The HEST looks really nice, But i'm agree with you ShunkHunter, the square notch maybe a stress point which can lead to the blade failure. It is more a "urban" tool than a real survival tool. I think when your alone and lost in the tropical forest, or in the desert, you'll surely don't thought to have a beer... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> It is the same for glass breaker. What glass do you have to break in wild land <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
I have to disagree in a way. Yes, the bottle opener is a stress point, but the blade is very thick. Much thicker than any other folder I have owned. Just look at the pics. The thing is a beast in the thickness realm. That and the depth of the belly of the blade over compensate for the notch. If you had a blade that was the identical to the HEST's, but only went as far back as the shallowest point of the bottle opener notch, making the blade much narrower in regards to the belly, you probably wouldn't think of the notch as a stress point. The added steel will not hurt the structural integrity compared to a blade with a shallower belly and less thickness.
Hope that made sense to you. It just barely made sense to me,
