Camillus Les Stroud SK Arctic Fixed Sport Knife, Grey

I am very impressed with this knife. I can't help but compare the SK Arctic to the Gerber Bear Grylls fine edge survival knife. Head to head, the Bear Grylls loses hands down.1. First and foremost, the SK Arctic came razor sharp out of the box. It shaved arm hair with ease, sliced tiny slivers of paper and feather sticked like a dream. At the end of the day, you need a good edge on your knife. This one comes with it. Its your job to maintain the edge with a little maintenance. The BG arrived so dull I could not use it without putting an edge on first.2. The overall construction is solid; full tang, nice grip and a steel pommel designed to be used as a light hammer. (The pommel on the SK Arctic also surpasses the one of the Gerber BG[which was a major design flaw in the first run])3. The ferro rod that is incorporated into the sheath works nicely in the notch cut into the spine of the SK Arctic's blade. It snaps securely into the sheath and is also thicker than the ferro rod that is included with the Gerber BG. Another victory for Les and the SK Arctic.4. The only con I see to the design of this rig is the knife retention built into the sheath. The only thing keeping this knife with you instead of lost on the forrest floor is a thin piece of Velcro fabric. This is where the Gerber BG has the advantage over the SK Arctic with two type of retention. A velcro strap and a clip the handle guard clips into.5. Both knives come with a pocket survival guide authored by the knife's endorser and co-designer. I find the Les' to be more practical. Les asks the reader to apply the knowledge they already possess to their given situation whereas Bear's is a mini instruction manual which would require practice to master all the techniques. Bear's has pictures on fire starting methods, shelters, knots, snares etc... I find these to provide more false hope that actual useful information. My wife likes Bear's better. So in the spirit of democracy this one is a split decision.Final decision: 3-1-1, Les is the winnerOne question: Why doesn't the SK Arctic come with the same survival gadgets (signal mirror, flashlight, whistle) that the SK Mountain (serrated edge, Les Stroud knife) comes with?Buy this knife if you have $40 to spend on a fixed blade, straight edge knife. There are hundreds of options out there, I've purchased several and for the price, this is the best one I've found. This is also the sharpest factory edge I've seen in a long time on a fixed blade under $50. It's not the greatest knife ever made but it is an incredible value. Consider it.

First of all, let me say, I am a Canadian, and a field craft instructor (with 30+yrs experience). I got this knife to support Les Stroud as much as out of curiosity. Well. I am disapointed! I have been using a Gerber BG Ultimate Survival knife since they came out almost two years ago and since both knives are similer types and prices, the comparisons will always be made! I find this LS Arctic to have a shorter length handle (although the blades are less than 1/2 inch difference in length) The shape is comfortable to my grip but there is no jimping on the handle near the blade to aid control. The butt is angled, making it harder to use as a "hammer". The blade is thinner than BG's and the swedge tapers back, so that one can't use a sharpener of the "Lansky" type. The knife slides into the sheath, but does not fit tightly, it is only held by the yellow velcro strap. If you hold the sheath up-side down, the knife slips out as far as the strap allows. The fire steel actually did fall out! On my sheath, it does not "snap" in tightly. The fire steel is the same thickness as the BG Version, however it has a thin tubuler grip, practically useless with frozen, wet, or gloved hands. Not completely disapointed. I did support Les by paying for it!!!! And my curiosity has been satisfied! Two weeks later....I took this knife with me to try out on a patrol in the jungle of Western Thailand. Couple of points. I glued the fire steel in with a small dab of model glue to stop it falling out. Next, the knive handle tapers towards the pommel, every thing is soggy in the jungle, and so I found that my hand slipped down when trying to use it as a hammer. Next thing, the handle is angled where it joins the blade, so it doesn't sit upright in the sheath, thereby causing the yellow velcro holder to not be as tight as possible, unless you check very carefully each time. Anyway, pointless now, as I lost it somewhere, and to add insult to injury, the security at Saigon airport took my knife sharpener which I had along because this Arctic SK doesnt come with one...my collegue who brought his 'Bear' Knife along was quite amused, I wasnt!!!

Bought this for my father-in-law for Christmas and compared it to my Bear Grylls Ultimate/Pro survival knife (which I really like, but it is in a different price range). To give you all a good idea where this knife stands compared to solid survival knives, I will compare this knife to the BG Ultimate knife.Pro's:This has a really comfortable grip that works well with big hands. The yellow finger grip is pretty grippy and seems like it would work well with gloves.It is sharp and easy to sharpen.It comes with a fire rod that works really well with the bladeIt works well for wood splittingGreat knife for the priceCon's:The notch for the fire rod is covered in the coating and makes it difficult to throw good sparks from the notch.The knife doesn't feel as hefty in the blade. This could make a significant difference when choppingThe sheath doesn't lock the knife in, but it does have a button that straps it in the sheath. I prefer something that locks in better and feels more secure.Overall, it is a great camping knife that is a good deal for the price.If you are looking for a high-end survival knife package, I would shell out the extra $40 for the Bear Grylls Ultimate/Pro knife because it has a better handle, sharpener, and edge for the fire rod.

Questo coltello è davvero molto bello di estetica , ed è davvero molto comodo da impugnare . Il manico è spettacolare si avverte subito una sensazione di sicurezza impugnandolo .La lama mi ha lasciato stupito, molti dicono che son rimasti delusi dall'affilatura , per quanto mi riguarda ha un affilatura quasi da rasosio, infatti ha superato a pieni voti la prova "del radere i peli sul braccio" .Purtroppo non ho ancora avuto modo di uttilizzarlo sul campo, ma son più che sicuro che quando mi ritroverò davanti un orso grizzly arrabbiatissimo , il mio Camillus SK Arctic lo ucciderà , lo scuoierà , e con la stecchetta di selce nella custodia ci farò il fuoco per mangiarmelo .Unica cosa che mi ha un po deluso , è il foglio con "consigli utili per sopravvivere" messo nel taschino posteriore della custodia. E' piegato cosi bene che come lo si spiega si strappa la parte superficiale rendendone impossibile la lettura.Se fossi stato in una situazione di estremo pericolo , il foglietto non mi avrebbe salvato ,quindi ho provveduto a sostituirlo con cartine filtrini ed erbetta medica.Mi ritengo molto soddisfatto , se non volete spendere una fortuna con un coltello da sopravvivenza "professionale" , questo va piu che bene ..il suo sporco lavoro lo fa!Lo consiglio !

Sehr robust und handlich. Kann man gut mit arbeiten. Messerscheide leider nicht so robust.Mit dem Feuerstahl nur im Notfall zu verwenden da die Beschichtung darunter leidet. Hier hätte eine blanke Stelle auf der Rückenseite nich gefehlt.

Bel coltello dall'ottimo grip, non molto affilato all'arrivo, ma essendo un coltello survival non deve essere un bisturi.L'acciarino funziona, solo dopo aver rimosso la vernice protettiva, tuttavia non produce moltissime scintille. In ogni caso lo consiglio per la sicurezza che trasmette in mano.

Das Messer hält, was es verspricht. Nur die Plastikscheide stört mich etwas, was aber mein persönliches empfinden ist. Preis/Leistungsverhältnis stimmt.

Alles super