The Gerber Evo evolves towards the light end of the knife spectrum, which is a place where those looking for an occasional use knife will be comfortable. I have no doubt that for most purposes the Evo is fine. It would be an intriguingly good choice for ultralight hikers, since its “pared to the minimum” style gives a total weight of only 2.8 ounces for a full sized knife with an anodized 3.43″ high carbon stainless steel blade. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a knife like the Evo clipped to someone’s gear on a Himalayan trek.
One minor change to the clip fastening method makes me like it a little more; the clip on this Evo features an indent, which makes it tougher to employ but much less likely to be lost on the trail. Once you tug it loose, it opens with one hand, something I’ve liked in a knife since I bought my first switchblade.
In their effort to trim away pointless weight, Gerber perforated the black aluminum handle with seven oval openings, a bold move which points out the thing I like least about this knife. The tang is pretty short.
That’s an issue with nearly any folding knife, but most are built so you can’t see it. There’s no stainless steel liner in this knife to make you feel like it might be built stouter. What you see is what you get, a lock blade that depends on a locking mechanism and a couple of inches of false tang for all its strength.
If you can leave well enough alone, this is a great ultralight hiking knife. If, like me, you are driven to test things until you find the breaking point, you should go with something more traditional.
