I've mostly seen it used as a woman's purse knife. The short blade is capable of doing some amazing things by virtue of its shape and handle style. I find it to be excellent at shaving and splitting wood for fire building.Fair warning though, the sheath tends to chafe on those of us with a soggy midsection. It'll wear on your love handles till you figure out your preferred carry method.I removed the plastic bits on mine and ground down the handle to a three finger grip, that half a pinkie didn't add too much anyway. This keeps the profile down while belt carrying, and it still has most of the power of the full sized handle.You may want to get one while you can, I don't think their still in production.
It held the original edge for a good long time, and its easy to sharpen with a rod-style sharpening stone. To be honest, mine has never really gotten the chance to go dull. I sharpen the thing somewhat obsessively. Though it does tend to get rust spots like the rest of CRKT's linup, so keep a little steelwool with your sharpening kit.I think the primary reason it went out of production is overcrowding in the market. It pretty much shares the niche with the Emerson LaGriffe and all its clones. Even KaBar's TDI knives seam to be competing. I see CRKT as a company with solid products marketed on gimmicks. The Carson flipper is a nifty trick, as well as the guppie's adjustable wrench. But the Bear claw's gimmick is already present in various forms across the market.
I have only seen it mentioned in the Rescue type tools thread.They do look good.