I’m overdue to show thanks to you all, for all the input on the way to enjoying / collecting knives. My favorite posts usually involve some comparison shots… I hope these help some of you. And I’m hoping to share a little bit of the thrill regarding my latest acquisition: a Manix 2 xl, “blackout” version (C95GPBBK2). It arrived just a few days ago, just in time for a weekend of camping. Before the pics, which were taken after the weekend of camping, here are some quick thoughts (or dare I say review).
First impressions (besides “I love you baby, you’re beautiful, where have you been all my life”
: It felt near-impossibly light given its size. Yes, I’d read the weight (5.2oz). But I think it “feels” lighter because it’s so large, and the weight is so dispersed. Best of all, this big beauty is perfectly thin… a major score in terms of being pocket-friendly.
Deployment/Lockup: Perfection. Well, ok, near perfection: I suppose by way of comparison, my Benchmade Rift/950 and 943 open a bit faster. But I can flick this open with my thumb if wanted, easily—haven’t missed an opening yet—and it’s very fast. Zero blade play detected, in any direction (I expect no less from Spyderco and they’ve not let me down).
The blade: Speaking of expectations, I’ve yet to have a single Spyderco arrive with anything less than perfect edge profiling/sharpening. Same with the Manix 2xl.
Caged Ball Bearing Lock (CBBL): Very nice. It does seem comparable to the Axis lock. . By way of comparison, it seems slightly more difficult to ‘release’ in my view – like it takes a tiny bit more force to pull back (and feels a titch less smooth when doing so) than the Axis. I also find the knife a tiny bit harder to swing closed once the lock is pulled back (I can swing it most of the way, easily, but it’s very hard to swing it all the way – I usually finish off by pushing it back in). I’m comparing it to my Benchmade Rift/950, 943, and the mini-onslaught that I recently sold. Ok, so it’s a tiny bit less buttery. The overall feeling? Awesome, bankvault security and highly convenient. I would rank it second only to the Axis as a lock mechanism, for my preferences. Compared to the compression lock (i.e. PM2)? Close call for me, an overall tie. The CBBL is easier for me to get to with my fingers, but my PM2’s compression feels a bit smoother/faster to me.
Other observations: I know some have criticized the amount of handle that sticks out of your pocket, once clipped in. But I like it as-is—plenty of handle to quickly/easily grab (and I’m not trying to conceal this thing). The only potential nit I can see so far is this: will the blacked-out clip become super scratched up, like on my brown Endura 4 (see below)? I bet it will… it won’t bother me, but I could see some minding that.
Back from road testing!: Or more specifically: back from camping with the Manix 2 xl… it gets an A+. Granted, the most frequent task it saw while camping was probably slicing apples for my son and his cousins. But as you can imagine, it came out to touch wood whenever I had an excuse (shaving sticks for roasting, helping to create kindling/shavings for the fire, and more). Needless to say it tackled all tasks with ease – and with a high enjoyment factor for me. I really appreciate the “leverage” provided by a wider blade/handle. It’s still razor sharp – you gotta love s30v steel.
Conclusions: The Manix 2 xl will very likely replace my Stretch 2 as my favorite camping blade. For me, it’s more of a home-run than the PM 2, as well (my stretch sees more pocket time than the PM2, go figure!) More thoughts/conclusions with the comparison shots below. The “comparison” to the Bug is just for fun, obviously. Thanks guys!
First impressions (besides “I love you baby, you’re beautiful, where have you been all my life”
: It felt near-impossibly light given its size. Yes, I’d read the weight (5.2oz). But I think it “feels” lighter because it’s so large, and the weight is so dispersed. Best of all, this big beauty is perfectly thin… a major score in terms of being pocket-friendly. Deployment/Lockup: Perfection. Well, ok, near perfection: I suppose by way of comparison, my Benchmade Rift/950 and 943 open a bit faster. But I can flick this open with my thumb if wanted, easily—haven’t missed an opening yet—and it’s very fast. Zero blade play detected, in any direction (I expect no less from Spyderco and they’ve not let me down).
The blade: Speaking of expectations, I’ve yet to have a single Spyderco arrive with anything less than perfect edge profiling/sharpening. Same with the Manix 2xl.
Caged Ball Bearing Lock (CBBL): Very nice. It does seem comparable to the Axis lock. . By way of comparison, it seems slightly more difficult to ‘release’ in my view – like it takes a tiny bit more force to pull back (and feels a titch less smooth when doing so) than the Axis. I also find the knife a tiny bit harder to swing closed once the lock is pulled back (I can swing it most of the way, easily, but it’s very hard to swing it all the way – I usually finish off by pushing it back in). I’m comparing it to my Benchmade Rift/950, 943, and the mini-onslaught that I recently sold. Ok, so it’s a tiny bit less buttery. The overall feeling? Awesome, bankvault security and highly convenient. I would rank it second only to the Axis as a lock mechanism, for my preferences. Compared to the compression lock (i.e. PM2)? Close call for me, an overall tie. The CBBL is easier for me to get to with my fingers, but my PM2’s compression feels a bit smoother/faster to me.
Other observations: I know some have criticized the amount of handle that sticks out of your pocket, once clipped in. But I like it as-is—plenty of handle to quickly/easily grab (and I’m not trying to conceal this thing). The only potential nit I can see so far is this: will the blacked-out clip become super scratched up, like on my brown Endura 4 (see below)? I bet it will… it won’t bother me, but I could see some minding that.
Back from road testing!: Or more specifically: back from camping with the Manix 2 xl… it gets an A+. Granted, the most frequent task it saw while camping was probably slicing apples for my son and his cousins. But as you can imagine, it came out to touch wood whenever I had an excuse (shaving sticks for roasting, helping to create kindling/shavings for the fire, and more). Needless to say it tackled all tasks with ease – and with a high enjoyment factor for me. I really appreciate the “leverage” provided by a wider blade/handle. It’s still razor sharp – you gotta love s30v steel.
Conclusions: The Manix 2 xl will very likely replace my Stretch 2 as my favorite camping blade. For me, it’s more of a home-run than the PM 2, as well (my stretch sees more pocket time than the PM2, go figure!) More thoughts/conclusions with the comparison shots below. The “comparison” to the Bug is just for fun, obviously. Thanks guys!
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