On arriving home from work today I was greeted by a package sent by Rapid Kayaks.

Within the package was one of the new NRS Green knives. If you are not familiar with the NRS range your really need to check it out. It’s pretty hard to get hold of it over here in the UK but Rapid Kayaks do have a good selection of their kit.

From NRS:

The compact, convenient NRS Green Knife folds up to fit in your life jacket, shirt, paddling top or pants pocket, and stays put with a spring clip. A great small knife to keep with you on the water.
Fits perfectly in the pocket of your Astral Greenjacket.

This tough all-purpose boating and camping knife opens with one hand, holds a clean edge, and won’t weigh you down or crowd your pockets.

The 2 1/8″ blunt-tip, stainless steel locking blade is big enough for nearly any task without being cumbersome.

A spring steel clip helps keep your NRS Green Knife where you want it.

Reversible stainless clip attaches to lash tab and lets right and left handers operate it smoothly. When removing the clip and reinstalling it on the other side of the sheath, we recommend applying Loctite® or other threadlocker to the screws to prevent loosening.

The handy bottle opener includes a lanyard hole, so you can ensure your Green Knife always stays with you.

Blade: 420 HC stainless steel
Handle: Glass-reinforced polypropylene with TPR overmold
Blade Length: 2.125″
Overall Length (open): 5.875″

When ever I have posted about pin kits or throw bags I have also mentioned the need to carry a good knife that will be up to the job of cutting rope when you need to the most. The NRS Green knife looks like it could be a pretty good contender.

The NRS Green has been specifically designed so that it will fit nicely into the Astral Green jackets knife pocket (see video below). It has a lanyard hole, bottle opener and clip. The clip can be attached to the knife on either side through the use of a couple of allen bolts,so is good for both left and right handers.

The blade is made from 400 series high carbon stainless steel. This means that the blade is relatively tough but will still corrode over time. It’s therefore important to check out and oil the knife on a regular basis just to make sure it is going to work effectively when you need it. The coverall construction of the knife look and feels pretty goo. The blade is nicely centred and the locking action is positive. The knife is fairly easy to open one handed. Out of the box the knife wasn’t the sharpest I have seen but was able to cut eight and ten millimetre floating rope with ease. It was also able to cut through an old piece of eleven millimetre climbing rope after a couple of goes. To give the knife a much sharper edge I ran the blade through my Spyderco Knife sharpener a couple of times. The knife cuts through the climbing rope much easier than before. I have chopped bits of old boat and had a go at various other off cuts of rope and the NRS Green is holding its edge pretty well. For such a cheap knife (£24.99) this is pretty impressive.

The knife has now been placed in my PFD and will be carried (and maybe used) during the rest of the UK Monsoon season.