Viper Storm (Hinderer Collaboration) now in stock

N

nails1908@gmail.com

Joined
Oct 6, 2015
Messages
128
Just thought I'd let everyone know. Hadn't seen anything posted yet. BladeHQ (think I can post that here) has them. Not sure about others.

Curious to hear the feedback once people start getting them.
 
They look okay, but nothing that blows me away. Not a fan of liner locks though, especially Ti liner locks. Others may love them though. I have heard Viper does a great job with fit and finish.
 
Good choice of manufacturer and an equally good choice of blade steel, but an overall ho-hum design with little to compel many prospective buyers in its $180 to $200 price range. And for me, having both thumb studs and a flipper tab incorporated in its design feels a bit Olde Skool if not a bit schizophrenic. It seems like an arguably praiseworthy attempt to be all things to all people. Trouble is, most such attempts and quite often, products of committees, fall a bit short in conveying uniqueness or an inspired vision.

But hey, I have little doubt it will serve as a good knife for all that.
 
Oh I don't know, I kind of like it.

Might as well just spring the extra bit and get the Hinderer. Maybe.... I think these will sell well.
 
The Viper Hinderer Storm flippers are nice enough but they're kind of overpriced. The satin M390 blade with G-10 is $200.

The fairly similar Steel Will Cutjack Mini flipper also made by Viper with M390 & G-10 is $145!

Both are liner lock bearings flippers. Cutjack uses steel liners versus titanium liners on the Storm. With titanium liners one has to account for possible lock stickiness. Cutjack has a thinner blade (0.12" vs. 0.16") for possibly better slicing action. Also, while the blade length of the Cutjack Mini is 2.99" the Storm has a 3.125" blade. This matters for those who need to carry a blade length of 3 inches or less. The thumb studs on the Storm do reduce the cutting surface quite a bit. Additionally, Cutjack Mini weighs 3.43 ounces (my measurement) vs. 4.16 ounces for the Storm.

I have the Viper-made Cutjack Mini and have carried it quite a bit the past couple of months. Great EDC slicer. Very smooth and I dig the blue G-10.

I'll probably get a Viper Storm and it'll probably be the stonewashed blade with CF and the glass breaker backspacer for $195.

I do like the concept of the titanium HMBS modular backspacer on the Hinderers but once you settle on the one you need/want there's probably no further quest. With the Storm the additional HMBS backspacers are an additional $20.
 
The video got me sorta interested. Honestly, from lots of reading, I'm not sure what to expect from Viper with regards to product consistency.

Then they showed the orange G-10. Wow. I'm a sucker for orange G-10. 4.2 oz. M390. I may have to finally give Viper a try. If they had black DLC on those liners behind the G-10....my credit card would be out! (Leave the blade shiny, of course! ;))
 
Viper quality is very good. Their flippers tended to have medium detent.

You can remove the backspacer for weight savings of 0.14 ounces, shorter overall & handle length and open pillars.

The satin blades are more expensive but they also have additional texturing on the titanium liners.
 
RamZar RamZar
The problem with a knife blade that is 2.99" is that most officers and courts can't read .01" on a tape measure and they will see a 3" (or just over) blade.
One Hundredth of an inch isn't much. On top of that, I doubt the court will allow you to load up the vendors website to say that the stated blade length is "X" amount. Some places measure the sharpened edge, some from the handle, some have even tried from the pivot...

.01 sounds more like my chances of getting away with carrying this knife if I need to be under 3".
 
NJBillK said:
RamZar RamZar
The problem with a knife blade that is 2.99" is that most officers and courts can't read .01" on a tape measure and they will see a 3" (or just over) blade.
One Hundredth of an inch isn't much. On top of that, I doubt the court will allow you to load up the vendors website to say that the stated blade length is "X" amount. Some places measure the sharpened edge, some from the handle, some have even tried from the pivot...

.01 sounds more like my chances of getting away with carrying this knife if I need to be under 3".
Click to expand...

I wish knife makers would aim for 2.99" while giving ample handle. Viper officially has the Storm's blade length as 78mm which is 3.07" and that's less than what BladeHQ has it as 3.125". It may be splitting hairs but it's a consideration to some.

http://www.viper.it/en/outdoor&caccia/storm.html
 
I'll probably give it a shot, but my first Viper knife (the Italo) was awful and I'm not really a stickler for fit and finish. Felt like it had washers made of sandpaper, couldn't flip, and when it did open it had lock stick.

From what I've read though, that's out of the norm so I'm considering trying another.
 
I have one on loan from a friend. He was able to pick it out at a local knife shop, but said a few of the ones he handled had lock stick. The example he has has zero stick and I really like it, but I'm a fan of Hinderer desgins.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top