Rive is a fairly new company that gained a bit of popularity with their Rogue Mini. The Mini is a small folder that is offered in limited quantities and the companies first release. This knife tested the waters and showed this team that the community was very interested. Rive went all in, announcing the Recon and the Striker late last year. The Recon being a new folder and the Striker a multipurpose pry tool.
The Recon comes in three variations: Ranger (green), Ghost (jade G10) and Spectre (black). All models feature a D2 Cerekote coated blade, G10 handle and Crossbar lock. The Recon is pretty small, reminiscent of the Rogue. It comes with a 2.8" blade, a closed length of 3.2" and an overall of 6". I personally like a knife that's 3-3.5" inches long, I've got average sized hands and they just fit better for me. Since this is the second knife from Rive of this size I think the company prefers a more compact blade for everyday use.
The 2.8" blade is more than enough to takle various tasks like opening mail and packaging, cutting rope and I've used the tanto tip to pull up the edge of a vehicle registration sticker. Tanto blades are not perfectly suited for ever EDC task but they do a pretty good job. Before getting some tantos lately I surely thought they were more tactical and less utility. The shape of the tanto happens to work very well as an everyday option. I find it works very much like something with a belly to it. The whole point (see what I did there) of the shape is for penetration and strength of that point. Although I don't see a whole lot stabbing being done with the Recon, the blade shape is useful.
The handle is reminiscent of the Rouge, featuring the same types of angles and the finger guard is minimal but works for this knife. The Recon is rocking the super popular cross-bar lock that's literally everywhere right now. The lock is ambidextrous and has good spring tension. Operating the lock is as easy as pulling back the bar and that's probably why it's so popular right now. The pocket clip is simple but does that job well. The Rogue didn't feature a clip and I think Rive did a good job. It's got a good tension to it and it's easy to pull and replace in the pocket.
With the Recon being a lot of firsts for the company, they didn't stop there. The Striker pry tool features some innovation and I can see Rive wanted this tool to be unique. The Striker features a bottle opener, pry surface, sharp v-notch and impact surface. The tool comes in three options: Ghost, Spectre, and Sandstorm. The whole tool is made of stonewashed aus8; it's similar to 440 steel so it should be up to the task.
I like the tool, the pocket clip comes in handy and it's compact enough that I don't realize it's there. The pry end does a good job and I didn't have a hard time getting under things. I did miss it being angled like the pry bars from Gerber, that extra leverage comes in handy. I appreciate the sharpened v-notch instead of the standard nail puller. The notch does a great job opening packages and even cutting open plastic bags. The bottle opener does well, nothing much to write home about other than it's functional. The striker end of the tool is really neat and I see how it could come in handy. Marketing material shows it being used to bend over a nail, I wouldn't get too overly aggressive with using it this way. I think it's a neat feature but I don't know how many times this would be useful. The teeth would do a great job at making sure you connect with what your using it on but would leave the object with a damaged surface.
The guys at Rive are always looking to do something different than what the rest of the industry is doing. This makes them unique and I can see the attraction from their fans. They're something fresh in an industry than can be not only hectic but also follow the leader. If your looking for something unique, look no further than Rive.
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