Harbor Freight Survival Knife (Gear Review & First Impressions)

Here's another first impressions type of review. This time it's for a survival knife I picked up at Harbor Freight.

It's definitely got the cool factor going on. It's a visually appealing knife, with a handle that has an alternating pattern/texture which improves the grip. I have small hands and it feels pretty comfortable holding on to this. It's a pretty hefty-sized knife with a sharp and serrated edge. the grip has a screw top that has a built in compass. That opens up to reveal a compartment pre-packed with a few basic supplies (fishing line, sewing kit, matchsticks, etc.). I like this feature since this will allow me to customize what's inside.

It also comes in a nylon sheath which looks pretty flimsy but as I've mentioned on the vid, it's better than nothing. All you crafty people out there can probably make your own sheath for this (or buy one).

The pros:
Price - very affordable, under $15
Build - seems solid and durable but I haven't put it through a field test yet so we'll see if it holds up.
Compartment - Nice little extra place to stash additional supplies, plus the cap has a compass

The Cons:
Sheath - flimsy material but for the price it's not bad at all
This product might be suitable to newbies (like me), casual dayhikers / campers.

Modifications I'm planning on doing to this:
I'll have to make a better paracord handle for it and use an O-ring and a carabiner to hook it up to the side. I saw someone who made that mod and I thought it was more functional than the single string paracord loop that it comes with.