Bear Grylls Knife Costs $700
Man vs. Wild star Bear Grylls is no doubt a surviver. Consumption of live snakes, sheep’s eyeballs, decomposing Zebra, still-warm Yak livers and worse, but a man’s gotta eat! He free-solos cliffs, wrestles wild beasts, drinks from elephant dung… face it, the man survives.
Certainly Bear doesn’t need to risk life and limb by down-climbing a waterfall, eating live snakes or puss-filled grubs – but it does make for entertaining television. Many scoff at these Fear Factor-like antics, but it has viewers peeking through their fingers and muttering ‘that crazy bastard‘ over-and-over. Some critics go as far to say that Bear misinforms his viewers by taking these risks in remote regions.
In many survival circumstances the best advice is to stay put and wait for rescue, but Bear is seemingly being chased in every episode, burning precious calories to sprint down a sand dune or swim a freezing cold lake. Of course sitting around and waiting for rescue would make for pretty ho-hum TV, so Bear turns on the bravado and the charm to keep us watching as he performs fearless acts of ‘survival.’
I can forgive the fact that Bear bends survival tactics for the sake of entertainment. I have a harder time with merchandising the tools he uses for his show. A Bear Grylls ‘signature’ knife sells for $700. If you have $700 to spend, get a satellite phone and $40 Buck knife.
Maybe this is just Bear ‘surviving’ in the real world – and he’s got a right – but hopefully fans are smarter than that (and smart enough to not drink from elephant dung).
Posted by: Lawrence
I know nothing about knives, but I’ll take your word for it. I see the same thing with cycling equipment. I came across a simple bottle cage in a bike shop recently that sold for $50.00 simply because it weighed about 1 ounce less than a normal cage. Ridiculous.
he’s right, he does not know anything about knives. If this unit were mass produced it would be around $200. For what the current user puts it to it’s almost as good as a Seal Pup.
The Bear Grylls knife is actually barely over $500 and I think it would be fair to mention that the cost is largely greater because of the current exchange rate.
Additionally, the Bear Grylls knife is made of, (either VG-10 supersteel or G3 laminates, look them up on wikipedia) are made from steel that only comes from Sweeden and a process that is only done in Japan (Samurai sword) and this knife could be pounded right through all your (and my)Sog Seal Pups and homemade knives and would barely leave a dull spot on the edge.
Thanks Emanuel. At the time the article was written the knife did in fact cost ~$700. With the current exchange you are correct that it sells for about $512. I don’t dispute the quality of the knife, or even that you get what you pay for. But $500 is a lot to spend for those of us trying to survive in the real world, let alone the wild.
I just revisited this to see if the knife came back into my budget and it’s back to $650!
dont be bitter about the expensive knife.
capitalism man, no one puts a gun over ur head to make you buy it
but come survival time and the $50buck knife cant cut thru things, you’re gonna wish you have a bear gryll knife.
not judging, just saying….
For those in the 3rd world, $100 for a knife is insane; but I have bought at that price. Everything’s relative.
Heck, I’ve spent more on guns I’ve never used for anything practical; just punching holes in a sheet of paper. For a knife you could use every day, sure, why not if you’ve got the money. Good for you, Bear.
im sorry, I didn’t know the author of this post was a weekend survival expert, perhaps he needs his own show! we could call it pessimist vs. wild! its a show where you have this guy sitting around placating the obvious, and giving his opinion 100% of the time! I think that bear grylls hit it spot on in simply showing the things you “might” have to do in a survival situation, rather this guy was probably one of the few who raised hell because bear had a camera crew following him and now every episode is littered with disclaimers just so people will stfu about the details! just remember, if your having fun, then your camping!
The article points out that Bear provides, without a doubt, good entertainment. Survivalism is about making do with what nature provides. Having a great knife on hand is awesome, but unlikely in a true survivial situation.
I’m a big fan of Bear’s for the entertainment he provides as well as a number of useful tips he provides each episode. I think I’ve seen all his episodes, most more than once, including some of the Channel 4 stuff. My point is that with a pricey knife, celebrity survival episodes (Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, et al), video games, talk of a feature film, etc on tap I think Bear would be the first to admit he’s ‘surviving’ just fine.
While I’m admittedly more in tune with the teachings and techniques of Tom Brown or Larry Dean Olsen, Bear makes survival entertaining to the everyday person; with remote control in one hand and $700 knife in the other. The success of shows like Man vs Wild, Dual Survival, Man, Woman Wild, Beyond Survival, Survivorman, etc are popular mostly because of the escapism they afford.
For a knife that Bear constantly is placing his life on, I’d say that it’s worth it for him. However, for a outdoors hobbiest, as most of us are, anything above $250 seems unnecessary.
WOW! i only looked up what knife was used in the Vietnam episode of the born survivor show (S4 EP3) and everyone seams to want to argue about knowledge and equipment. The truth is id rather not be in a life or death survival situation and if i were the chances are it would not be out of choice and then you would have to use what is to hand, as in 172 hours (he was quoted as saying ill never buy a cheep knife again). Bear Grylls, Ray Mears and many others offer advice and have to do so in a way that you may remember, so they do in such a way you remember a movie. I have had the pleasure to meet both of the above and know some ex forces guys who teach for fun and to prep people who need to know some basics for where their work may take them.
EVERY DAY IS A SCHOOL DAY. Enjoy life and if you have a good sharp knife take care with it and if you have a cheaper not so good knife be careful with it.