Gerber Propel Downrange AO Knife Desert Tan Assisted Opening (3.5" Black Serr)

Juggled between this knife and the Benchmade Bugout. This is my first $100+ EDC knife. I have three Kershaw knives of different price ranges. The Gerber Propel looked good and sturdy and I liked the fact it is made in the USA. The knife arrived but it is very stiff to deploy. I had to oil it up to make it easier. Still doesn't jump out like I would have expected for this price range. The lock up is good. The pocket clip is deep but it came tweeked or bent because it doesn't sit on the handle to keep it tight in your pocket. Overall its just ok.
Maybe I should have gone with the Benchmade.

I bought the 06 FAST as a beater knife and was so impressed with it in this roll that I decided to get a good quality Gerber for non-work EDC. I LOVE the downrange AO!
No problem with opening, extremely sharp, I don't know about sharpening because after a couple months of use it is nowhere near needing it. The raised button and large thumb studs with G-10 make this the best knife for gloved hands. It is awesome.

I ordered the knife on Friday March 15th and just received this knife today Monday March 18th (priority shipping via USPS). Great job getting it from Utah to Ohio in a timely manner.
I took a chance with this Gerber knife. I didn’t realize some of the errors posted here were correct though.
It came with a deck of cards from Blade HQ sponsored by Gerber. Nice touch.
Opening the knife is tough. This is an spring assisted opening knife (not an automatic). To open you need to disengage the safety switch and then use the thumb stud to deploy the blade. This takes a fair amount of effort to get the blade to deploy. However when it does, it feels solid. But don’t expect this to break in easily or at all. I used it for a day and a half with light duty (cutting plastic wrap off boxed skids). I’ve oiled the mechanism with appropriate oil to Gerber specs. This is a tough knife to get to deploy. I called Gerber and they are aware there is an issue with this particular make and model knife.
The blade has a little play from side to side when fully deployed but so does my Benchmade of same quality. The safety switch also sticks a bit and takes some doing to get it to fully seat.
Anothe detail I am a little discouraged with is the way this particular knife was sharpened. It seems sharp but has a slight wave line to the edge from the coating on the blade. It doesn’t mess with its functionality but overall attention to detail while sharpening could of made a better edge and appearance.
All in all I am returning the knife and hopefully switching it out for a Benchmade. (That is if bladehq will allow this due to inspection first) I’ll update later with more info.

If you ever had second thoughts, pull the trigger. I know its tanto, i know it has serrations. Twice the pain in the ass to sharpen but trust me it is completely worth it. I absolutely love the G-10.

The fit and finish on the blade is okay, wasn't perfect. The handle ergonomics and feel really surpassed my expectations. Not big and bulky/sleek/ but not light and wimpy.

Its not every time that i buy a pocket knife that i feel confident my life can depend on it. I wanted this knife as a functional, utilitarian, defensive tool while overseas. And i absolutely feel confident with it so far. Thank you Blade hq, enjoying doing business with you guys and the fast shipping.

Overall quality materials and workmanship. Really like the grippy G10 handles and finish on the blade. Very sharp out of the box, with minimal break-in time for assisted-opening mechanism. Push button lock works great with no stick. Only complaint, which seems par for the course on most reviews of this model, is side-to-side blade play. After a couple tries, was able to adjust it,with some trepidation regarding the stuck pivot screw.

I received mine with some blade play. For an auto this is to be expected but I was thinking a full disassemble and reassemble can minimize the issue. Not a smart choice since Gerber put A LOT loctite into the screws and the some of the screws had bad heat treatment. One of mine screw snapped during disassembling so I have to contact Gerber for replacement, and then the screws they send me weren't quit the same(the screws on my knife are T8, they sent me T7 and when confronted they say they are using T6...), fortunately the new screws do fit the knife so I can't complain too much. Beside that fiasco I like the knife's over all design. After the adjustment the blade play is minimal. Comes out fast and strong. During the disassembling I realize this knife has no washers, but utilize bronze liners and a circular indent to keep the blade lifted and lubricated. Not buttery smooth, but functional. A rather genius idea if you ask me since it cuts down the number of parts in the knife and this really helps eliminating side to side blade plays.

There is one major complaint I have for this knife and also the Auto 06 model's design, that is the switch button is not recessed into the scale, which means to safely carry the knife you have to engage the opening safety, which is rather annoying.

Over all I'll say this is a high value, well designed and relatively well made auto choice for duty use or day to day carry if you are legally allowed to do so. I hope to see more auto's with G10 scaled handles on the market in the future.

Excellent for utility, EDC, or collection. Made in USA. Perfect traction on the handle and it feels great. Dessert tan is nice. Easy one handed opening and closing. Slight side to side blade play loses 1/2 star.