Large Or Small Buck Vantage?

MattyLav

MattyLav

Joined
Jun 28, 2012
Messages
2,159
Hello Everyone,
Im thinking about getting a Buck Vantage, Im just not sure which size i should get. So can i get some pictures of the small or large Vantage with some knives, like Benchmade mini grip, spyderco delica, and other folders like that.
Thanks for any help!
Matty
 
As someone who owns one, I strongly recommend avoiding the Vantage line. Here's the fullsize next to some popular designs.

 
Meh, supposedly they had quality control issues at some point. I say supposedly, because I've bought 5 Vantage Pro's over a period of 3 years (4 were gifts), and they were all perfect. I highly recommend the Pro version because it comes with an S30V Bos heat treated blade. I've always thought that they were an EXCELLENT knife for the price.
 
I have the small in s30v, and I can tell you that the blade shape is great for cleaning small game and birds. It works great on turkeys too, even some of the massive turkey breeds that grow up to about 40 pounds. I found it a little small for dear though. I need to buy a large to compare it to. I'm not sure if they make the large in s30v though.
 
My gripes aren't just with quality control. They use a terribly thin stop pin placed far too close to the pivot. In combination with their very thin liner, it makes for a knife lacking longevity. Buck has a habit of this. Most people blame the thin liner, but if you take the knife apart the stop pin set up is a complete joke. Being so close to the pivot, it shows wear much faster too.

I may ruffle some feathers, but there's a reason the people who have had no problems always post pictures of great condition blades, and the guys who have obvious users have nothing good to say. Just calling it like I see it as I think the knife is a liability for hard/work use.

I'll likely use Buck's warranty, only because it is such a pretty knife. Unless they updated the design, it's only a temporary solution though.



 
I've got several Vantage models, I prefer the large ones, the small ones are just a tad to small for me.

Never had a single flaw/problem with any of them, great line of knives.
 
I'm going to put my Vantage Select through some tougher chores and jobs over a stretch of months and will report back.
 
I have the vantage pro large. It fits my hand just right. I would imagine the small version would be too small.

The knife itself is not perfect, but it's a good EDC at the price point.
 
o4tg said:
I may ruffle some feathers, but there's a reason the people who have had no problems always post pictures of great condition blades, and the guys who have obvious users have nothing good to say. Just calling it like I see it as I think the knife is a liability for hard/work use.

I'll likely use Buck's warranty, only because it is such a pretty knife. Unless they updated the design, it's only a temporary solution though.
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I don't see any reason my Vantages won't hold up to years of use. I use mine for slicing, and not prying. I agree it may not be designed as a "hard use knife"

I really like the smaller avid with the diamondwood scales. I have small hands, though.
 
Here is a pic I took a while back...
Left to right: Large Vantage, Small Vantage, Large Gripitilian, Mini Griptilian, Superleaf, Stretch, Sage2, Delica, Native

1062228_comparison1_800x518.jpg


Personally, I like the Small Vantage more than the large.

Here's another. Left to right: Large/Small Sodbusters, Large/Mini Griptilian, Large/Small Vantage, Endura/Delica, RAT-1/RAT-2, Cryo, 110

1115551_comparison_800x472.jpg
 
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r8shell said:
I don't see any reason my Vantages won't hold up to years of use. I use mine for slicing, and not prying. I agree it may not be designed as a "hard use knife"
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I don't think it's suppose to be used to hack up wood and such. Imo it's good for what it was designed for at a good price. If it doesn't hold up to serious sphine whacking tests and prying open things without breaking or loosening up the blade, well guess what, that's not what it was designed for.
 
I have both the small and large, and prefer the large.

I love the Vantage, I think it is the best value at its price point.
 
They're good for the price. They don't scream "hard use" but for light to medium edc tasks, they hold up just fine. I've had 3 over the course of a couple of years and 1 of them had questionable lockup. The others were just great. I prefer the smaller model. Awesome weight, and the blade just flies open.
 
Here's some of my rotation: Opinel No.8, Kershaw Knockout, Emerson Mini-Commander, Buck Vantage Avid, Kershaw Cryo, Becker/Ka-bar BK 11

 
I have the large. It is an ok knife. great for the price, but my liner lock is a fail it barely locks its the earliest lock up I have ever seen on a knife and thats not a good thing in this case, because it fails with light pressure about 40% of the time. Sure I got a bad apple though... do love the ergos and blade shape. the s30v is awesome though the coating kinda sucks... just my 2 cents.... I would by a manix 2 again before buying another vantage...
 
It is very easy to tune up your vantage. Lockup, blade centering, smoothness are all adjustable to some extent. Just search for "tuning the buck vantage" on YouTube and you'll see my video about this.

If you use this knife with some common sense, as in, don't expect it to act like a fixed blade, screwdriver, hammer, etc., then you will be pleased with this knife. I believe it is a nice, USA made product.

BTW, go with the large. The small is ok, but doesn't offer a full grip.
 
dogstar said:
It is very easy to tune up your vantage. Lockup, blade centering, smoothness are all adjustable to some extent. Just search for "tuning the buck vantage" on YouTube and you'll see my video about this.

If you use this knife with some common sense, as in, don't expect it to act like a fixed blade, screwdriver, hammer, etc., then you will be pleased with this knife. I believe it is a nice, USA made product.

BTW, go with the large. The small is ok, but doesn't offer a full grip.
Click to expand...

That was you? I've watched it a couple of times. Really useful stuff. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get the desired results on my Buck Vantage Force. Still, my large and small Vantages were great out of the box.
 
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