The Gerber EZ Out Rescue Kit (item #55990) includes a yellow-handled, fully-serrated EZ-Out knife with rounded tip; brass window punch; and black nylon sheath. It sells for around $30 in stores, and is quite a bargain. Let's take a look at the specifics...
THE EZ OUT RESCUE KNIFE
The Handle: The rescue version of the EZ Out is essentially the same exact handle, except the Zytel is yellow instead of black. The rubber inserts are still black, and the pivot pin and lockbar are also black. some of the EZ Out Rescues come with a black pocket clip and screw, but mine came with the standard stainless ones.
With an original EZ Out for comparison...
The handle is 4-1/2" long and 7/16" thick (not counting the pocket clip). It's linerless Zytel, yellow in color, with a light cobblestone texture. There are two black rubber inserts on the lower half of the handle as well.
Linerless handle...
The handle is a pinned design and cannot be taken apart. Overall, the handle is okay to use. Nowhere near perfect, but okay enough not to complain at this price. The Rescue version won't twist or come out of your hand when cutting seatbelt.
The Rescue locks open via standard lockback, which is colored black. It's located halfway down the back of the handle. The lockbar pin as also coated black. Lock-up is very solid, and there is no blade play in any direction.
The pocket clip is removable, but no repositionable. It's either right-hand tip-down or it's off. It's held in place with a 1/4" hex screw. Some of the Rescue versions have a black clip and screw while some have a plain stainless clip and screw; mine is plain. Retention was bad out of the box, but is remedied easily by removing the clip and bending it in a little bit. When in a pocket or the included pouch, the top 3/4" of the knife sticks out.
The Blade: The Rescue version's blade is billed as "high carbon stainless steel" and it seems about the same as AUS-8 in terms of performance. It's 3-1/2" long with 2-3/4" of serrations between the rounded tip and tang. The blade is just under 1/8" thick, and it holds this thickness to 1/2" of the tip. Both sides of the blade are ground, but only the left side is sharpened.
Close-up of the blade marking, as the right side is blank...
Opening the blade is accomplished with a thumb oval, which works with gloved hands as well as bare hands. The blade also has a hitch that will stop it at the halfway point, but this is easily "over-ridden" by thumb pressure when opening.
The serrations are very well-executed, and came extremely sharp. Mine dulled after three seatbelt cuts, but resharpening was easy enough with a diamond rod.
In-hand...
Continued below...
THE EZ OUT RESCUE KNIFE
The Handle: The rescue version of the EZ Out is essentially the same exact handle, except the Zytel is yellow instead of black. The rubber inserts are still black, and the pivot pin and lockbar are also black. some of the EZ Out Rescues come with a black pocket clip and screw, but mine came with the standard stainless ones.
With an original EZ Out for comparison...
The handle is 4-1/2" long and 7/16" thick (not counting the pocket clip). It's linerless Zytel, yellow in color, with a light cobblestone texture. There are two black rubber inserts on the lower half of the handle as well.
Linerless handle...
The handle is a pinned design and cannot be taken apart. Overall, the handle is okay to use. Nowhere near perfect, but okay enough not to complain at this price. The Rescue version won't twist or come out of your hand when cutting seatbelt.
The Rescue locks open via standard lockback, which is colored black. It's located halfway down the back of the handle. The lockbar pin as also coated black. Lock-up is very solid, and there is no blade play in any direction.
The pocket clip is removable, but no repositionable. It's either right-hand tip-down or it's off. It's held in place with a 1/4" hex screw. Some of the Rescue versions have a black clip and screw while some have a plain stainless clip and screw; mine is plain. Retention was bad out of the box, but is remedied easily by removing the clip and bending it in a little bit. When in a pocket or the included pouch, the top 3/4" of the knife sticks out.
The Blade: The Rescue version's blade is billed as "high carbon stainless steel" and it seems about the same as AUS-8 in terms of performance. It's 3-1/2" long with 2-3/4" of serrations between the rounded tip and tang. The blade is just under 1/8" thick, and it holds this thickness to 1/2" of the tip. Both sides of the blade are ground, but only the left side is sharpened.
Close-up of the blade marking, as the right side is blank...
Opening the blade is accomplished with a thumb oval, which works with gloved hands as well as bare hands. The blade also has a hitch that will stop it at the halfway point, but this is easily "over-ridden" by thumb pressure when opening.
The serrations are very well-executed, and came extremely sharp. Mine dulled after three seatbelt cuts, but resharpening was easy enough with a diamond rod.
In-hand...
Continued below...
