A couple of weeks back I was happy to receive the new Chad Los Banos designed folding knife called Trance, manufactured by Boker.
Its the newest version in all black and CE blade configuration.
Construction-wise it is a frame lock folder.
Fit and finish of this knife were very good and I have to admit they were much better as one would expect from a knife in this price range.
Exact dimensions can be found at Boker website, but I can tell you right away, its compact and light to be carried on a daily bases.
Handle is made of FRN with G10 like finish, unlined with a steel liner, the other part, the frame lock is stainless steel, with black coating.
The knife belongs to a sub 3 inches category, that means you should be able to carry this folder in the most areas without any serious restrictions.
The blade is made of AUS8 steel and came razor sharp out of the box.
Blade style is probably some kind of modified drop point, but I came with the idea to call it a reversed modified tanto blade, because to me it resembles one.
It has a high position flat grind which makes the knife an effective cutter or slicer.
The blade locks up with a serious CLICK and has no blade play in any direction.
Opening can be achieved with using one of the ambi thumbstuds or the flipper, which serves as guard in the opened position, but you have to apply a short wrist flick to open the blade like that.
Opening action was very smooth, again, better as expected, the knife is equipped with nylon washers.
The whole folder is assembled by using Torx type screws, so the construction allows easy tune up if necessary, or disassembling for a serious clean up.
It has a clip for deep pocket carry, which makes the daily carry enough low profile and allows tip down or tip up attachment. For me as a lefty, it would be cool to see the clip ambidextrous.
Flipper/guard and thumb place are grooved for better retention.
Handle is equipped with a lanyard hole.
Lets get to some nice extras:
It has an I.T.R. - a feature developed by Chad Los Banos, which he calls Indexing Thumb Ramp and can be seen on the Spyderco Lava CLB collaboration as well. To explain this in simple way, the thumb location on the spine is lowered and provides extra purchase and control for cutting.
I absolutely enjoy the center line of the blade being situated beneath the centerline of the handle. This provides a positive, relaxed and very ergonomic grip and allows the edge a better contact with the goods you are cutting. It feels especially comfortable for tasks like food preparation or vegetable slicing in kitchen. This makes the knife feel very fast as well, from the SD point of view, the edge is in contact with cutting object very quickly, literally earlier as your hand. In combination with the high flat grind it makes a serious defense tool.
As far as grip options, its very comfortable in forhand grip, forward pikal edge-in and reversed edge out grip. The classical pikal grip was a bit uncomfortable for me, due to the flipper, but it can be managed by persons with small hands.
Maybe it was just by me, but the thumbstuds were so well positioned that the opening of the blade could be achieved very fast, almost like by an assisted folder.
During several days of testing, aside from never ending opening and closing, flipping the blade out, multiple materials were cut.
CE blade worked without any problems for rope, paracords, cardboard cutting and food preparation / kitchen use. None of the material was any problem to cut and the blade remained still sharp at the end.
Knife was EDCied for a couple days, its slim shape and light weight make it both a cool everyday companion, wherever you go.
Its good sized for urban carry, whether as a main carry piece, or a back up with no compromises on performance.
I would recommend this folder for general EDC use, as well as for emergency applications in LEO/EMT/FD daily line of service.
Based on the materials, design and craftsmanship it offers a very good price to performance ratio.
I think CLB and Boker made another hole-in-one with the Boker Trance here.
My only concern regarding the black version for the manufacturer would be
MAKE IT IN PLAIN EDGE AS WELL!!! 
I would like to thank Boker and Chad Los Banos especially who allowed me to test and evaluate this well designed knife.
Its the newest version in all black and CE blade configuration.
Construction-wise it is a frame lock folder.
Fit and finish of this knife were very good and I have to admit they were much better as one would expect from a knife in this price range.
Exact dimensions can be found at Boker website, but I can tell you right away, its compact and light to be carried on a daily bases.
Handle is made of FRN with G10 like finish, unlined with a steel liner, the other part, the frame lock is stainless steel, with black coating.
The knife belongs to a sub 3 inches category, that means you should be able to carry this folder in the most areas without any serious restrictions.
The blade is made of AUS8 steel and came razor sharp out of the box.
Blade style is probably some kind of modified drop point, but I came with the idea to call it a reversed modified tanto blade, because to me it resembles one.
It has a high position flat grind which makes the knife an effective cutter or slicer.
The blade locks up with a serious CLICK and has no blade play in any direction.
Opening can be achieved with using one of the ambi thumbstuds or the flipper, which serves as guard in the opened position, but you have to apply a short wrist flick to open the blade like that.
Opening action was very smooth, again, better as expected, the knife is equipped with nylon washers.
The whole folder is assembled by using Torx type screws, so the construction allows easy tune up if necessary, or disassembling for a serious clean up.
It has a clip for deep pocket carry, which makes the daily carry enough low profile and allows tip down or tip up attachment. For me as a lefty, it would be cool to see the clip ambidextrous.
Flipper/guard and thumb place are grooved for better retention.
Handle is equipped with a lanyard hole.
Lets get to some nice extras:
It has an I.T.R. - a feature developed by Chad Los Banos, which he calls Indexing Thumb Ramp and can be seen on the Spyderco Lava CLB collaboration as well. To explain this in simple way, the thumb location on the spine is lowered and provides extra purchase and control for cutting.
I absolutely enjoy the center line of the blade being situated beneath the centerline of the handle. This provides a positive, relaxed and very ergonomic grip and allows the edge a better contact with the goods you are cutting. It feels especially comfortable for tasks like food preparation or vegetable slicing in kitchen. This makes the knife feel very fast as well, from the SD point of view, the edge is in contact with cutting object very quickly, literally earlier as your hand. In combination with the high flat grind it makes a serious defense tool.
As far as grip options, its very comfortable in forhand grip, forward pikal edge-in and reversed edge out grip. The classical pikal grip was a bit uncomfortable for me, due to the flipper, but it can be managed by persons with small hands.
Maybe it was just by me, but the thumbstuds were so well positioned that the opening of the blade could be achieved very fast, almost like by an assisted folder.
During several days of testing, aside from never ending opening and closing, flipping the blade out, multiple materials were cut.
CE blade worked without any problems for rope, paracords, cardboard cutting and food preparation / kitchen use. None of the material was any problem to cut and the blade remained still sharp at the end.
Knife was EDCied for a couple days, its slim shape and light weight make it both a cool everyday companion, wherever you go.
Its good sized for urban carry, whether as a main carry piece, or a back up with no compromises on performance.
I would recommend this folder for general EDC use, as well as for emergency applications in LEO/EMT/FD daily line of service.
Based on the materials, design and craftsmanship it offers a very good price to performance ratio.
I think CLB and Boker made another hole-in-one with the Boker Trance here.
My only concern regarding the black version for the manufacturer would be
MAKE IT IN PLAIN EDGE AS WELL!!! 
I would like to thank Boker and Chad Los Banos especially who allowed me to test and evaluate this well designed knife.
