Just opened up the latest Sporty’s catalog to see them selling a hollow handled “Bush Pilot’s Survival Knife” (October 2006, page 58). I know a lot of pilots think highly of Sporty’s and thus might be tempted to purchase simply because it is in the Sporty’s catalog, so I thought it best to warn you off from this sorry excuse for survival gear.

While Sporty’s has a somewhat spotty history for the survival gear and survival kits they have offered over the years, ranging from just barely adequate (sorta, kinda, giving them the benefit of the doubt) to excellent, this is the first totally useless piece of junk they have offered which has NO redeeming value. This knife would be a bad deal even if they gave it to you for free.

Why? Hollow handled survival knives, unless they are manufactured from a single piece of bar stock (such as Chris Reeve’s versions) are simply too weak to bet your life on. The blade is attached to weak plastic or metal handle (metal in this case) with a threaded nut. I have a number of examples here that I was able to bust simply using my own two hands. The metal ones are a bit stronger, but still junk. If you are interested in a fixed blade survival knife there a many good ones available starting at about $50 which you could bet your life on. A good Swedish Mora knife, which is hardly the most robust and not my first choice by a large margin, but which is still better than this POS, can be had for about the same price, $20.

Beyond that, the knife has basic design features that a really undesirable in any survival knife, such as its deep clip point and saw back. Did I mention the steel is almost sure to be lousy as well? Then there’s the generally useless low quality survival gear that’s included in the handle (which really isn’t a good place to store your survival gear anyway). If you are desperate to own one, they can be found on the Internet for as cheap as about $6 retail or on E-bay for even less.  Do you really think that a knife that cheap is worth betting your life on?
More information can be found on Equipped To Survive:

Some suggestions for a fixed blade Survival Knife you could bet your life on.

An Introduction to selecting a good knife, what features are desireable and what should be avoided.