GB mini? No and yes. It's 130 bucks. For that you could outfit yourself with the Gerber and 5 Fiskars as back ups. Plus, the Gerber requires considerably less care then the GB. Coated blade and synthetic handle, all you really need to care for is the blade edge. So for most I would pass on the mini.
But, if you're one that likes to cut down on weight and are willing to pay, like titanium vs aluminum, it's worth it. The Gerber doesn't out chop it enough to really make a difference and the added utility of the smaller hatchet is really nice for the "You can only have 1 tool" scenarios. I'm of the mind that if you need to have more chopping power than the mini, you're best to skip the Gerber and go straight to a 3/4 axe. All said and done, the mini has replaced the Gerber in my pack.
I had the Gerber for awhile and I like it a lot but was trying to cut some weight off my pack. So, I decided to go with the GB mini and see how they compared. The goal was to save weight with the mini but by virtue of it's better geometry, still have the same chopping power as the Gerber. The test was pretty informal and the results were based on my general feel for both. Test media was 4" diameter tree limbs, Cottonwood I think and general utlity around the house. Both were shave sharp and since I didn't do much cutting, stayed pretty much that sharp throughout.
On the tree limbs the Gransfors did really well, but it didn't do as good as the Gerber. The Gerber produced slightly bigger chips and went through the branches a little faster. If I had to take a guess I'd say it took the mini about 1.25 times longer to go through.
General utility included opening boxes, pesky candy/chip wrappers, and both were used to prepare chicken fajitas. My favorite.
Here it's pretty obvious, the mini blew the Gerber out of the water. The weight, the knife like edge geometry and the large beard on it just made it really easy to use. Obviously there is a slight learning curve to using a hatchet to cut up peppers but once I found a good hand position, it went pretty quick.Overall, would I recomend the GB mini? No and yes. It's 130 bucks. For that you could outfit yourself with the Gerber and 5 Fiskars as back ups. Plus, the Gerber requires considerably less care then the GB. Coated blade and synthetic handle, all you really need to care for is the blade edge. So for most I would pass on the mini.
But, if you're one that likes to cut down on weight and are willing to pay, like titanium vs aluminum, it's worth it. The Gerber doesn't out chop it enough to really make a difference and the added utility of the smaller hatchet is really nice for the "You can only have 1 tool" scenarios.
I'm of the mind that if you need to have more chopping power than the mini, you're best to skip the Gerber and go straight to a 3/4 axe. All said and done, the mini has replaced the Gerber in my pack.
