SERE Operator vs. Nimravus vs. S1

dogboye

Gold Member
Joined
Nov 23, 1999
Messages
7,130
Posted this on one of the other forums, and got no response, so either it is boring, or no one likes any of them (can't believe that would be true).

I have been using a Buck Vanguard for a few years for any of my camping / backpacking trips. But I've gotten tired of a knife whose steel is so inferior that it needs to be sharpened all the time. So, I've decided I need to upgrade. I want to keep approximately the same length blade, so nothing less than 4 inches.

I've pretty much decided that I'm going to fulfill my backpacking knife with one of these
Al Mar SERE Operator
Benchmade Nimravus (M2 or 154CM in plain edge)
Fallkniven S1 Forest Knife

They seem to fit my requirements best:
4" to 5" blade
not too thick
full tang
decent steel (well, better than decent)

Anyone have favorites, or opinions on any of these?
 
I don't have the others but will say that I'm well pleased with the Fallkniven S1 (as well as the H1 and A1). Carries well in the field and gets the job done. Excellent knives imho.
 
There has been a lot of discussion on the Nimravus on the Wilderness forum on Knifeforums so you might want to do a search there, a lot of modifications were done as well.

The folding SERE was well recieved in terms of cutting ability, so assuming the fixed blade has a similar edge profile it would probably NIB out cut the other two.

The handle ergonomics are very different on all the blades and that might be the deciding factor, unless you go with the M2 in the Benchmade as that should handle very differently than VG-10 or 154-CM.

-Cliff
 
Thanks Blues. I have the A1, and it is awesome, but too large for the specialized use that I'm looking for (easy to tuck away, light, not taking up too much room). It is more of a heavy duty bruiser, short haul backpacking type of thing. About the only thing that has me hesitating about the S1 is its thickness. In terms of inches, it is about 0.19 to 0.20, whereas the Operator is listed as 0.140, and the Nimravus is 0.115. But, then you have to factor in the convex edge... yada, yada, yada.....

Thanks for the info Cliff; I'll go check out Knifeforums. Yes, the handle ergs are different, but I have handled the A1 extensively, and the Nimravus Cub. Both those handle config's work well in a variety of grips, for me. The Operator is a wild card, but has the SERE 2K going for it (same blade shape, albeit longer on the Op,and 154CM vs. VG10 on the 2K).

Anyway, thanks for the input guys.
 
I have the Operator and the S1, but not the Nimravus. IMO, the S1 and Operator are quite different knives made for different reasons. The S1 is a good outdoor knife, especially around saltwater or moist, humid environments. I carry it on my wader belt while fishing and it gets soaked and hung up at the end of the day without a care on my part (unless I've been in saltwater, in which case it gets doused in WD40). It works well on fish and general camp chores. The Operator is more of a fighting knife design, although I am going to try it in the field for general camping/fishing purposes. Of the two, I like the feel of the Operator better, but I think the S1 would most likely be the tougher of the two due to its convex edge and thicker tip. The S1 is also better in cold weather because the tang is fully covered by the handle.
 
Back
Top