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Turtle Man or Heavy Hunter?

Recently purchased two Economy fixed blade hunters. (Both made in China) The first was the Turtle Man Lightning (TM 002) the other a Rough Rider Heavy Hunter Series Sidewinder (RR 1349)

The Sidewinder currently sells at $22.99. (It debuted at $16.99). The Lightning goes for slightly less at $19.99

Both are currently sold out so both are exceedingly popular. After playing around with both for a few days, I have to say, I prefer the Lightning, primarily because it feel more comfortable in the hand and it is easier to get out of the sheath.

Specs	Lightning	Sidewinder
Maker	Turtle Man (SMKW)	Rough Rider (SMKW)
Made in	SMKW’s China Factory	SMKW’s China Factory
Model Number	TM002	RR1349
Blade Steel	440C	440a
Tang	Full	Full
Blade length	4.5 in	5 in
Thickness	1/8	3/16
Blade width	1 1/8	1 ¼ in
Overall all length	8 7/8 in	10 in.
Handle Material	Pakkawood	Polished Wood
Sheath	Nylon & Faux-Leather	Nylon & Faux-Leather
Rivets	Brass	Brass
Guard	Nickel Silver	Nickel Silver
Pommel	N/A	Nickel Silver
Lanyard Hole	Brass Pin	N/A

As the chart shows, the Turtle man Lighting is almost a full inch smaller that the Heavy Hunter Side Winder. The blade is also ½ inch shorter, with less width and thickness. However it is 440c compared to 440a. Both blades came razor sharp with a nice hollow grind.

The Sidewinder is currently a knife that is on a traveling tour within the Rough Rider Group on iKC. We have already seen how it was possible to cut down a three inch sapling with the five inch blade. The most I’ve done with the Lightning was use it as wedge to split a 2X4 and cut some frozen pork and chicken with it.

Both seem to be good solid knives worth the asking price. I suspect the sidewinder with its thicker, tougher blade might be slightly better in the batoning department. However, the deep finger grooved handle makes it hard to change your grip.

The thumb rest along the spine of the Turtle Man Lightning make it extremely easy to place an index finger or thumb on the spine for stability and control during fine detail work. Also the Loveless Style handle makes for a very comfortable grip. Plus the handle has a lanyard hole which comes in handy for people who like to use a lanyard.

The sheath on the Turtle Man Lightning is made of the same nylon and imitation leather used in the Heavy Hunter Series. It also has a simple plastic insert and wide belt loop. The securing strap holds the knife in place by securing the guard. I find this the best type of strap as it doesn’t interfere too much with drawing the knife. It has a single strap on the back which might have been added for horizontal carry, however unless you add another strap it probably would be an epic fail. On the plus side, the sheath has an extra wide belt loop which is more than wide enough for an web belt (3 inches)

The Heavy Hunter Series sheaths also have the wide belt loop (not quite as wide as the Lightning) and features a wrap around design the protects the knife’s handle. The sheath also has two loops which make horizontal carry possible. They also provide the potential for MOLLE type attachments. Of course, if you’re left handed (as I am) this wrap around feature only makes it that more difficult to draw the knife.

In the case of both knives, you will find they rattle a certain amount inside the plastic inserts inside the sheaths. I have found this to be a common problem with nylon sheaths with plastic inserts.

If you’re looking for an economy priced hunter both are worth the asking price. They are well made and will get the job done. The rest will come down to your personal preference in blade geometry and ease of grip.

Turtle Man Lighting

Heavy Hunter Sidewinder

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Comment by Tobias Gibson on October 26, 2013 at 11:36

A liitle more on the Serengeti Skinner. Colt has made the knife with three different types of wood handles; Burl Wood, Pakkawood, and Zebra Wood. All are essentially the same knife. The number is CT 7. The Zebrawood model is CT 7 Z. Zebra Wood is an extremely had African wood. In pictures, the knife appears some what small and with a blde under 5 inches it does sound line this would be the case. NOT SO! At the thickest part of the palm swell on the handle it measures 3/4 of in inch by about 1 inch. Below are a couple size comparison photos with two well known knives, the Air Force Survival knife and a 4 1/8 Standard trapper.

As you can see that first finger groove is not for people with small hands! It is easily a full inch, maybe more.

Here are the specs.

Specs	Serengeti Skinner
Maker	Colt (SMKW)
Made in	SMKW’s China Factory
Model Number	CT 7-Z
Blade Steel	440a
Tang	Full
Blade length	4 ¾
Thickness	5/32
Blade width	1 3/8 in
Overall all length	10 in.
Handle Material	Zebra Wood
Sheath	Leather (Embossed)
Rivets	Brass
Guard	Nickel Silver
Pommel	N/A
Lanyard Hole	Brass Pin

The main drawback of the knife is if you have small hands it isn't going to be comfortable to hold; especially when choking up and placing thun or finger on the spine. Despite this, the knife has a good balance.

I also have a few problems with the sheath. It looks pretty good but I'm suspicions of the quality of the leather and how long it will last. It is thick enough but it will need a lot of conditioning. Typical of the leather sheaths out of Pakistan and China. Also I'm not thrilled with the belt loop. It is too small for a wide belt like a Army web belt.

I see some modifications of the sheath if I decide to carry this stubby monster. I wish they make a non guthook version of this puppy.

Comment by Tobias Gibson on October 26, 2013 at 11:06: A few more pictures. Below are side by side comparisons of the Turtle Man, the Heavy Hunter, and Colt's CT7z Serengeti Skinner. I've included the Colt knife because of comments made by Ron. Ron liked the lanyrad hole of the turtle Man but appreciated the Beefy handle of the Heavy Hunter. The while the Serengeti Skinner only has one finger groove it had a nice beefy handle with a lanyard hole. It also has an interesting gut hook blade geometry.

Comment by J.J. Smith III on October 25, 2013 at 18:59: Not a big fixed blade fan, but I like the looks of the Turtle Man knife.

Featured Comment by Charles Sample on October 25, 2013 at 16:11: I think this would be a good time to review my test of the Sidewinder. It can be seen at this link.

http://www.iknifecollector.com/group/roughridercollectors/forum/top...

I have not had an opportunity to try out the Turtleman so can't say more than it looks like a good knife. I do like the RR a lot. I will admit that it is far from the ideal tool for chopping down trees but my test shows it could be done if necessary.

Comment by Ron Cooper on October 25, 2013 at 14:43: Great review and comparison, Toby!

I kept bouncing back and forth between the two pictures, making mental notes about the visual differences--likes and dislikes--and finally came to the conclusion that I would have to get them both rather than pick one over the other.

The TML gets a bump for having a lanyard hole--I love lanyards! But, the HHS gets a bump for having finger grooves and a beefier handle--I'm a big guy and I like a big, beefy grip!

At their respective price points either one would make a great entry level knife for someone on a budget.

Thanks for a great review, Toby!

Comment by Tobias Gibson on October 25, 2013 at 13:44: The palm swell on the Turtleman feels really good in my hand. On the other hand, the finger grooving on the the Sidewinder keeps your had away from the blade making it more difficult to choke up on the blade for some detail and skinning work. It is also a much heftier handle. I'll take some side by side photos of the two tonight for a better comparison.

Comment by Ken Spielvogel on October 25, 2013 at 11:45: I like them both - if you twisted my arm and made me choose - I guess it would be the Sidewinder.

In Memoriam Comment by Robert Burris on October 25, 2013 at 10:56: I have heard great things about that little Turtle Man, knife. Great review, Tobias.