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 keeps 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
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19 Comments on “Bear Grylls Knife Costs $700”
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Bitness is a group of snowboarders, skaters, surfers, kayakers, rock climbers, survivalists, mountain bikers and weekend warriors with backgrounds in professional photography, web development, writing and design. We review gadgets and gear we either already own as well as gear provided to us by the manufacturer or their agencies to test.
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.
Posted on July 22, 2008 at 9:01 am.
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.
Posted on October 12, 2008 at 3:35 pm.
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.
Posted on April 21, 2009 at 9:33 am.
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.
Posted on April 21, 2009 at 9:47 am.
I just revisited this to see if the knife came back into my budget and it’s back to $650!
Posted on June 11, 2010 at 9:01 am.
Bear Grylls Survival Knife [Knife] | Tech News Today says:
[...] outdoorsman Bear Grylls had a fancy knife before, but it was really, really expensive. What if you didn’t want to spend $700 to stab [...]
Posted on August 24, 2010 at 6:44 pm.
Bear Grylls Survival Knife [Knife] « Jiveshwar Sharma - Official Website says:
[...] outdoorsman Bear Grylls had a fancy knife before, but it was really, really expensive. What if you didn’t want to spend $700 to stab [...]
Posted on August 24, 2010 at 6:50 pm.
Bear Grylls Survival Knife | Gizmodo Australia says:
[...] outdoorsman Bear Grylls had a fancy knife before, but it was really, really expensive. What if you didn’t want to spend $US700 to stab [...]
Posted on August 24, 2010 at 6:53 pm.
Bear Grylls Survival Knife [Knife] | Products & Tech News says:
[...] outdoorsman Bear Grylls had a fancy knife before, but it was really, really expensive. What if you didn't want to spend $700 to stab something? A [...]
Posted on August 24, 2010 at 7:06 pm.
Bear Grylls Survival Knife [Knife] | Hottest Gadget News & Reviews | GadgetInferno says:
[...] outdoorsman Bear Grylls had a fancy knife before, but it was really, really expensive. What if you didn’t want to spend $700 to stab [...]
Posted on August 24, 2010 at 7:19 pm.
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….
Posted on August 24, 2010 at 7:55 pm.
Bear Grylls Survival Knife [Knife] | Tech Gadget Reviews says:
[...] outdoorsman Bear Grylls had a fancy knife before, but it was really, really expensive. What if you didn’t want to spend $700 to stab [...]
Posted on August 24, 2010 at 9:25 pm.
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.
Posted on August 25, 2010 at 1:45 am.
Bear Grylls Survival Knife [Knife] | WebFroster says:
[...] outdoorsman Bear Grylls had a fancy knife before, but it was really, really expensive. What if you didn’t want to spend $700 to stab [...]
Posted on August 25, 2010 at 2:20 am.
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!
Posted on August 25, 2010 at 1:20 pm.
Cool Stuff- Bear Grylls Survival Knife « Ex Submarine Spy says:
[...] outdoorsman Bear Grylls had a fancy knife before, but it was really, really expensive. What if you didn’t want to spend $700 to stab [...]
Posted on August 25, 2010 at 8:42 pm.
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.
Posted on August 28, 2010 at 12:13 am.
Bear Grylls Survival Knife [Knife] « Tech Remix says:
[...] outdoorsman Bear Grylls had a fancy knife before, but it was really, really expensive. What if you didn’t want to spend 0 to stab something? A [...]
Posted on February 27, 2011 at 5:56 pm.
The Lowdown on Survival Knives says:
[...] had one, as did Crocodile Dundee. Bear Grylss rocks one on Man vs. Wild, which you can pick up for a cool $700. But, if you’re not a hardcore survivalist, is there still a point to carrying a survival [...]
Posted on March 7, 2011 at 9:54 am.