RAT Izula vs. BR Bravo Necker

The Izula is hard to beat. A friend of mine has one and deep down I think I like it more than my Becker Necker. Maybe...
 
I went with the Bravo Necker over the Izula due to the scales. I think for a little less than $120 shipped, its a great value. Even when rat come out with scales, i doubt they'll be as well executed since they were added as a after thought. Not hating on Rat just saying.
 
adamgrad said:
I did the math once, and on the BR knife, by the time you get everything for it, it costs about $200.

I have the izula, and its great. I'm sure that the BR Necker is just as good.
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not true its 70 for the knife and 40 for handles and it comes with kydex.
 
adamgrad said:
I did the math once, and on the BR knife, by the time you get everything for it, it costs about $200.

I have the izula, and its great. I'm sure that the BR Necker is just as good.
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The bravo necker is only about an extra 10-20 dollars to get the same stuff the izula has. If you want more extras, it'll cost more but that's overshooting the fact that it's not all that much more expensive. Plus, having those handles just gives it more capability as a general bushcraft knife. You can have a firesteel, and storage space, and you still have the OPTION to just leave it bare and paracord wrap it. You're also getting the wonderful edge geometry from BRKT and the great warranty, coating included or not. (I think the coating won't be a huge problem anyway seeing as the majority of the blade is not coated.)

I'd go with the BRK necker. I've kept most BRK's i've owned and look at that, I've traded/sold all my rat fixed blades eventually.
The price is worth it, imo. BRKT makes wonderful products.
 
The Izula slaughters the Bravo necker hands down. It's cheaper and the warranty on it is unrivaled by ANY! knife company.
 
smcclown05 said:
I've got both and like them equally. The Izula is very comfortable with a simple cord wrap. I think the stock might be a little thicker as well and to me it felt more comfortable without the wrap than the Necker did without wrap. And while the the kydex that comes with the Necker is innovative (it holds a mini firesteel) I prefer the molded plastic one what comes with the Izula. It feels more secure to me, especially if you aren't going to have handles on your Necker.

The Bravo Necker has wins in a couple categories as well. The handles are an awesome accessory. The edges are a little sharp but they fit well and are generally very comfy. I would like to have seen the handle bolts come with flat head slots instead of hex heads but that is a very minor gripe. The bolts that came with mine also had a sort of brown tinge to them. Also a minor gripe as I purchased it to be a user. The convex grind makes for a great slicer especially without the coating. Also, if you don't like to be bothered with putting a little oil on your blades at the end of the day, the stainless steel might be for you. The huge variety of color combos for both blade coating and handles is a nice bonus.

The Sharpshooter leather sheath is also a nice accessory. But keep in mind that it fits both the Bravo Necker and the Izula exceptionally so don't let the leather pants sway you one way or the other.

And as far as warranties go, RAT and Bark River are top notch and will take care of you no matter what. Except for the coating of course.

I haven't decided yet which of the two knives I like better. They are both excellent. Just decide which features are most important to you and go with the knife that has them. Neither will disappoint.
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great reply...now if you put a convex edge on the Izula would it change your mind?

basically I guess to me its down to do I want scales/handles and the convex edge vs paracord and a bevel.

Chad
 
Nimitz87 said:
great reply...now if you put a convex edge on the Izula would it change your mind?

basically I guess to me its down to do I want scales/handles and the convex edge vs paracord and a bevel.

Chad
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Yes I think that is a good way to break down your decision making.:thumbup:

My first RAT was an RC-4 and I immediately sent it to Bark River to have them put their convex grind on it. I love it and it's my go to outdoors knife but I won't convex my other RATs. They are just two different styles and both are perfect examples of what I want in a knife.

That being said, if we are talking about strictly the bare knives with no handles and if both had convex grinds......I'd probably go with the RAT. I'm a huge fan of 1095 steel and I prefer the RAT coating to the powder coating on the Necker. I also think the bare Izula is more comfortable in my hand than the bar Necker.

On a side note. If you are thinking about stashing away a whole bunch of survival gear in the Necker handle think again. I was expecting a bit more space in there. Not that it really matters. You'd need an allen wrench to get to it anyway. You might be able to fit a a tinder quick tab or a cyanide pill inside but not much else. If that's a big selling point for you check out the RAT HEST.

If I get some time tomorrow afternoon I'll try to take some good comparison shots of the two.
 
smcclown05 said:
Yes I think that is a good way to break down your decision making.:thumbup:

My first RAT was an RC-4 and I immediately sent it to Bark River to have them put their convex grind on it. I love it and it's my go to outdoors knife but I won't convex my other RATs. They are just two different styles and both are perfect examples of what I want in a knife.

That being said, if we are talking about strictly the bare knives with no handles and if both had convex grinds......I'd probably go with the RAT. I'm a huge fan of 1095 steel and I prefer the RAT coating to the powder coating on the Necker. I also think the bare Izula is more comfortable in my hand than the bar Necker.

On a side note. If you are thinking about stashing away a whole bunch of survival gear in the Necker handle think again. I was expecting a bit more space in there. Not that it really matters. You'd need an allen wrench to get to it anyway. You might be able to fit a a tinder quick tab or a cyanide pill inside but not much else. If that's a big selling point for you check out the RAT HEST.

If I get some time tomorrow afternoon I'll try to take some good comparison shots of the two.
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thanks again and look forward to the pictures, so would you convex the blade again if you could do it over? and what were your reasons to do it in the first place?

Chad
 
I had the RC4 convexed because I had been buying Barkies for a while and had come to love the grinds on them. I probably wouldn't do it again simply because I've got lots of Barkies and therefore lots of convex ground knives. I guess I just appreciate each brand for what they are. No need to change either one of them :)
 
Don't like coated blades.Went with the Bravo.Green w/green canvas scales.Should be here by the weekend.
 
Rat 1 said:
The Izula slaughters the Bravo necker hands down. It's cheaper and the warranty on it is unrivaled by ANY! knife company.
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Rat 1 said:
:thumbdn:
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And you can back this up with hands on experiance?

Your opinion will have more weight here if you can post pics of your R.A.Ts in hard use. So ,if you would be so kind as to post some here...that would be great.

Ohhh and just so you know.....

Having a R.A.T strapped to a really cool tactical Airsoft vest while playing C.O.D on an X-box isn't considered hard use by most knife-nuts.
 
Todd A said:
And you can back this up with hands on experiance?

Your opinion will have more weight here if you can post pics of your R.A.Ts in hard use. So ,if you would be so kind as to post some here...that would be great.

Ohhh and just so you know.....

Having a R.A.T strapped to a really cool tactical Airsoft vest while playing C.O.D on an X-box isn't considered hard use by most knife-nuts.
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:thumbup::thumbup: Fan boys are the suck. However, I am a fan of both BR and RAT as I find them to be good knives.

Back on topic, I have the Izula and fnd it to be very functional and a great knife for the cost. I would like the pick up the BR necker but dont use neck knives much and cant justify the cost. I prefer slightly larger blades. My izula is rarely used and is a great back up blade in my EDC bag.
 
Todd A said:
And you can back this up with hands on experiance?

Your opinion will have more weight here if you can post pics of your R.A.Ts in hard use. So ,if you would be so kind as to post some here...that would be great.

Ohhh and just so you know.....

Having a R.A.T strapped to a really cool tactical Airsoft vest while playing C.O.D on an X-box isn't considered hard use by most knife-nuts.
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EDIT:Mistaken identity.
 
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kmm said:
I asked this guy the same question here in post #20 : http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=697268
Needless to say i didnt get a reply, but he still pops up with the same fanboy statements in "which knife" threads.
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kmm, I think you've got a couple of people confused. The thread you linked to doesn't include RAT 1 at all, and the guy you questioned isn't involved in this thread:confused:
 
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