I'm ashamed to say how much I liked this.....(w/pics)

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Doc8404

Joined
Oct 6, 2013
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131
This weekend I went on a solo overnighter and prior to heading out, my wife gave me a gift to take with me. Now I'm not a fan of Bear Grylls, or Gerber in general, but I had made a comment while walking through the store a few weeks ago that I actually really liked the design of it because it's a hatchet that looks like it would function well as a knife. So she picked it up for me and I must say I was surprised how much I enjoyed using this thing; so much so that I didn't even use my brand new Mora Bushcraft Black that I wanted to test out. The hatchet came razor sharp and held its edge better than past Gerber products I have used. The belt sheath functions great and the grind angle and finger choils make this a very capable knife. It chopped better than my Becker BK9 ut not quite as well as the Fiskars X7. I was able to split firewood with it, but there was a big difference in splitting performance vs the X7 which is basically a sharpened wedge that splits superbly. I think the Bear Grylls hatchet would make a great 1 tool-only kind of set up because it functions well as a hatchet or knife; great for a bug out bag or car bag, and it rides nicely on the belt.

Before use:
BGHatchetUnused_zps2946e5a8.jpg


After building a fire and being thrown at a tree a few times:
BGHatchet_zps1f95f1b7.jpg


With the X7:
Hatchets_zpsfb0c431c.jpg


A shot of my camp site far far away from anyone or any thing
Campsite_zps3315e805.jpg
 
Your not the first I've heard that finds some good use out of the Bear Grylls line from Gerber. I think it's encouraging they might be taking a step in the right direction.
 
Interesting. I see a screw in the handle, does that mean it is removeable? What type of coating does it have?
 
I'm a machete guy but it looks like a nice compact design.
I could live with the orange but the logo on the handle kills it for me.
 
I hate everything in the bear grylls line because I hate bear but I have been eyeing that hatchet too. I think this one may convert me.
 
dpach said:
I really like my X7; splits very well and it feathers amazingly.
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I was extremely impressed with the splitting ability of the x7. If you look at the pictures, you can see there were several trees around the campsite for seating. I was sticking the hatchets into these logs in between use and the X7 actually split one of them completely in half by just giving it a good drop. The Bear Grylls hatchet definitely feathers better, that thing slices like a knife. If you want a traditional hatchet/axe to pair with a blade, the X7 is a better option. If you want one tool to stand on its own that can handle both axe and knife tasks really well in a compact design, the BG is a great option. It has found a permanent home in my truck bag.
 
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Blue Sky said:
Interesting. I see a screw in the handle, does that mean it is removeable? What type of coating does it have?
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It looks like the rubber grip is removeable, and I am not sure what type of coating it has, but it didn't seem to have any issues getting hung up. I can't say for sure if its an anti-stick coating like the X7 has or not
 
Gung_ho said:
I hate everything in the bear grylls line because I hate bear but I have been eyeing that hatchet too. I think this one may convert me.
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I don't think you will be disappointed. Just make sure your expectations are realistic: it's not going to chop or split as well as a traditional hatchet, but it is going to give you much more versatility with regard to slicing. It chops and splits decent, as well as any large survival knife I have used anyway.
 
Been wanting to have go at that one myself! In fact, it's probably the ONLY thing I'd like to have in the BG line.
 
I am with most people that I do not like Bear Grylls and not much of a fan of Gerber either but it is good to know that someone that shares my same thoughts found a useful tool. I would consider looking at this Hatchet after your review. The compact nature over the X7 is something I really like, but I am sure you sacrifice chopping power with less handle
 
tinwiskers said:
I am with most people that I do not like Bear Grylls and not much of a fan of Gerber either but it is good to know that someone that shares my same thoughts found a useful tool. I would consider looking at this Hatchet after your review. The compact nature over the X7 is something I really like, but I am sure you sacrifice chopping power with less handle
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Yep. I was trying to split wood using a few different techniques, and with a couple i smacked my hand a few times due to the short handle
 
FTR-14c said:
...I could live with the orange but the logo on the handle kills it for me.
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Looks like the handle comes off with a screw, and putting on a new pair of scales on wouldn't be too hard...

I'd like to strip the coating too, but it doesn't look like the usual black paint.
 
Blue Sky said:
Looks like the handle comes off with a screw, and putting on a new pair of scales on wouldn't be too hard...

I'd like to strip the coating too, but it doesn't look like the usual black paint.
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It is not the same type of powdercoating you see on a lot of blades, I'm not sure what this stuff is put it is incredibly thin and will probably strip off easy.
 
So you mean to tell me that there's something in the Bear Grylls and Gerber lines that isn't utter chinese junk? Utter blasphemy!
 
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