I was at REI today and I saw a recall notice for the Gerber Gear Bear Grylls Parang. It seems that there’s a weakness in the area where the blade meets the handle. This can cause either the blade or the handle to break during use which poses a laceration hazard. If you happened to have purchase one of these blades, you can register at this page, where Gerber will process your info, send out a prepaid FedEx box, and send you a replacement parang some weeks later. Given the quality of the blade, I’d rather receive a refund, but you get what you get, I suppose.
Tags: Bear Grylls, Gerber, Recall Notice, Tools
Sounds to me like they got cheap and used a rat tail tang instead of a full tang, either that or they’re using real cheap metal. Either way I can’t believe that Gerber is putting out such crap knives and that Bear Grylls is willing to attach his name to such shoddy products; from what I’ve read none of the Bear Grylls’ line are any good.
Look, this is my surprised face.
I have been happy with my Bear Grylls kit. Never had an issue. I reckon they will have fixed the problem now and tested the hell out of the newly manufactured parang. I’m going to buy one to help me tackle the garden, get a free sharpener too depending on where you are buying it http://www.aboveandbeyond.co.uk/.gerber-bear-grylls-parang-machete_0013658120204.htm. They are pretty good value too these parangs when you think about it. I think people look for any excuse to have a go at Bear.
I absolutely despise Bear Grylls, but when I saw the parang, before knowing it was endorsed by B.G., I thought that it was one of the better looking and designed machetes that I have seen. I went online and saw the reviews for it as being a very good tool despite the B.G. name attached to it. I bought my parang about 6 months ago and it has seen a good amount of action. I have chopped through brush, aluminum cans and firewood and the machete is still in great condition. I always sharpen it and the edge is just as sharp (if not sharper) as when I bought it. Gerber makes quality tools and this is no exception.