Buck Bantam BBW vs Kershaw Cryo

J

JDX

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Which one is better for EDC? It will be used for convenience, cutting boxes, slicing through cord, slight food prep, sharpening sticks for the occasional s'mores night with my kids, and I'd probably bring this thing camping with me, as a backup/secondary knife to my kabar mark 1.
 
I have both and I prefer the bantam for EDC, I choose it on the basis that it's more non knife people friendly.
 
155440 said:
I have both and I prefer the bantam for EDC, I choose it on the basis that it's more non knife people friendly.
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That's one if the reasons I was deciding on it!, the cryo looks really tactical
 
Of the inexpensive Bucks, i would pick either a Vantage or Bucklite Max over the Bantam. The Bantam has a reputation for being particularly soft in the handle.

You might be able to find an Ecolite 112 on clearance which has metal liners and is a very handsome knife.

For what you describe and if you want people friendly, an Inox Opinel #8 with fancy wood like Olive wood or Oak would be price competitive, more durable and more people friendly.
 
I have a Cryo and like it for an easily concealed EDC, but I don't think I'd bring it camping or use it for food prep. The G10 version would at least offer a bit better grip than the original, but still not what I'd choose for any outdoorsy stuff.
 
Despite having a large Bantam myself, I confess I have no idea what BBW means in this context although I've seen it before... BBW means something way different and non-knife-related to me. :p
 
RedLynx said:
Despite having a large Bantam myself, I confess I have no idea what BBW means in this context although I've seen it before... BBW means something way different and non-knife-related to me. :p
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I have no idea either. But I know there's also a BLW or something similar, so I didn't want any confusion!
 
pinnah said:
Of the inexpensive Bucks, i would pick either a Vantage or Bucklite Max over the Bantam. The Bantam has a reputation for being particularly soft in the handle.

You might be able to find an Ecolite 112 on clearance which has metal liners and is a very handsome knife.

For what you describe and if you want people friendly, an Inox Opinel #8 with fancy wood like Olive wood or Oak would be price competitive, more durable and more people friendly.
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What do you mean by soft? Like ergonomically comfortable? Bad grip? Or the material is fragile?
 
pinnah said:
Of the inexpensive Bucks, i would pick either a Vantage or Bucklite Max over the Bantam. The Bantam has a reputation for being particularly soft in the handle.

You might be able to find an Ecolite 112 on clearance which has metal liners and is a very handsome knife.

For what you describe and if you want people friendly, an Inox Opinel #8 with fancy wood like Olive wood or Oak would be price competitive, more durable and more people friendly.
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What do you mean by soft? Like ergonomically comfortable? Bad grip? Or the material is fragile?
 
GlockandBalls said:
However, the Cryo does have a deep carry "low rider" clip. This will help with concealment.
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The Bantam's clip is only tip down. :( If that matters to you. I purchased a Bantam as a gift for a relative once, and they didn't end up carrying it. I'd take the advice of the other posters and go for the Vantage series first. My Vantage Force select has held up to sharpening sticks and random tasks quite well.
 
JDX said:
What do you mean by soft? Like ergonomically comfortable? Bad grip? Or the material is fragile?
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Opening is stiff and the handle is small (Read: Not Ergonomic). I tried the Bantam I gave to my relative out (see above post) and I felt like I was going to cut off one of my fingers while flipping it open. I normally like Buck, and I'd take the Bantam as a throw away over any gas station knife, but its not really designed for anything more than light use. As for the polymer being soft, I never used the knife to cut anything, so I wouldn't know.
 
pinnah said:
Of the inexpensive Bucks, i would pick either a Vantage or Bucklite Max over the Bantam..
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This ^^^^^^

I really like the inexpensive line of Kershaws, and I do own and sometimes carry a Cryo. But my all time favorite inexpensive knife is the medium Bucklite Max. The 3" 482, tip up carry, deep clip, but linerless and pinned, still a great performing knife.
 
Todd21969 said:
This ^^^^^^

I really like the inexpensive line of Kershaws, and I do own and sometimes carry a Cryo. But my all time favorite inexpensive knife is the medium Bucklite Max. The 3" 482, tip up carry, deep clip, but linerless and pinned, still a great performing knife.
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I was into the Bucklite hard till I found it was riveted, including the pocket clip... if I can't switch it to left side carry I at least like the option of removing it... if only they made it removeable, at least, I'd have a few in my collection.
 
RedLynx said:
I was into the Bucklite hard till I found it was riveted, including the pocket clip... if I can't switch it to left side carry I at least like the option of removing it... if only they made it removeable, at least, I'd have a few in my collection.
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Have to agree. The one major flaw is the non adjustable clip. Not a major deal to us righties, but I can surely understand the problem with lefties.
 
Todd21969 said:
Have to agree. The one major flaw is the non adjustable clip. Not a major deal to us righties, but I can surely understand the problem with lefties.
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I'm curious what informed their decision on that... you almost never see it, I wonder why they decided this. As you say,, not a big deal for righties and most people are righties so it really doesn't matter to most of their customer base. Not a big deal, just a very curious decision.
 
I had the Buck Bantam BBW for a while. I really didn't like the handle. Just seemed sort of weak. I prefer the Nobleman, since it's all stainless. The Bantam's not a bad knife, and I'm sure it would take a bit to actually break the handle, I just didn't care for the way it felt.
 
mrszeontestpilot said:
I had the Buck Bantam BBW for a while. I really didn't like the handle. Just seemed sort of weak. I prefer the Nobleman, since it's all stainless. The Bantam's not a bad knife, and I'm sure it would take a bit to actually break the handle, I just didn't care for the way it felt.
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Although I like the Bantam, the handle IS shockingly light... my brother-in-law who has a few knives from me but is not as much a knife guy, noticed right away how light that thing is. It feels kind of weird. Almost like Opinel except the lightness of the Opinel is a "better light" somehow...
 
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