Introducing The 535 Bugout

I like the blue. Can they make one even more blue? ;)

IMO, the size is great. Any smaller would be too small and too light. YMMV....
 
I think the size/weight as is, is what makes this knife so appealing. Would love to see one in M390 or similar, though.
 
I also jumped in bandwagon since like others had an REI dividend and a 20% off coupon.

Should arrive sometime next week.
 
Should be in CF and not blue plastic. I called it the Gross Out. Swing and miss again Benchmade!!! Who is working over there? So uncreative these days. CF in black would be lighter and have a more mass appeal. Opening more chain accounts is what seems to take priority now at Benchmade. It’s a shame what’s happening there.
 
Case C. said:
Should be in CF and not blue plastic. I called it the Gross Out. Swing and miss again Benchmade!!! Who is working over there? So uncreative these days. CF in black would be lighter and have a more mass appeal. Opening more chain accounts is what seems to take priority now at Benchmade. It’s a shame what’s happening there.
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This knife was purpose built for hikers so weight was number one priority, a bright color so it could be easily found and seen. This knife has won awards for its design and execution. So.....
Your welcome to your own opinon but I don’t see the point of criticizing everything benchmade does. You can start your own knife company and put out what you want let us know how that works out. If you don’t like the scales feel free to upgrade to aftermarket.
 
Case C. said:
Should be in CF and not blue plastic. I called it the Gross Out. Swing and miss again Benchmade!!! Who is working over there? So uncreative these days. CF in black would be lighter and have a more mass appeal. Opening more chain accounts is what seems to take priority now at Benchmade. It’s a shame what’s happening there.
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The knife comes in at a relatively reasonable price (imho, ymmv) relative to other considerations in that price range as well as other knives in Benchmade's stable. Switching from the blue grivory to CF would likely add to the cost of the knife. Personally, I think the combination of the knife's design and it's execution, the materials used, and it's street price have all helped to popularize it to the extent of the success it currently enjoys.

Codswallop said:
This knife was purpose built for hikers so weight was number one priority, a bright color so it could be easily found and seen. This knife has won awards for its design and execution. So.....
Your welcome to your own opinon but I don’t see the point of criticizing everything benchmade does. You can start your own knife company and put out what you want let us know how that works out. If you don’t like the scales feel free to upgrade to aftermarket.
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I agree with the lot of this :thumbsup:. My friend's dad's birthday was fairly recent, and for his birthday, my buddy wanted to get him a folding knife suited for hiking. I suggested the Bugout, my friend bought it for him, and now my friend's dad is a happy camper (pun intended). Also, iirc, ROGUE BLADEWORKS ROGUE BLADEWORKS makes some pretty snazzy CF scales for the Bugout, so the option to swap out the "gross" blue grivory scales is always there...
 
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Not a bad knife,it’s the tacky color and I don’t reside in a trailer park , where I would find it appealing. Factory options would be nice in the custom area of Benchmade.
 
Case C. said:
Not a bad knife,it’s the tacky color and I don’t reside in a trailer park , where I would find it appealing. Factory options would be nice in the custom area of Benchmade.
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The tacky color was specifically picked to help the knife stand out in the woods in the event it was dropped, it was designed around being a light weight knife for hikers.
 
Case C. said:
Not a bad knife,it’s the tacky color and I don’t reside in a trailer park , where I would find it appealing. Factory options would be nice in the custom area of Benchmade.
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I guess I could be considered white trash, but at least my reading comprehension grasped the concept of why a knife called the "Bugout" is a highly visible blue color. Maybe they could offer some camo scales and call it the "Where the f--k did I drop my knife" edition. Personally I do not like the way carbon fiber looks and how it adds to the price.
 
Case C. said:
Should be in CF and not blue plastic. I called it the Gross Out. Swing and miss again Benchmade!!! Who is working over there? So uncreative these days. CF in black would be lighter and have a more mass appeal. Opening more chain accounts is what seems to take priority now at Benchmade. It’s a shame what’s happening there.
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I missed this post. Honestly, at this point you just need to not waste your time coming back in here because all you do is whine and moan about a bunch of stuff that is pretty much completely inaccurate.

This knife is just another example of how out of touch you are with the market side of a business. It was made and colored and targeted for a specific audience, and it’s one of their best new sellers in their portfolio.
 
Just got my REI Bugout and did an un-boxing inspection. Box looks new and that's about the only positive thing so far.

1. First thing i noticed, hmm blade looks a little dirty. Maybe it's just grease ok, let's flip it open
2 Opens ok. I have a min-grip so action was as expected.
3. Noticed some yellow gunk on the thumb stud, probably just some dried grease or lube.
4. noticed some dirt on inside of lock mechanism (no pocket lint, more like debri)
5. Noticed some very light chips in the anodizing on the thumb studs.
6. touched the blade with my fingers and it was kind of tacky with that seemingly dry yellow grease on it

At this point I'm thinking to myself, Ok fine, somebody handled the knife, maybe returned it as new. Maybe it just go some manufacturing pollution during packaging. I can easily clean the knife and the little specs of anodizing can easily happen the first time I carry it.

Of course your wondering about the most important thing. The blade! I tried the shave test. Nothing. ok no big deal. Rubbed my thumb over the edge, hmmm something's wrong. See video for what happened next.

Thoughts?

 
This is what you get from Benchmade now. They have gone the way of Case. Built a brand and then slip and try to act as if they are still as quality as they once were. Benchmade owner should stand out in front of the company more and address the quality issues. It’s gotten ridiculous. I like Benchmade but I don’t like where they have gone. This is redundant among reviewers that are echoing what is being said by me.
 
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My mini grip was one of my first good knives I ever bought probably over 10 years ago. It was and still is the sharpest from-the-factory knife I've ever bought. I cut my self many times with it just from barley touching the blade. My BM Valet in m390 i just ordered had no issues and it made me think maybe some of those reviews were overblown. I think I'm gonna return to REI and if they have an in stock replacement, I'll inspect to see if it's at least sharp to give one more try. If not then just returning.
 
darth_cholo said:
Just got my REI Bugout and did an un-boxing inspection. Box looks new and that's about the only positive thing so far.

1. First thing i noticed, hmm blade looks a little dirty. Maybe it's just grease ok, let's flip it open
2 Opens ok. I have a min-grip so action was as expected.
3. Noticed some yellow gunk on the thumb stud, probably just some dried grease or lube.
4. noticed some dirt on inside of lock mechanism (no pocket lint, more like debri)
5. Noticed some very light chips in the anodizing on the thumb studs.
6. touched the blade with my fingers and it was kind of tacky with that seemingly dry yellow grease on it

At this point I'm thinking to myself, Ok fine, somebody handled the knife, maybe returned it as new. Maybe it just go some manufacturing pollution during packaging. I can easily clean the knife and the little specs of anodizing can easily happen the first time I carry it.

Of course your wondering about the most important thing. The blade! I tried the shave test. Nothing. ok no big deal. Rubbed my thumb over the edge, hmmm something's wrong. See video for what happened next.

Thoughts?

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I would return it to REI and inform them of the issue, then check the one you replace it with. REI's return policy makes it an easy B&M store to return a used knife or swap is with a counterfeit.
 
darth_cholo said:
Just got my REI Bugout and did an un-boxing inspection. Box looks new and that's about the only positive thing so far.

1. First thing i noticed, hmm blade looks a little dirty. Maybe it's just grease ok, let's flip it open
2 Opens ok. I have a min-grip so action was as expected.
3. Noticed some yellow gunk on the thumb stud, probably just some dried grease or lube.
4. noticed some dirt on inside of lock mechanism (no pocket lint, more like debri)
5. Noticed some very light chips in the anodizing on the thumb studs.
6. touched the blade with my fingers and it was kind of tacky with that seemingly dry yellow grease on it

At this point I'm thinking to myself, Ok fine, somebody handled the knife, maybe returned it as new. Maybe it just go some manufacturing pollution during packaging. I can easily clean the knife and the little specs of anodizing can easily happen the first time I carry it.

Of course your wondering about the most important thing. The blade! I tried the shave test. Nothing. ok no big deal. Rubbed my thumb over the edge, hmmm something's wrong. See video for what happened next.

Thoughts?

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I agree that it sounds like REI sold you a returned knife. A dull blade can just be due to a bad sharpening job but there shouldn't be so much debris, gunk, and grease on the knife. I would take it back. Thanks for the story though, as I will inspect any knife I ever buy from REI.
 
Mine was pretty dull out of the box. I gave the whole knife a spa treatment and sharpening... It will never be centered but its perfect otherwise.
 
The grind is so crooked I may just keep and try out some new diamond stones I haven't used yet to reprofile. Even when scary sharp the grind was uneven on my mini grip.

Bugout online is on back order now and not in stock at theocal REI.
 
We take apart and assemble at least 50 in a week and I would say it was a return. Occasionally we find a small issue or a stripped screw and spacer from the factory but 99 percent of what comes to us new is spot on as far as centering and assembly. Most come very sharp but if you are looking for that custom hair popping sharpness you may have to do your own edge tuning. Here is a breakdown that kind of gives you an idea as we see more bugouts than most up close and personal I am guessing
Out of around 500 we have had
2 with stripped hardware ( meaning a screw or spacer threads- not the torx head)
3 off center slightly
2 with Loctite so bad we had to heat it to break loose a screw, always the rear axis cartridge screw ( the one in the middle of the scale)
1 with the wrong omega springs installed

We generally do an overall inspection and center and tune when they leave here. We have a couple parts knives here when we need to rob a part for customers and fix their new blade. ( Benchmade won't let us have a parts kit yet :) )

Overall very low issue rate.
 
Interesting. I just returned it to REI. Most likely an REI issue vs Benchmade. I let them know that it's supposed to be sharp and that it seemed pretty handled. She said she's gonna put it back up for resale because she was able to cut a tiny slice in cardboard.

I told her it's suppose to be sharper than that and she almost fainted when I tried to slice my finger to show her.

Sux cause I got a good deal on it. They don't have in stock anymore.
 
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