Crooked River vs. Mini Crooked River: Differences in Real Use Cases?

D

Dextar

Joined
Sep 14, 2017
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706
Hi there,

I am torn between the full-sized benchmade crooked river and the mini.
I know a real BF rule is "buy both", but I'm already grabbing a 565-1 and a buck 113, Ihave to pick one.

Just wanted to ask: For those who’ve used them in the field (hiking, hunting), is there a significant difference in how they handle?
Thanks.
 
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I’ve got both. I like both. I would LOVE something right in between, like 3.75”. Both are pretty thick.
 
Seems like the CR may be a third wheel if youre already buying two. You'll have 3 knives but you can only use 1 at a time. I started a pull thread a while back asking for opinions between regular sized knives and their mini counterpart ---- it was an overwhelming preference for the full sized knife. "You can make small cuts with a big knife, but you cant make big cuts with a small knife"
While I understand this isnt technically an answer (strictly) but I say go for the full sized CR, and consult YT if you want to watch video comparisons
 
pokey074 said:
I’ve got both. I like both. I would LOVE something right in between, like 3.75”. Both are pretty thick.
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so "buy both"🤣

ShaiHulud said:
Seems like the CR may be a third wheel if youre already buying two. You'll have 3 knives but you can only use 1 at a time. I started a pull thread a while back asking for opinions between regular sized knives and their mini counterpart ---- it was an overwhelming preference for the full sized knife. "You can make small cuts with a big knife, but you cant make big cuts with a small knife"
While I understand this isnt technically an answer (strictly) but I say go for the full sized CR, and consult YT if you want to watch video comparisons
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I like the feel of handling mini size, so I considered weeks in between mini freek 565-1 and mini crooked river, but after seeing the crooked river, I feel that is great as well, better than the regular size freek.
Some said "fixed blade" is better than folding knife in real outdoor (hunting, hiking), not sure if this is something anyone meet, until now, I didn't find a real difference.
 
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DrRollinstein said:
Both are great. Regular Crooked River is quite large lol. That one would be a better field knife, mini would be better EDC.
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That's what exactly in my mind. If I only buy one, I will take mini crooked river, but I'll take mini freek as well, so the mini crooked river + mini freek make me feel a waste of budget. (another) But, the regular one feels large on my hand.
 
I have a theory that has so far proved out in my experience but ymmv. A knife design is a complete thing including its size and proportions. Making a mini version or an XL version dilutes or outright subverts the original designers intent in most cases.

So I would get the full size and pick a different knife if you want a smaller knife.
 
DMG said:
I have a theory that has so far proved out in my experience but ymmv. A knife design is a complete thing including its size and proportions. Making a mini version or an XL version dilutes or outright subverts the original designers intent in most cases.

So I would get the full size and pick a different knife if you want a smaller knife.
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good point, thanks. I'll take regular size crooked river for the in field usage, and mini-freek for EDC "play around"
 
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