GiantMouse’s Most Impressive Military Knife Gets a Way More Affordable Edition

Designed with direct input from trusted survival experts, this new edition sheds a ton of cost but remains stalwart as ever.

Knife with a textured black handle and a scratched, stonewashed blade stuck into a piece of wood outdoors.

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By Sean Tirman

Published 2 hours ago

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Deep in the remote wilderness of Maine exists Redington, home to the U.S. Navy’s SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) school. It is this hallowed locale from which GiantMouse’s most formidable blade, The Redington, gets its name.

This week, that knife got a new edition in the GiantMouse Redington N690, which maintains its incredible versatility and robustness, but cuts the price down significantly.

Knife with a black textured handle and a stonewashed blade stuck into a tree trunk outdoors. — The size and silhouette of the Redington remain entirely intact.

Savings, not sacrifice

Overall, the knife remains just as the original was. It has the same overall size, 9.7 inches, and blade length, 5.1 inches. That blade also retains its tang, shape, grind and so on.

So, what’s the difference? To be fair, the name of this new edition gives it away. The original was crafted from MagnaCut steel, whereas this new one swaps that for Böhler-made N690 steel.

Close-up of a silver ACE N690 knife blade with a black textured handle on dark fabric. — The 5.1-inch drop-point, full-tang blade material has been swapped from MagnaCut steel to N690.

I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t technically a downgrade. MagnaCut offers better performance than N690, with the one exception being that the latter offers easier sharpening. However, there is a massive trade-off:

This version of the Redington is significantly more affordable than the original edition. The MagnaCut version of this knife is $425, but the N690 edition shaves off a whopping $130, coming in at $295. By any measure, the savings are massive and make the performance difference far easier to bear.

Black textured knife handle with silver screws and a partially visible blade against a blurred natural background. — The contoured, textured handle features milled Double Black canvas Micarta scales, which are stable, grippy and strong in any conditions.

Survival guide

The steel is literally the only change to this knife. Granted, it’s a big change in more ways than one, but the rest of the knife is thankfully intact. That means it’s the same overall knife built on the input of actual SERE-qualified survival professionals.

Along with maintaining the same overall specs, it retains its handle scales: milled canvas Micarta. That material is especially helpful in backcountry survival situations, as it is highly stable, grippy (especially with the additional milling), tough, durable and resistant to the elements.

Black knife sheath with multiple rivet holes and a black nylon strap attached. — The Redington ships with a sturdy, lightweight Kydex sheath.

The knife also keeps its paracord lanyard holes, one in the butt and one in the finger guard, allowing for the addition of a wrap (and, therefore, another handy survival tool. And it keeps its handy Kydex sheath for easy storage and transport.

As an added note, the first edition of the Redington hasn’t gone anywhere. You can still get it in its original form. This version just adds a much more approachable entry to the lineup. You just have to decide which works best for your needs.

Knife with black textured handle and silver blade resting on a gray backpack with an orange octopus patch reading "Special Projects Division.

Availability and pricing

The GiantMouse Redington N690 is now available on the brand’s site for $295.

Knife with a stonewashed stainless steel blade and black handle with metal rivets.

GiantMouse Redington N690

$295 at GiantMouse

About the Author: Sean Tirman is an associate editor at Gear Patrol who specializes in EDC, cannabis and outdoor gear.

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