"Crimson" Mini Griptilian at REI

So I went by REI on the way home tonight. They only had the 556SBK in crimson not the satin blade. I took a look at it and it is indeed s30v, so the page on the web site is wrong. I really like the color of the handle and it actually looks really cool with a black coated blade. I just wish it was a plain edge.

Black blade: http://www.rei.com/product/839342/benchmade-556sbk-mini-griptilian-knife-crimson
Satin blade: http://www.rei.com/product/839341/benchmade-556s-mini-griptilian-knife-crimson

I explained to the guy that helped me that their web page description is wrong for the 556SBK steel and that I'd probably buy the knife if it were plain edged. I also asked him why of the 12 Benchmade knives they sell online, only 3 are available with a plain edge. He did not know but said that he gets that a lot from people. They also had an exclusive kelly green Benchmade barrage with serrations only. It looks pretty cool too but...
 
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FYI REI caters to the 80% of outdoorsman. In this category they assume that these are one knife people which means CE might be helpful. We, on this forum, are the 20% who are specialists who prefer plain edge in combination with higher end steels.


I've been with REI for a bit and it sucks helping people by grips for $120 when they would be much better off with a manix or para2 :p
 
I have bought one of each of the REI limiteds but it's because of a 35-year membership and loyalty to REI than anything else. In almost each case I was able to buy during a 20% member sale, which helps.
 
JNewell said:
I have bought one of each of the REI limiteds but it's because of a 35-year membership and loyalty to REI than anything else. In almost each case I was able to buy during a 20% member sale, which helps.
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Where are the pics!!
 
HKBM45 said:
Where are the pics!!
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The pics are in the future. :D FWIW, the REI LEs (at least the ones I have bought) are:

940S-701 (carbon fiber/S30V)
960BK-801 (red anodized/CPM-M4)
530-901 (blue "Grivory"/S30V) (there were also S and SBK versions)
585S-1101 (green Noryl/S30V) (there was also an SBK version)
556S-1201 (red "plastic" of some kind/S30V) (there is also an SBK version)
 
JNewell said:
The pics are in the future. :D FWIW, the REI LEs (at least the ones I have bought) are:

940S-701 (carbon fiber/S30V)
960BK-801 (red anodized/CPM-M4)
530-901 (blue "Grivory"/S30V) (there were also S and SBK versions)
585S-1101 (green Noryl/S30V) (there was also an SBK version)
556S-1201 (red "plastic" of some kind/S30V) (there is also an SBK version)
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So you have the "crimson" griptilian. How do you like it?

I also have the blue 530 plain edge. I really like it.
 
I can tell you why the REI website is wrong. I sent them an feedback comment not to long back about fixing the steel listing and mentioning that it was an Exclusive. I figured they would do it for both but clearly they did not, guess I should send another feedback comment.

As was previously noted, those not in the know about knives/configurations and such often like the partially serrated blade so they offer the generic catchall of you can have both on one blade. Interestingly enough the request for the plain blade isn't as common as one might expect.

REI has been doing limited edition runs for awhile now (as already noted) but I only have the most current three styles (556, 530, 585). Each of them has had a unique (different for each) color handle, partially serrated and S30V steel with the offering of usually one coated and one non-coated blade. I enjoy collecting the LE models for REI but they do leave a bit to be desired upon. My 530 isn't as smooth as it could be, something I have tried to fix and has only partially improved it. Luckily they really are not EDC blades so no loss.

Oh and I do stand corrected, not all the versions were partially serrated, in fact my 530 is a plain blade. I also wish I could have purchased the first two (that M4 looks appealing) but I am not willing to pay a premium for them either.
 
What is REI basing their choice on? Customer requests or are they making the decision for us by only offering partially serrated?

Here's how I imagine the converstion goes at REI:
REI employee #1: "Why don't we sell more plain edge knives, you ask, because people prefer partially serrated knives; that's all they buy."
REI employee #2: "Uh, that's because we only carry partially serrated knives."

I like REI but wonder about their knives. For an outdoor outfitter I'm not too impressed with their offerings. I don't think they offer many good options for a fixed-blade camping knife. Their fixed collection mainly consists of low quality Gerber, a CRKT Sting, a decent looking Buck and a stainless Mora firesteel edition. The Mora and the Buck look the best but if I were them I'd have several Mora in SS & carbon, Falkniven, some Beckers and some ESEE. It seems like a no brainer but perhaps they're averse to selling "scary" looking, military-style blades, I don't know.
 
I think what I might do is get the 556S crimson and get an orange handled mini Ritter grip and swap the handles then possibly resell the serrated blade in the orange handle. I think the Ritter blade in these crimson scales would look sweet.
 
I honestly have no idea about the decision for partially serrated blades in the selection. I would assume that someone crunched the numbers and found that perhaps more partially's are sold overall than plain. This excludes those really interested in knives but that isn't really REI's demographic after all. For the general masses I bet most think a combo blade is the best of both worlds, I don't have any figures to back this up, it is only my assumption.

As for the fixed blades, yes the selection is poor but again I imagine that the target audience isn't really after the fixed blade options. Would they sell more if they offered them, sure. Would it be enough to justify it, I have no clue but I kinda doubt it. I imagine that the reason we see such a large multitool selection is because that is what sells best based on the clientele. Am I opposed to REI offering a larger selection, absolutely not but the reality is for the average backpacker they don't want a fixed blade.
 
I think what some of you are forgetting is the price. Not many people that know little about knives are gonna walk into a store and spend 120 on a plastic handled knife. REI already carries the standard mini griptilian, so who is the special edition for? Has to be for collectors, or people who like knives. Most of those people, I would assume, would prefer a plain edged knife.

And then lets say that the majority of people that walk into an REI and buy a knife want a partially serrated knife. But why not offer a plain edge on the website? Even if they dont sell as well (which I doubt) at least they wouldnt be taking up shelf space in a store.

Im gonna hold out for a plain edge satin crimson mini grip.


PS Still waiting on those pics! haha
 
HKBM45 said:
Im gonna hold out for a plain edge satin crimson mini grip.
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I don't know, you might be waiting a while. On May 18th REI will be having their yearly sale and members get 20% off a single item. That'd make the satin crimson grip just $96.
 
thallium said:
So you have the "crimson" griptilian. How do you like it?

I also have the blue 530 plain edge. I really like it.
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It's a Mini Grip. :) I like the Mini a good bit, a lot better than the full-size Grips, though I would like this one better at a lower price point. ;) Still, the color is nice, S30V is nice (though PS is not a plus), and as I said, I have some non-practical reasons for buying the REI Benchmade LE knives. :thumbup:
 
thallium said:
What is REI basing their choice on? Customer requests or are they making the decision for us by only offering partially serrated?

Here's how I imagine the converstion goes at REI:
REI employee #1: "Why don't we sell more plain edge knives, you ask, because people prefer partially serrated knives; that's all they buy."
REI employee #2: "Uh, that's because we only carry partially serrated knives."

I like REI but wonder about their knives. For an outdoor outfitter I'm not too impressed with their offerings. I don't think they offer many good options for a fixed-blade camping knife. Their fixed collection mainly consists of low quality Gerber, a CRKT Sting, a decent looking Buck and a stainless Mora firesteel edition. The Mora and the Buck look the best but if I were them I'd have several Mora in SS & carbon, Falkniven, some Beckers and some ESEE. It seems like a no brainer but perhaps they're averse to selling "scary" looking, military-style blades, I don't know.
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My WAG over the years has been that there's a single person somewhere in the organization who is both a Benchmade fan and a CE/PS fan. As I said, that's a total WAG. I will point out that other than the first one (the 940), they have not sold well. The 960 was closed out by REI at a deep discount. The 530s went to KW to be, effectively, remaindered - at a deep discount to the REI prices. The 585s are still on REI shelves, and will probably wind up discounted in some fashion. The real surprise IMHO is that REI keeps doing these.
 
Jungfrau said:
I can tell you why the REI website is wrong. I sent them an feedback comment not to long back about fixing the steel listing and mentioning that it was an Exclusive. I figured they would do it for both but clearly they did not, guess I should send another feedback comment.

As was previously noted, those not in the know about knives/configurations and such often like the partially serrated blade so they offer the generic catchall of you can have both on one blade. Interestingly enough the request for the plain blade isn't as common as one might expect.

REI has been doing limited edition runs for awhile now (as already noted) but I only have the most current three styles (556, 530, 585). Each of them has had a unique (different for each) color handle, partially serrated and S30V steel with the offering of usually one coated and one non-coated blade. I enjoy collecting the LE models for REI but they do leave a bit to be desired upon. My 530 isn't as smooth as it could be, something I have tried to fix and has only partially improved it. Luckily they really are not EDC blades so no loss.

Oh and I do stand corrected, not all the versions were partially serrated, in fact my 530 is a plain blade. I also wish I could have purchased the first two (that M4 looks appealing) but I am not willing to pay a premium for them either.
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A few nits...the 960 was actually basically the 'stock' handles, though with a matte red ano finish rather than the polished red ano finish of the regular production, and it was a plain edge. Neither the 940 nor the 960 were offered in multiple blade/edge versions - that started with the 530.

I think you're right on target with the comment about plain edges. I think it's more of an 'affi' (to borrow a word from Sal Glesser) thing.
 
HKBM45 said:
I think what some of you are forgetting is the price. Not many people that know little about knives are gonna walk into a store and spend 120 on a plastic handled knife. REI already carries the standard mini griptilian, so who is the special edition for? Has to be for collectors, or people who like knives. Most of those people, I would assume, would prefer a plain edged knife.

And then lets say that the majority of people that walk into an REI and buy a knife want a partially serrated knife. But why not offer a plain edge on the website? Even if they dont sell as well (which I doubt) at least they wouldnt be taking up shelf space in a store.

Im gonna hold out for a plain edge satin crimson mini grip.


PS Still waiting on those pics! haha
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You are absolutely correct and I think that is why often the knives do not sell that well. That being said, REI doesn't poll collectors and knife people to see what they want. They just go with some statistic (I assume) and place an order. I do wish they offered more choices but I have a feeling that they only order a small selection based on something, perhaps ordering costs, Benchmade requirements, who knows but I am sure there is a reason they don't order more choices.

As for the plain edge, not sure it will ever come unless you order another mini grip plain edge and swap out the blades.

For the pics, I only have three models so not the whole collection but I will try and get to it as soon as I can, doubtful it will be this weekend though.
 
I should point out, in the context of my comment about how these have (or haven't :( ) sold, that only the first two were really limited production (200 knives each). The 530, 585 and 556 REI LEs didn't/don't have any stated limit.

As far as pics go, yeah, I hear ya, but I'm about 4 hours/day short right now... :( Until then, here's an old REI pic of the 940:

940.jpg
 
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Here's a family pic of the five Benchmade/REI limited edition knives that I'm aware of. Note that the 530 had S, BK and SBK variants and the 585 and 556 both have BK variants. Only the 940 and 960 were true numerically limited runs, and they both have "billboards" on the blade, which the 530, 585 and 556 don't have.

P1000547.jpg
 
So, I broke down and went to REI and got the crimson mini Grip with satin the blade. I plan to get another one sometime, probably the Ritter and swap blades. This is my first Griptilian and only my second Benchmade and the blade is slightly off center (my other is a 530 and it is fine). I didn't think to inspect it until I'd got in the car so I went back in and asked if I could swap for another. They went back and looked and only had one other. I looked at it and it was slightly better so I took it reluctantly.

I'm just wondering how your crimson was JNewell or anyone else for that matter with a Griptilian? Are they generally pretty well centered or is there a little variation?
 
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