Advnture Verdict
The diminutive Wingtip is lightweight and sleek but also robust, making it a good choice for hikers, backpackers and wild campers who want a reliable “just in case” knife on fast and light outdoor trips.
Pros
- +
Lightweight and compact
- +
Well-priced
- +
Blade half stop
Cons
- -
Not the highest quality steel
- -
Relatively short blade
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Gerber Wingtip: first impressions
The Gerber Wingtip comes from a company increasingly known in the UK for its Bear Grylls-branded survival range of knives, axes and machetes in distinctive black and orange. But US giant Gerber actually makes plenty of more understated tools. The Gerber Wingtip is one such example: a modern slipjoint pocket-knife, with a short but useful blade.
The handle incorporates two aluminium scales plus stainless steel liners, backspacer and bolster. It makes for a very lightweight knife in the hand or the pocket.
Like all knives in our best camping knife buying guide, it conforms to UK legislation for legal everyday carry, with a non-locking folding blade of less than 3 inches. But the Wingtip is extremely compact when folded or opened, more so than many other UK-legal EDC options (see What is Everyday Carry?). This makes it easier to carry but arguably limits cutting power a little. It’s also worth noting that the short handle might not suit users with bigger hands unless you stick to smaller tasks.
The drop-point blade has a nice mirror polished finish, matching the bolster and contrasting nicely with the brushed aluminium scales, which are available in either green or grey. The blade is 7Cr stainless steel, a Chinese-made steel that is commonly used by many US brands. It’s fairly corrosion resistant, which is good for hiking and camping use. Otherwise, performance in terms of edge-holding isn’t outstanding, but certainly comparable to most other rivals in this price bracket.
• RRP: $23 (US) / £25 (UK)
• Weight: 55g / 1.9oz
• Blade length: 6.4cm / 2.5in
• Overall length: 14cm / 5.5in
• Closed length: 8cm / 3.15in
• Materials: 7Cr stainless steel blade and aluminium scales
• Features: Flat grind / drop point mirror polished blade
In the field
A chunky nail nick makes for fairly easy deployment. The blade has a half stop for safety, and snaps smoothly into place with very little play. We did find that the aluminium scales tend to mark and scratch over time, but then perhaps that just adds character to a diminutive knife that makes for a decent little pocket companion.
Its usefulness is only really limited by its size, but then the emphasis is very much on light and compact occasional use rather than sustained work (see how to choose a knife for camping if you think it may be be the knife for you). As such, it’s a good knife for small camp tasks, and feels robust enough to last many years on the trail. The Wingtip is also fitted with a lanyard hole, which can be easily threaded with some slim cord – 2mm Dyneema is ideal – if you wanted to attach it to your kit for added security or make it easier to grab out of a pocket.
