Gerber Gear has been around for so long and they product line is so deep that it’s not surprising it took me nearly 2 years to pick up one of these, an Air Ranger Serrated Edge folding knife. I feel like Gerber doesn’t need much more of an introduction, so I’ll just dive deep into the knife here. They launched the Air Ranger approximately 2.5 years ago and have used it to target the market that is after an economical folding knife.
First off, I hate when companies give economical products names that originate from famous military units such as Rangers, paratroopers, and SEALs. It’s distasteful and if companies really want to do something like that then they should only bestow the name on their flagship products. With that said, even before I picked up this knife, I was a bit cheesed about the name but in the end pleasantly surprised.
The Air Ranger has a 3.25-inch-long blade that is half normal and half serrated, and a total length of approximately 7.32 inches. The blade is made from 7CR17MOV steel which is a cheap steel that is very easy to sharpen but don’t expect it to retain their sharpness. Interestingly enough, this knife does actually come in a bit longer than most folding knives in this range but yet it only weights 2.6 ounces, making it one of the lighter weigh ones. However, once you grab the knife, you’ll notice that it doesn’t feel cheap even given how lightweight it was. It still sits comfortably in your hand, and you never feel like you are going to drop it or lose your grip.
In terms of performance this is a nice everyday carry pocket knife which is more than I expected at the $15 Canadian I picked it up at. For my American friends, that is like $10, and while it’s possible to find this knife for that cheap you’ll more than likely see it priced between $25 and $30 in the States and closer to $50 in Canada. You can still find that Canadian deal here. In that sense, this knife exceeds expectations with performance. I can easily sharpen the Air Ranger blade and use it for day-to-day life. The serrated edge is actually a nice tough for someone looking for an EDC folding knife and I found that portion of the blade to be fairly sharp right out of the box.
I ended up using the Air Ranger folding knife for about a year, rotating it in my EDC pile and I quite enjoyed it. Even with more expensive knives in my rotation I thought it performed well. I also found the simple design to be very appealing and a breath of fresh air considering most folding knives these days are overly aggressive. The build quality also reflects that of a more expensive knife, with little play in the knife and a strong clip. Overall, I would definitely recommend the Gerber Air Ranger folding knife. 8/10.
Ben