Monday, November 22, 2010

Riverwalker's Gear - Gerber STL 2.0



About the size of a car or truck key (5 1/4" long) and weighing slightly more than one ounce, the Gerber STL 2.0 ( which stands for Strong, Thin, and Light) is a great little knife that you can carry easily in your pocket (3 inches closed) without the bulk. My pockets generally have enough in them without adding anything else but the Gerber STL 2.0 will be the exception to that rule. This is due to the fact that it doesn’t have a significant amount of weight or size. It also has a cut out in the blade which makes it easy to open one-handed, although it does take some time and a little practice to master. The stainless steel handle, which has a titanium coating, includes a lanyard hole and the knife features a unique frame lock for added personal safety. The blade also has a titanium coating. The picture above shows it next to my van keys and my iTP Eos 3 flashlight.



Straight out of the package this is a razor sharp knife which has a drop point blade made from 440A stainless steel. The blade is only 2 1/4" long but easily handles the work of a much larger knife. It is also an extremely thin knife being slightly less than 1/4” in width and doesn’t give your pocket that tell-tale bulge you get from a larger pocket folder. The unique "frame" lock mechanism is very solid and holds the blade fixed in place with no blade movement or blade wiggle. It has the comfort and feel of a fixed blade which I find very nice in a small pocket folder. It also feels very comfortable in my hand and appears to be extremely sturdy for a knife of this size. With its low cost ($10-$12), compact size and light weight, this is going to be a great edition to my EDC because of these factors. I still have and maintain some larger blades but many of them aren't very practical for EDC. I now carry this Gerber STL 2.0 and don't even realize it's there.

I’ve added a lanyard to this knife and now carry it as a small neck knife to cut down on the clutter in my pockets. It also would fit easily on a keychain if you’d prefer that option. If I should ever manage to break or lose this knife, I wouldn't hesitate to replace it with another one.

Got blade?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those little Gerbers are pretty cool - not bad for Chinese made. I bought my wife one of those Gerber mini knives last month, she really likes it. Very slim profile.

Someone had given me a Mini-Frame, which she liked as well, but the one I bought was even thinner in profile. She has small hands, so the thin profile does not bother her in the least.

Looks like you gained a good piece of gear - thanks for the write-up.

riverwalker said...

To: anonymous 12:19

I'm always looking for a way to cut down on the weight of my EDC gear and this looks to be a great addition to the items I will carry on a regular basis.

Thanks anon.

RW

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