Gerber and Grylls Release New Line of Survival Knives

Gerber is releasing a new line of knives in 2011 dubbed simply the Survivor Series, representing a collaboration between the knife maker and survivalist/TV show host Bear Grylls, a first for the star of the Discovery Channel’s Man vs. Wild. These will also be the first pieces of survival gear bearing BG’s name and stamp of approval since he parted ways with Bayleyknife’s S4 series.

As a taste, the first entry in the series is currently available for pre-order through Amazon.com for $59.99, a reduced price that may go up when the knife is released on November 15.

The Bear Grylls Survival Series Ultimate Knife is a solid-looking tool with some integrated survival staples like a firestarter rod in the nylon sheath, an emergency whistle attached to the lanyard and a diamond sharpener.

The knife and sheath are certainly a package deal if you want to take advantage of all the bells and whistles and they look pretty good with a color scheme of black with orange accents, but that’s a fact that may weaken its usefulness. Without its sheath, the knife doesn’t appear to be anything special and the hints of blaze orange don’t seem sufficient enough to aid in locating the knife if dropped in the field.

Though sturdy and stout, the 4.75-inch blade (nearly identical to the blade on Gerber’s Prodigy knife) should make it a good multi-purpose knife, but it might come up a little short for some larger tasks.

Grylls is all over this puppy. His initials are stamped on the handle and his signature adorns the sheath and word is that BG will adopt the blade, which is similar to other knives he’s carried on Man vs. Wild, as his new constant sidekick.

Like every item that will be released in the Survival Series, this knife includes Grylls’ “Priorities of Survival” pocket guide stashed in a protective slot on the back of the sheath.

That being said, will the fact that Grylls had a hand in designing this knife and will be using it inspire you to shell out $60 or more and add it to your pack or bug-out bag?

Check out all the specs here.

–Dave Maccar