Is the Benchmade Bugout the best knife ever?

Congrats on finally pulling the trigger. I did a few years back and haven’t looked back. Been thinking of a bugout myself. My current most common edc is the benchmade 940 and spyderco pm2. I use the pm2 for work and 940 for everything else. The 940 carries very well with its light and slim design and isn’t intimidating to others when you pull it out use it. To me an upgraded take on my grandfathers old traditional.
 
jmgruber said:
Anyone else struggle opening it with gloves on? Asking for a friend o_O
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Hmm, I don't know... let me check...

I'm back. I tried several pairs of gloves at one handed opening, with mixed results.

I tried 2 pair of "Wonder Grip" rubber work gloves, one insulated and one not. The insulated ones were thicker and made it difficult to locate the thumbstud, but the grippiness of the rubber still flips the knife open. Both pairs allow the "Axis Lock Flip Open" method just fine though. You know, where you pull back the Axis lock and just toss the blade into the open position.

I got out my Mechanix work gloves and their Home Depot counterparts, the "Husky" mechanic gloves. One pair of Mechanix is the "Impact" ones with the palm pads and the rubber knuckle guards, and the other pair says "Utility"... they are thinner with a flex cloth back and thin leather pads on the fingers and thumbs.

The Home Depot gloves are crap, and make it hard to do just about anything but swing a splitting maul. The seams are in the way for reliable thumb stud usage, but the Axis Flip works fine. The Mechanix Impact is about the same, but you can get ahold of the thumbstud better. The Utility glove allows reliable thumb stud activation as well as Axis Flip.

My winter snow gloves are good only for holding a ski pole and making snowballs, but you can Axis Flip with them. Likewise, the snow mittens allow only Axis Flip, and that is dicey. Suffice it to say that I struggled with these two.

All of the gloves allowed effortless closing of the knife, as you just unlock the Axis and let the blade drop shut. The mittens were a bit of a struggle.

All of the gloves allowed grasping the clip end of the knife and drawing it from the pocket, even the mittens.
 
Samuel_Adams said:
Could you elaborate alittle please? I respect your opinion just curious to why.
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as others posted ... it's just not possible for any one knife to be "the best knife ever" ...

and there is nothing wrong if it is your favorite or the best of your knives in your experiences ... it's just too broad of a statment ...
 
IDK if it is or isn't but I immediately bought a second one, and they are basically what I carry 90% of the time now.
 
Reswob said:
Best knife ever? Not a chance, not with plastic handles. Maybe if they do a G10 version (like the 530 vs 531), it could be in the running...

For now the best pocket knife ever is the original Kershaw Blur. :D
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I'll deff buy a couple g10 versions
 
BladeScout said:
Congrats on your Bugout, OP.

The Bugout seems to have quite a large following. As for best knife ever, it depends on your preference. Some like Benchmade, others prefer Spyderco or alternatives and might take umbrage to the 'best knife ever' moniker.
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I like em all I ain't gonna lie lol
 
Samuel_Adams said:
is the Benchmade Bugout one of the best pocket edc knives ever made? I'm my humble opinion absolutely positively yes. I know everyone won't agree with this and that's ok. I just think when you take the whole package into account price, blade steel, size, weight, etc. The Benchmade Bugout is a home run, and I'll be adding many more to my collection. Let me know what you guys think.
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Gosh, I've looked at it a lot and I just don't see the attraction . . . to me it is just another thin handled, great in the pocket but questionable in the hand, knife.
That said yesterday I saw a photo on the big river that a customer had posted that made me do a double take. I'll try to post it below. What caught my eye is the handle is next to a Chaparral. The Chaparral is a small knife, I've always thought, and the Bugout looks similar size next to it. What the heck ? ? ? I've always pictured the Bugout to be much larger, some where between the full size Griptillian and the Mini Grip . . . mostly I've pictured it like a Griptillian that has been run over by a steam roller.

What would I consider to be one of the best knives ever ? For one the new Buck 112 in S30V. As far as a knife I would want with me while . . . well . . . "Bugging out". The new 112 is not thumb stud equipped and it is too heavy but dang it feels like a million dollars in the hand ! ! ! ! ! Good grippy G-10. STOUT pivot, Killer fit in the hand in use ! ! ! ! !
By comparison . . . I imagine now . . . that the Bugout feels like a blade in an envelope.

Put a thumb stud on the 112, replace the nickel silver and steel with Ti or heat treated Aluminum and THAT would be more like it for me. For a bugout knife.

And yes I have a Buck 112 Sim Pro; it's a great little knife but, like the Bug out, is too thin for my taste.

Well you asked.

Here's the photo I mentioned. The Bugout looks small next to a Chaparral ? o_O o_O
71uFamoz7PL._CR204,0,1224,1224_UX175.jpg

Here's the 112 I mentioned S30V and all. The G-10 black handled 112. Now that's a KNOIFF ! ! !
IMG_6006.jpg
 
I have ridiculous piles of knives and I'm trying to quit Benchmade but IMO the Bugout is a great knife, and even better with after market G10 scales (I'm loving the ones KSF sells).
 
Samuel_Adams said:
Hey folks long time lurker looking to get more involved with the community I have come to love and respect. That being said I wanted to let everyone know that I finally did it. I finally stopped hesitating and bought a Benchmade Bugout, I jumped on the band wagon and haven't looked back. I'm sure this had been discussed many times, I just wanted to throw my opinion out there. So like the title says, is the Benchmade Bugout one of the best pocket edc knives ever made? I'm my humble opinion absolutely positively yes. I know everyone won't agree with this and that's ok. I just think when you take the whole package into account price, blade steel, size, weight, etc. The Benchmade Bugout is a home run, and I'll be adding many more to my collection. Let me know what you guys think.
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No. Knives that have parts, like the spring, that break too easily can never be the best knife ever. I want to like the knife due to reasons you state, but overall, BM has become a no-go for me.
 
I really want to get my hands on a Bugout, but they are not available locally. The knife "looks" really good, but I want to put my hands on one before shelling out my hard earned money.
 
DocJD said:
If we consider "bang for your buck" , I'd put Cold Steel way ahead .
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YUP ! . . . well . . . yesssss . . . ish . . .
Bang for the buck that would be the Voyager ! ! ! !
If they would put some steel in the blade, like this Para2 M4, the Voyager just could be the greatest knife on the planet . . . FOR REAL USE NOW . . . love that handle, action is friendly and decent (un like some of them that are too stiff / too high a spring rate like my Counter Point 1 ((( got a Counter Point two on the way though :rolleyes:;)))).
Voyager ! ! !
Heat treated 6061 aluminum nested liners, a handle with some serious traction and usefull thickness, bronze bushings and accurate build quality, way, way below $100 . . . I love these things ! ! !
PS: got an XL on the way !
Just to keep the Counter Point company during the trip you understand.
IMG_5465.jpg
 
^thats just a weird projection.
It's more like this, not my photo
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And this one is my photo :D

qKqzQZe.jpg

This knife went to a friend.
While whittling a stick, it was a bit much for it and I started to get the lock pretty sticky. Maybe it goes away after this coating on the lock bar smoothes out and it all gets worked in, but that felt a bit weak. Anyway, I'd love one with custom scales for myself. One day...
 
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I bought my boy a Bugout and it has worked its way to the top of his rotation, supplanting the Mini Grip I gave him several years. I bought him a Spyderco, too, I forget which one, and he never carries or uses it. He is a bartender who uses his knives hard and knows what he likes.

Modern one-handed openers are not too interesting to me, and I don’t intend to spend too much money on them. However, If someone were to make a gift to me of a Mini-grip or. Bugout, I would be well pleased, more so than with a ZT ot Spyderco. I am not too impressed with the idea of spending a lot of money on something a crude and dodgy as a liner lock or frame lock. The Axis is about as good as it gets IMO. If a spring breaks, I would replace it. I have replaced a lot of parts on a lot of machinery over the years, and the prospect does not trouble me. The couple of Benchmades I own have never given me any trouble.

I am a gun owner as well. BM has done nothing to offend me in that regard, nor has it done anything to undermine the Second Amendment.
 
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