Is Bear Grylls a real survivor?

Hi People,

I'm planning to go on a survival trip.
The most import tool most be a knife!

But i'm in doubt of what I should pick...

I stumbled upon Bear Grylls knifes. Does anyone have experience with these? Or is it pure marketing BS?

It cost $71, on his official webshop - Not to bad. But I wont buy it if its not good qualty.
What i'm guessing it's a carbon knife.

http://www.gerbergear.com/Survival/Knives/Ultimate-Fine-Edge-Knife_31-001063

Welcome to CPF, Oosn!

Haven't got any experience with his gear, but I can't imagine a dude like Bear Grylls would lend his name to crappy stuff. On the other hand, you're likely to pay a markup simply because of the name / marketing BS. So you could probably find knives of similar quality for a lower price.

Personally I don't like the bright orange theme, but that's just me...

First, I would go to Amazon to pay half as much!! Second, I never had a problem with Gerber knives. I think the quality is excellent for the price. I like the plain edge on this one; can't stand serrated blades!

"Knife guys" are going to say it's junk and that you need to spend $300 for a good survivial knife...trust your life to $xxx, etc. etc. Of course it depends on what you will be doing, or what you think you will encounter.

The knife that the real survivor, Les Stroud, arrived at after all his adventures was the humble Buck 0119, which would make it my first choice.

StarHalo said:

The knife that the real survivor, Les Stroud, arrived at after all his adventures was the humble Buck 0119, which would make it my first choice.

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Good looking knife! I like Les, so don't Google "Ticaboo Creek" and ruin it for yourself!! Either way, he's still a real survivalist to me.

Hello Oosn, :welcome:

My own preferences, I used to like Gerber knives (and carried one for many years) but not anymore - country-of-origin is very important to me and that's all I want to say about that.

My wife has the Buck 0119 and has field-dressed two deer with it, it's 'meh' IMHO merely because I feel the blade is too long for general utility. :-/

I really like the Buck Vanguard, I did a thread on it ~4 yrs ago. I think it's a nearly-perfect utility knife, and their price is still very reasonable.
I've used one for years and have field-dressed two moose with it, I still carry it when I go for multi-day / small game hunting trips.

Thoughts on the Buck 'Vanguard' hunting knife? (either the 192 or the 692)

Hope this helps,

Bear grylls is mostly a public persona.

Don't go for his knives. For the same cost you can get a much better knife. Look into Ontario knives specifically. TAK-1 is my camp knife, and it is phenomenal.
Not a fan of Gerber knives for heavy duty use. The BG knives - you are mostly paying for the image and name. The quality isn't worth the cost.

Gerber knives tend to be decent value for money although I'm guessing that you will be paying extra for the Bear Grylls branding. There's no such thing as a carbon knife blade BTW. This is made of high carbon steel which is very different from pure carbon. The blade is painted black.
"Is Bear Grylls a real survivor?"; that's a different question altogether. He has the skills for sure, I'm not questioning that, but a lot of the stuff he does on TV is purely for show and is actually very poor survival advice. e.g. taking silly risks with unnecessary climbing and eating live uncooked animals that are likely to be carrying harmful bacteria.

Bear grylls is definitely a great survivor, though his show is merely just show, it's for ratings.

If you were stuck with him in the middle of nowhere, I'm sure he be more moderate and cautious.

His knives, or even the brand gerber, are terrible. They are of poor quality. You're paying for the name.

Opinel or mora, which are usually about 15 bucks or so, are the choice knives for Bush living. If it suits for permanent wood living, I'm sure it'll be fine for hiking or camping.

Me personally, prefer a 15" kukri.
Fantastic at chopping or batoning wood, and the sheath usually has a straightener rod/knife used to correct chips and dent during service, and a small pairing size knife for smaller tasks.

They are near indestructible, made from bobtail Leaf springs, heavy duty stuff.

they're not too expensive either, for something you could pass down to your grandchildren.

:welcome:

I would absolutely NOT recommend that knife.

The man himself obviously has knowledge and a passion for survivalism. Im sure despite the "show" he is extremely knowledgable. But the gear is just branding. Thats all, some of it may be ok, some of it may be garbage. Usually heavily marketed items are garbage but there are several functional products that line offers that serve their purpose, although they may be tacky. You are 110% right about the knife. It is by far the most important tool. ( Just remember water is paramount, you can't cut stuff if you die of dehydration. )

Survival blades often call for a high carbon / high impact steel from a manufacturer that understands a good heat treat. 1095 being the most popular as the price is right and it's just a very robust steel. The downfall is it rusts and needs to be taken care of. You can also get coated versions but you still want to watch the uncoated sharpened portion of the blade. It sounds like you are on a budget so I would start with any USA MADE Ka-Bar. The USA, is not a preference thing, I have seen multiple overseas produced Ka-Bars shattered, my best guess would be from poor heat treatment.

They have a lot of excellent USA blades under $100.

Remember: 3 seconds without hope, 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food.

Good Luck. :thumbsup:

Also worth a mention...... if you are mindful that this is a weaker steel and practice good judgment the Spyderco Serratta is an EXCELLENT blade. You want to baton with caution should you select this blade. It is VERY thick but is not as robust as 1095. The reason I mention this knife is because it is by far the most comfortable woods knife I have ever handled and would be ideal for extended cutting. It will also be much more corrosion resistant and be much quicker to sharpen in the field:

On sale $116 from Blade HQ, heres a fantastic overview:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov4fN2d9sXs

Isn't it 3 minutes without air?

Crazyeddiethefirst said:

Isn't it 3 minutes without air?

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Of course. What do you mean?

OP, don't know about that knife however reading through various forums Mora knives get recommended often. They're supposedly very inexpensive yet good in relation to their cost.

The Mora knife is a great classic tool as opposed to overpriced modern crap. Read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mora_knife

Have you got a multitool? Something like a Leatherman Wave or Charge would be a good addition to a fixed blade knife.

Perhaps an ESEE knife?

Wow, really surprised nobody has pointed you towards Battle Horse Knives. Great blade for the money.

I would also look at Esee, Becker Kabar, Mora, Opinel, SAK, Condor, Tops, Ontario, and Cold Steel. All of these are fairly easy to medium on the budget but deliver a great blade for the price.

I haven't bought a Gerber in years and at this point you couldn't pay me to take one into my house, much less pack one on a trip.

The Gerber knives are mostly marketing. Depending on your needs there are a lot of options. The famous cheap Mora knives for one are great knives for the outdoor. Bushcrafting experts Mors Kochanscki and Ray Mears use them a lot also during their training courses. If you want something a bit sturdier there are a lot of opinions out there.

I personally have an Enzo Trapper, Blind Horse Knives Bushcrafter (predecessor to the Battle Horse Knives bushcrafter before L.T. Wright and he parted) and EKA A10 as my favourite bushcraft tools. ESEE is great too (especially the Izula series). However I do still use my Mora's quite often as well.

You'll be fine with any full tang knife. There are "better" knives out there for the price, but you certainly can't go wrong with it either. A very popular knife for survivalists is the Kabar Becker BK2.


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Esee 4, 5, or 6 depending on size etc. I just went through the same thing, and after a few days of researching, I now have a Esee 6 and love it! It's a bit more $$ but check it out. I was going to get the Gerber LMF II, and I'm sure that would work fine, but it all depends on your needs.
Esee - Made in USA!!!