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One of Gerber’s newest knives, the Obsidian, made the cut for the 2008 Backpacker Gear Guide (March issue).
What they said: "Built-in safety features aren’t extraneous on any cutting tool, but they’re especially valuable when you’re wielding a large knife that’s sharp enough to sever your thumb. The Obsidian features a switch mechanism that locks the blade in either the open or the closed position to prevent accidental movement. A tester who took the knife on a four-day primitive living trek into Arizona’s Prescott National Forest was also impressed with the torsional strength of the blade. "While building a shelter," she reported, "I was able to lock the blade open and use it to carve notches in beams — and, more impressively, to pry apart and split larger pieces of wood and bark to make a roof." Bonus: The Obsidian has small but useful Phillips and flathead screw drivers, plus a file and bottle opener.
