Deciding between Benchmade Barrage and the Griptilian

D

dyau

Joined
Oct 15, 2009
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Hey guys!

This is my first post here! :)

I'm hoping that you guys can help me out, i'm still a knife newbie so I was wondering which knife you guys would recommend, the Benchmade Griptilian or the Barrage and why? Also, should I get the plain edge or the combo?

I will occasionally carry this knife around for everyday use, but the main purpose i'm buying a knife is for use when I go camping (but not hunting, i don't hunt :rolleyes:).

Oh yeah, on a side note, would you recommend the blackened blade versions? What are the advantages of this?

Thanks a lot! :D
 
I'd probably go with the Benchmade Griptilian over the Barrage, since I'm not partial to "assisted" openers.

As to blade coating, I like them but in this instance I'd go for which is least expensive. If looking at D2, coatings are nice rust security.

For general use, I prefer plain-edge and that applies to general camping use. If you were planning on a lot of ropework, the partially serrated edge is an option.
 
I would also say to go with the Griptilian. If you have a bit more you might look into getting the Ritter Griptilian. It has a different blade shape and S30V steel.
 
First: buy the best knife you can afford plus 20% You be glad you did.
Second: If you ever expect to saw a sappling or sever a paracord or rope, get a knife with a portion of the blade serrated. It will truly act as a saw and save you considerable effort.
Third: figure out which Emerson folder will fit your needs and BUY IT! you'll never regret it.
 
D'ohboy said:
I would also say to go with the Griptilian. If you have a bit more you might look into getting the Ritter Griptilian. It has a different blade shape and S30V steel.
Click to expand...

Hey, where can i find the ritter griptilian? Its not on the benchmade website, and what are the advantages of the different blade shape?


--

Thanks to everyone for their help!
 
Ive got both and it would be pretty hard for me to decide between the two... Imo the griptilian feels a little bit better in the hand, it has a lot of jimping on the front and back making it very grippy. The barrage is smoother but it has thick full steel liners where the griptilian has partial liners. The griptilian is strond enough for most anything but its just something that kinda irks me. The blades are both excellent 154 cm so no real difference there. Pretty much if I were you I would just decide whether you wanted a manual or assisted opener and just make your decision off that. Oh and the ritter grips have a much higher grind which makes them better slicers and they're s30v which will hold an edge a bit longer. However they're nearly double the price. Id say stick with the original for your first knife.

O and just google "doug ritter griptilian" you'll find plenty of info
 
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The ritter is on the equipped to survive website. The ritter also has a high flat ground blade, and a less pointy but stronger tip.
 
I am partial to the Griptilian plain edge. I do not like serrated edges, but camping may require a sawing action, so there is a good reason for combo. I was hiking around Mammoth Mtn. and there is alot of fine gritty pumice to deal with. I have only one A/O and I am glad I did not have it in my pocket when I slipped and got a pocket full of pumice. My grip dusted out just fine.
 
The grip in 154cm is a great knife. I carry it daily and prefer it over a few other very nice knives. I don't own a barrage, but I own an auto Presidio. The Presidio is nice, but I would choose the grip between the two. The simple opening mechanism of the grip is every bit as fast and has fewer parts to break.
 
cp2u said:
First: buy the best knife you can afford plus 20% You be glad you did.
Second: If you ever expect to saw a sappling or sever a paracord or rope, get a knife with a portion of the blade serrated. It will truly act as a saw and save you considerable effort.
Third: figure out which Emerson folder will fit your needs and BUY IT! you'll never regret it.
Click to expand...

I cut down two saplings with my plain edge Spyderco Native a bit quicker than using a partially serrated fixed blade I had around.

I was actually shocked how quickly it sliced through, I was kinda just messing around not expecting to do much cutting, and it sliced right through the first half like butter....

Just sayin...

I prefer plain edge for just about anything. Unless you are going to be doing a LOT of "carpentry" or rope cutting. Which you probably won't. Plain edge cuts just about everything faster, and smoother.
 
Alright guys, thanks a lot!

So it seems the general consensus is that the griptilian is in general better/more useful than the barrage, and that a plain blade is generally more useful than a combo blade.

Is there another blade you guys would recommend over both of these at around the same price point? ie. ~$100?

Thanks a lot guys, sorry for all the noob questions! :)
 
For ~$100 you are open to a lot of knives, too many consider them all really.

I've gotten Benchmade model 710 knives for less than that and I really like the 710 as a general carry.

I'm sure many other knife suggestions will shortly follow.
 
scotchleaf said:
spyderco military/para military?
kershaw g10 tyrade?
Click to expand...

For some reason the shape of the spyderco blades just don't appeal to me, they seem... for a lack of a better word, strange, to me. I'm sure i'll probably get a mob of people telling me how nice spydercos look, but i just don't like them very much. Nonetheless, i'm sure they are fantastic knives from all the praise i've heard about them.

I'll be sure to take a look at the kershaw though!


Thanks everyone!!
 
I have both a 585 mini barrage with satin finish and a custom grip in S30V and cerakote black coating, and I have to say that I prefer the griptilian most of the time. The barrage has a very strong assist spring, and you will appreciate the solid thwack sound and the feel when it opens, however the griptilian opens just as quickly without being assisted. The advantage the griptilian has is the ease of both opening and closing. There is such a negligible amount of friction in the pivot of the griptilian that simply releasing the lock allows the blade to swing closed. This is cool. Very cool. Since the barrage is spring assisted, it opens quickly, but requires more effort to close. The one task I reach for the barrage over the griptilian though is slicing, and that is due to the coating and nothing to do with the actual knife. The cerakote finish that benchmade uses is very 'dry' feeling and has a high-friction scraping feel when slicing, like nails on a chalkboard. For this reason, I favor the satin finish for all slicing tasks as it is much smoother. If you havent deduced this yourself by now, I think the best option is a griptilian without black coating. I also prefer plain edges over serrated in all knives. I recommend at least checking out benchmade's customize a griptilian section, it is a little more expensive, but it provides you with more options including better blade steels and engraving. Personally, I think mine was worth it. Both knives are great, but after buying a barrage, I felt like I had to buy a grip, I don't think I would have wanted the barrage had I bought the grip first.
 
I prefer the Barrage it just feels better in my hand. I would def go with a plain edge I can not stand serrated blades.

For your budget you can get into something like a ZT 0350. I would prefer the ZT for camping myself, but it is all personal choice.
 
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