The Bear Grylls Survival Series Ultimate Knife (by Gerber) is designed to help you endure in the toughest environments.
This knife is loaded with innovations and backed by Bear Grylls himself. Featuring a half-serrated, drop point blade, textured rubber grip, steel pommel and emergency whistle, durable sheath with a sharpener & fire starter… It has just about everything you need when it comes to survival knives!
About Bear Grylls
He is known in the mainstream public for his survival television show on the Discovery Channel, Man vs. Wild (as well we several other wilderness survival TV shows), which obviously takes an elite level survivalist to even be chosen for the show(s) in the first place, but Bear Grylls also has an extensive outdoor survival background as well as considerable adventure experience.
He is a former British SAS serviceman and survival instructor. He’s also well-known as an adventurer, writer, television personality, motivational speaker, and businessman.
His accolades are numerous! Some of which include holding (or formerly breaking) several records in various outdoor expeditions/adventures.
Additionally, Grylls scaled Mount Everest in 1998 at age 23, which was among the youngest people to have achieved this feat at the time.
To put it bluntly, he knows what it takes to be a survivor in extreme situations of all types!
According to his site: “Bear had a real hunger to explore from a young age. Always curious. Never still. Eager to discover new places and follow the path less trodden. And the story is still being written…”
Our Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Pro Survival Knife Review
The Ultimate Knife — A Fixed Blade Tactical Knife for Wilderness Survival — is the pinnacle of Gerber’s “Bear Grylls” Survival Series. Intricately designed by Gerber and Grylls, it is packed with innovations that aren’t found in most other fixed blade knives.
Let’s start by saying, all of the “cool” features in the world won’t mean anything if the knife fails to perform when it is actually needed. This where my main interest was when reviewing the Bear Grylls Knife. I haven’t personally found myself in any life-or-death situations, but I have wandered into the woods many times in order to get familiar with all sorts of different survival tools; including this knife.
First off, I think the knife feels great in my hand. I found it to be balanced, solid, and just the right fit.
The blade was sharp from the opening. The fine edge portion of the knife cut cleanly and the serrated part worked fine for sawing through thick rope and skinning bark from a tree.
One of the things you will quite possibly need to do in a survival situation is chop down small trees or remove limbs from a tree. This can be for building shelter, making weapons, starting a fire, or many other reasons.
In my opinion, the Bear Grylls knife did exceptionally well at cutting through branches and helping to build the tools needed for basic survival when you may not have the ideal tool with you.
Also, one of my favorite features of the overall kit is the fire starting rod, and it works just as you would want. Firestarting is undoubtedly one of the most important skills in survival, and this knife setup makes it just about as easy as it gets in the wild, but I would still highly recommend practicing with it until you have mastered the skill.
Furthermore, the full tang of this line of survival knives means that the steel of the blade runs the entire length of the knife, making it a powerful knife with some of the strongest and most durable aspects you could expect.
Regular knives are typically judged by their blades, but “survival knives” have to bring a lot more to the table than just a sharp edge — and full tang has been referred to as the steroid of knives.
When Gerber decided to improve the original Bear Grylls Survival Knife, which was already pretty darn good, the company opted for high carbon stainless steel because it is stronger and holds its edge better than the original.
The Bear Grylls knife comes sharp right out of the box and stays sharp through some pretty rugged use; it can even handle cutting hardwood branches without needing to touch up the edge. Although, it goes without saying, sharpening on a regular basis will help maintain the reliability of the knife.
The spine side is notched out to be used as the fire steel strike. The edge side of the blade has a choil, or cutaway section between the knife’s hand guard and edge, to allow for greater control when cutting and slicing. However, the authentic purpose of the choil on the Ultimate Pro Knife is for, when sharpening, you can sharpen the entire length of the blade without running into obstruction from the handle or hand guard.
If you are looking to buy a survival knife, you aren’t doing it for a feel-good, warm & fuzzy reason. You are probably not looking for trouble, but you know that outdoor activities can be unpredictable and/or a survivalism situation may occur unexpectedly, and you need your knife to fully measure up to all challenges.
The Bear Grylls Ultimate Pro Knife comes equipped for versatility to do exactly that!
To summarize, the Bear Grylls Knife features an ergonomic grip for comfortable handling and a dependable stainless steel blade with a versatile serrated edge. Additionally, the knife and military-grade nylon sheath are packed with innovative survival tools, including a fire starter, a diamond blade sharpener, an emergency whistle, and a pommel.
The Bear Grylls Ultimate Knife Overview:
More features of the Bear Grylls Knife from Gerber…
Sharp, Durable Blade Handles Tough Survival Tasks
Built to offer the versatility that adventurers, backpackers, and hunters need in the wilderness, the Ultimate Knife features a versatile 4.75-inch drop-point blade. This blade is half serrated to make quick work of cutting rope and other fibrous materials.
The Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Knife features full-tang construction for overall durability, and it is crafted from hard stainless steel, which allows for excellent edge retention.
Innovative, Ergonomic Design Delivers Versatility
Survival tools are only useful if they’re easy to handle, so this knife features a comfortable, rubberized grip that’s textured to prevent slippage. And because being a true survivor means making innovative use of your tools, the knife’s handle features two holes for securely lashing it to a stick for use as a fishing spear–or whatever other bladed tool your situation calls for.
In addition, the handle base features a stainless steel pommel that can be used for pounding or hammering.
It should be noted that the construction of the pommel received some poor reviews during the first production of the knife. However, the new Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Knife now features a reinforced pommel that will hold up to practically any abuse you can deliver.
Balanced for optimum handling, this Gerber Bear Grylls Survival Series Knife has an overall length of 10 inches and weighs just 11.2 ounces–14.72 ounces with the included sheath.
Military-Grade Nylon Sheath with Smart Details
Just as versatile as the knife it protects, the included sheath folds open to reveal a diamond sharpener. The sheath also has a life-saving fire starter rod locked into a water-tight holder.
This ferrocerium rod produces a shower of hot sparks when scraped against the rough surface of the striker notch that is incorporated into the back of the knife blade. For further versatility and functionality, the sheath includes a waterproof “Priority of Survival” guide tucked into a protective pocket on the back of the sheath.
The nylon sheath is crafted from lightweight, military-grade materials that are mildew resistant for long-term use in harsh climates. It includes a Velcro closure to keep your knife secure.
Knife Features:
- 1/2 Serrated High Carbon Stainless Steel Drop Point Blade – Ideal for edge retention and cutting rope
- Full Tang Blade Construction- For maximum durability
- Ergonomic Textured Rubber Grip – Maximizes comfort and reduces slippage
- Stainless Steel Pommel – At base of handle for hammering
- Emergency Whistle – Integrated into lanyard cord
Sheath Feature:
- Fire Starter – Ferrocerium rod locks into sheath, striker notch incorporated into back of knife blade
- Nylon Sheath – Lightweight, military-grade, mildew resistant
- Land to air rescue instructions
- Diamond Sharpener – Integrated into sheath for on-the-go sharpening
- Priorities of Survival – Pocket guide contains Bears’ survival essentials
- Limited lifetime warranty
Tech Specs:
- Overall Length: 10 Inches
- Blade Length: 4.75 Inches
- Weight: 11.2 Ounces, 14.72 Ounces with sheath
The Pocket Survival Guide
Gerber is known for its pocket survival guides and this one — inspired by Bear Grylls — provides instruction and illustrations that can keep you alive if an emergency outdoor situation happens.
The Ultimate Pro Survival Guide can show you what to do if you have to:
- Make a shelter
- Build a fire
- Navigate without a compass
- Get water
- Catch small game
- Signal for help
…and much more!
Bottom Line: Conclusion
While I have never had to go through a true outdoor survival situation, I have certainly spent a lot of time outdoors in the wild. In my opinion, this knife will work well for most people in the vast majority of typical wilderness survival situations.
Also, you have to know that a single knife in itself is probably not going to keep you alive unless you are a well above average survivalist, so you can’t rely on it exclusively. However, you are almost certainly giving yourself a huge survival advantage by having a good knife with you in an extreme situation.
Keep in mind that if I was prepping to go into full survivalism mode, I would pack more than a single knife with me, and I would probably buy a more expensive knife with a very rugged blade. However, for a knife that is affordable to the masses, handy to have while hiking or camping, and can absolutely be used to help survive the majority of unexpected dangers, we feel that the Bear Grylls Ultimate knife is a good choice.
This is certainly not the best survival knife ever made, but it is a very good knife that is affordable and has mostly all you would need when it comes to survival knives. It has a great balance of price, quality, features, etc.
About the Gerber Bear Grylls Survival Series
We are bringing together the 70+ years of expertise behind all Gerber Legendary Blades and the Bear Grylls brand, which is no stranger to extreme situations.
Each item in the Survival Series is thoughtfully designed by Grylls and Gerber to offer features that can help keep a smart adventurer alive in the wilderness. These dependable tools come with Bears’ “Priorities of Survival” pocket guide (mentioned above), so you can check your instincts against actual experience-based advice!