2015 Ultimate Hunter - 30ULH initial impression

I

insta9ves

Joined
Apr 3, 2007
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2,060
Hi All,

Just received my Ultimate Hunter today.

Initial impression is great(read: awesome). Overall fit and finish is typical Cold Steel and my example is flawless. Quality is very much on par with the ZT 0562 that I received a couple months ago, for more than 2x the price. Good job CS. Also, the knife looks more like a bushcraft knife than a hunting one, especially with that flat grind, which i suspect you can totally "scandi" or convex it if you want to

Blade:
I'm pleasantly surprised that the blade is flat ground, not hollow. Nothing much to say here, as everything is expected. Sometimes the simplest design is the best. There is a reason why this drop/spear point blade shape is so common. Tip looks rounded but still narrow enough for detail work. It's stronger than some tanto tips i've seen, eg. the recon 1, due to the wide surface area.
I don't really care that the grind line didn't terminate all the way to the tang. It's not like an additional 3mm of cutting edge will make much of a difference.

Handle:
The handle is surprisingly grippy even though the g-10 looks polished from the pictures CS posted. I had concern about it being slippy but it's not. This is because the G-10 has been blasted and still got some micro texture all over the handle.
And damn... the grip SOO comfortable you have to hold it in hand to understand. Touching is believing.:cool: My index finger falls into the cutout groove in the handle and line up perfectly. The swelling on the butt end of the handle add to the comfort and security of the grip. Definitely more comfortable than the new XHP Lawman that also arrives today. Just my 0.02 as i much prefer a thicker G-10.
The only "issue" is that the handle is proportionately long for the blade length(5 inch handle vs 3.5 inch blade), which IMO is inefficient.

I wont comment about the smoothness of the action and how hard it is to unlock the blade, because to me, it's a moot point.

By the way, I got both XHP Lawman(58ACL) and Ultimate Hunter(30ULH) for $194($179 after a coupon). This is a steal considering that both knives have a combined cost of less than or equal to a typical frame lock ZT(0560+, 0550+, 0300+, ZT Emerson, 0562, 0801 etc), yet they knife has similar premium steel(XHP vs Elmax), but is lighter, and has arguable the stronger lock.

Thanks CS.
 
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hkyew said:
By the way, I got both XHP Lawman(58ACL) and Ultimate Hunter(30ULH) at Amazon for $194($179 after a coupon). This is a steal considering that both knives have a combined cost of less than or equal to a typical frame lock ZT(0560+, 0550+, 0300+, ZT Emerson, 0562, 0801 etc), yet they knife has similar premium steel(XHP vs Elmax), but is lighter, and has arguable the stronger lock.
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You may want to remove this because I'm pretty sure it's considered deal spotting. Just thought I'd let you know before the mods see it.

I really like the looks of this knife and everything you've said about it makes it seem like a pretty nice folder. Although if the lock is as hard on my thumb as my Talwar is then I'll be staying clear of this knife.
 
BenLong1018 said:
You may want to remove this because I'm pretty sure it's considered deal spotting. Just thought I'd let you know before the mods see it.

I really like the looks of this knife and everything you've said about it makes it seem like a pretty nice folder. Although if the lock is as hard on my thumb as my Talwar is then I'll be staying clear of this knife.
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Thanks for the head up, that wasn't my intention. I've removed the seller. I was only trying to put the price in perspective to show how much of a value you get vs other options.

BTW, the lock is slightly harder to disengage, as with most new triad lock folder, but it should wear in after a while. Mine is not too bad, but there is a distinct "snap" when the press the lock bar before the lock is disengaged. Maybe it is smoother when i put some oil in it. I just cleaned the whole knife with detergent.
 
I like my ultimate hunter quite a lot. My only complaint is the grind is slightly off.
 
I got mine and the fit and finish is superb—I can't find anything wrong with it at all. This is my first knife in Carpenter CTS-XHP.

I too, wish that the blade-to-handle-ratio was better. It is hunting knife though, so it is what it is. A heavy-duty knife that is fairly lightweight.

The handle ergonomics are great. I can see a lot of folks getting one of these and making it a primary EDC.

A certain amount of people keep bringing up how they don't like the handle of the newer Voyagers. The handle on the Ultimate Hunter might be what they are looking for.
 
The handle has almost a micarta feel to it. I wish they would use this texture on knives like the recon 1 instead of that extremely over aggressive g-10.
 
shootist16 said:
The handle has almost a micarta feel to it. I wish they would use this texture on knives like the recon 1 instead of that extremely over aggressive g-10.
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Since I love micarta that's really encouraging. I'm hoping the Swift has a similar texture, as I like a bit more blade than the Ultimate Hunter.
 
shootist16 said:
The handle has almost a micarta feel to it. I wish they would use this texture on knives like the recon 1 instead of that extremely over aggressive g-10.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah now that mentioned it. I've been trying to describe how the handle feel like and i forgot about micarta. It's feel like canvas micarta out of box, but i think it will start smoothing out with repeated use/carry. The contour is great but I think they can make it slightly coarser to account long term wears.
 
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