Benchmade 162 Bushcrafter review. (picture heavy)

In conclusion, is this knife worth the cost? That's a difficult choice to make. For the average price of ($180) at the time of this review, the competition is fierce.

For $20 to $60 more it opens a plethora of better options such as knives with better sheaths, steels, and handle choices.(I.e Bark River, Survive!)

I think what enchanted me towards the 162 is it unique handle design. As well as living near the Cascades and having ownership of a production "Cascadia bushcrafter".


Would I recommend it? Depends on who is asking I think a $10 Mora is hard to beat for most bushcrafters. However this knife can handle taskes that a Mora never can. It depends how long the user is spending outdoors( not just frequency but duration) that the cost of this knife becomes effective.

It really comes down having a passion for quality craftsmanship.
A passion for cutlery and the outdoors that justifies the cost.

Benchmade has produced a.fine product however the sheath could use a re design ( kydex version too) A lot of people don't what to do anything to improve or modify the sheath and argue they shouldn't have too for the price, I agree.

The kydex version has problems as well. First there is no thumb ramp which means the blade must be ripped out of the sheath like a katana. It also fit low on the blade and might wear out faster.
In the future, I hope Benchmade can complete the package with a sheath design that's as durable and effective as the blade.

This is an heirloom quality knife that won't rust away or have the epoxy wear out before reaching the grandson in the future.
Great knife.
 
Thanks for the awesome review ! The 162 is my #1 knife , even though I have many other ones I like dearly.
I bought one when they first came out , and hard-tested it for about 6 months. I basically found my grail knife when this came out.
A lot of people say it should of been this steel or that , and maybe a different handle , etc. Guess what? I have those knives already. No other knife has a handle like this one , combined with a very good , low-maintenance stainless...but I do think the sheath is not the greatest. I made a couple leather ones myself , and a 4 - 1/2" Spec-ops sheath fits it great ( once I took out the crappy plastic liner it came with, and made a kydex insert for it.)

I was a little concerned about the steel at first , not having owned S30V before , but at least on this knife its' holding up very well and I've never had a problem. Trust me , I tested and thrashed this knife hard before I went and spent a lot more money.

You'd have to press me hard to tell you how many of these I have , because you'll probably think I'm nuts ,but I really badly love this knife ! :thumbup::)
 
austexjg said:
Nicely put.
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hiwa said:
Thanks for the awesome review ! The 162 is my #1 knife , even though I have many other ones I like dearly.
I bought one when they first came out , and hard-tested it for about 6 months. I basically found my grail knife when this came out.
A lot of people say it should of been this steel or that , and maybe a different handle , etc. Guess what? I have those knives already. No other knife has a handle like this one , combined with a very good , low-maintenance stainless...but I do think the sheath is not the greatest. I made a couple leather ones myself , and a 4 - 1/2" Spec-ops sheath fits it great ( once I took out the crappy plastic liner it came with, and made a kydex insert for it.)

I was a little concerned about the steel at first , not having owned S30V before , but at least on this knife its' holding up very well and I've never had a problem. Trust me , I tested and thrashed this knife hard before I went and spent a lot more money.

You'd have to press me hard to tell you how many of these I have , because you'll probably think I'm nuts ,but I really badly love this knife ! :thumbup::)
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Thx bros :)

The spec ops sheath looks rad.

I wouldn't have asked, but if you put it that way, I have to know how many lol
 
I bought the Spec-ops 4 1/2" for another knife , but ended up wanting it on my 162. The lame plastic liner those sheaths come with are junk , and I don't know why they used such a poor insert for what is a great sheath. It was about 1/2" too short , so I made a kydex one to fit the 162 , put some Velcro on the back and put it in place. I'll try to post some pics sometime.

11...one main user and 10 spares for the future. The prices just got jacked-up on them recently again , and they where a little steep to begin with , but it is seriously a very capable knife and fits like a third hand. I put a 15 deg. edge on mine , so I'm trying that out . Cut's like a laser , and no edge issues , but I admit I toned down the abuse some and just cut stuff now. :D
 
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11?! Hahahaha awesome. Don't worry, my friends think I'm crazy.

All stocked up for the apocalypse!

I'd love to see the sheath pics.

This knife deserves a bad ass sheath.
 
hiwa said:
11...one main user and 10 spares for the future. The prices just got jacked-up on them recently again , and they where a little steep to begin with , but it is seriously a very capable knife and fits like a third hand. I put a 15 deg. edge on mine , so I'm trying that out . Cut's like a laser , and no edge issues , but I admit I toned down the abuse some and just cut stuff now. :D
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Now here's a guy that knows what he likes, and puts his money where his mouth is. :cool:
hiwa, I would like to see it with the Spec Ops sheath you are talking about. ;)
 
Well this is a bit of a cheat , but I put it in my 6" Spec-ops that my Force resides in ,to show you how it looks , but the 4 1/2" sheath is a bit smaller and fits better. I normally have my 162 in a leather bushcraft style that I made , on the right. There is also a Kabar-style leather one I made , but I'm saving it for my son.
( Btw , the Force is one heck of a knife also. Mines held up great!)



 
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Even though I have a few of these , they are all the original greenish-handled models. I think it looks pretty good with the red liners, and after considering the coyote one for a while , the color just kind of turns me off and doesn't seem to suit this knife. Jmo. :)
 
hiwa said:
Even though I have a few of these , they are all the original greenish-handled models. I think it looks pretty good with the red liners, and after considering the coyote one for a while , the color just kind of turns me off and doesn't seem to suit this knife. Jmo. :)
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I agree.
While I don't have as many 162's, I do have a trio of Benchmade fixed blades.
We already know what the top one is. The next one down is a Nimravus in 154 CM, and the bottom one is a BM Rant in D2.
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hiwa said:
Well this is a bit of a cheat , but I put it in my 6" Spec-ops that my Force resides in ,to show you how it looks , but the 4 1/2" sheath is a bit smaller and fits better. I normally have my 162 in a leather bushcraft style that I made , on the right. There is also a Kabar-style leather one I made , but I'm saving it for my son.
( Btw , the Force is one heck of a knife also. Mines held up great!)



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hiwa said:
Even though I have a few of these , they are all the original greenish-handled models. I think it looks pretty good with the red liners, and after considering the coyote one for a while , the color just kind of turns me off and doesn't seem to suit this knife. Jmo. :)
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Awesome pictures,

I love the sheaths

I have a soft spot for formed leather yet also crave the practicalness of the spec ops sheath with its front pouch.

Heck I'd really appreciate a picture of that small spec ops sheath with the 162 to help make a purchase. Not a lot of pics online.

Your leather work is nice, I dabble in some but my sheaths are hideous lol.

Aw, The SOG force. Such a clean knife, great lines I'd buy it if the steel was more premium or price was cheaper. I'm sure it matters not and is a great knife.

Yeah the 162-1 would have been my purchase but it was missing one thing...red liners hahaha
Gotta have those liners baby.

The tan looks good in person but red liners would have really made it "pop"

Missed opportunity.

Thanks for sharing hiwa
 
Ballenxj said:
I agree.
While I don't have as many 162's, I do have a trio of Benchmade fixed blades.
We already know what the top one is. The next one down is a Nimravus in 154 CM, and the bottom one is a BM Rant in D2.
standard.jpg
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Sweet Benchmades bro.

Looks like you got a great high end steel variety.

I like the Rant, it gives off a "Fallkniven" vibe

The Nimravus has those sweet deep cut scallops.

Thx for sharing.
 
Love the detailed w/photos review you put in on this blade Deadbox, covering all the bases. I've been looking for a fixed blade around the sub 200$ price range and this certainly brings it into the competition.

T
 
DeadboxHero , If you buy the Spec-ops model for 4 1/2" blades , the 162 is just about 1/2" too long for the liner. The knife tip will eventually poke through and possibly damage the sheath. If you can bend a kydex liner yourself for it , there's plenty of room to slide it in. The inside of the sheath has Velcro that mates with the velco on the liner ( I slid a ruler down the back to "break" the Velcro so I could slide it out) If you can make a liner , I'd say go ahead and order one -just make sure it's for 4 1/2" blade knives , not 6".

I'll see what I can do on the weekend to get some pics up.
 
Thanks for checking out the review. Much appreciated. I like to have as much info as possible when I make a purchase. Just adding some to the pot.


hiwa, thanks brother. You the man
 
DeadboxHero said:
Sweet Benchmades bro.

Looks like you got a great high end steel variety.

I like the Rant, it gives off a "Fallkniven" vibe

The Nimravus has those sweet deep cut scallops.

Thx for sharing.
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Thanks man, I really like all three, but between them the nod would go to the 162. One of the things I really appreciate about it is the sharpened spine that works really well with a fire steel. This is a great option when you don't want to use the actual blade for making a fire.
The Rant BTW has been long discontinued. :(
I visited the Benchmade crew at Shot Show, and they told me the reason for the use of Tan was that the EOD guys loved the knife, but needed a military color.
PS, here it is with some of it's brethren in the case. I didn't know previous that Benchmade was making machete's?
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And just for fun, here are the Benchmade folks working the booths.
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Nice. I like the tan in person looks great. When it came time to choose though, it was the liners that got me :p

The jungle bolo feels great in hand.

They both feel like large knives then machetes.
We'll see how they do.
Competition is fierce at that price.
Not sure if they bring anything new to the table.
They both felt of great quality though.
 
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