I have been a fan of Gerber products since my family sent me one of their MKII fighting knives while I served with the 101st ABN. Div. in Vietnam. And I have used a lot of their products since. So when I stared hearing about their Downrange Tomahawk, I decided to look into it.

At the same time, I am a bit leery of specialized survival tools.

Actually I think that this item is mis-named. Most people would consider a Tomahawk as a fighting tool, and certainly Gerber’s could be used for one.  But this item should be described more aptly as a tool, because it was designed as one. I first became interested in this item after reading reports of Marines using it as a lightweight breaching tool in Iraq.

 As a former infantryman, I appreciate the concept of lightweight. When considering potential items for my bug out bag, lightweight is still an important consideration. This hawk combines ax head, hammer, pry bar and nail puller into one package that will attach to either a belt or MOLLE compatible gear. It’s  overall length is 19.27 inches and weighs in at 1.9 pounds, 2.5 pounds with sheath. The blade is made from 420HC steel and the handle/pry bar G-10.

The ax head is cut out and serves as a grip when using the pry bar. All of the test report I have read from both military and police sources indicate that this is one tough tool. It also comes with Gerber’s lifetime warranty. But this hawk is no cheap date. At over $200.00 on Amazon, I feel it is a bit pricey. Could you accomplish the same things with cheaper separate tools? Sure. but then again they would weigh more. If you can afford it, I think this would be an excellent combination hand ax and multi tool for a bug out bag.  But I also think it would be an excellent tool for the urban survivor who is on the move, weight conscious, and will need to do a bit of creative breaking and entering to survive. Whether this hawk is a winner for your preps, only you can decide.