Benchmade Bugout Is Legit!

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

This is the thread that just won't die! I love it. Had to replace my omega springs a week ago on my bugout. Both went bust at the same time.

 

[mcseal2]

I'm going to revive this thread one more time.

I lost my S30V bugout a while back so I ended up ordering a new one when I found a great price on Ebay. This new one has aluminum scales with a steel liner, and M390 steel. Of course after buying it I found my old one in a zipper side pocket of a dry bag. Apparently I only thought I'd checked everywhere!

My postage scale says the new one is an ounce heavier than the old one, but the old one has it's pocket clip removed. The new one has less flex with the aluminum/steel scales.

From anyone who has used these is there much performance difference between these steels? It serves me as a back-up knife to a fixed blade mostly so I'm not trying to do a whole elk, moose, caribou, etc with one. It's more for caping or if I lose my primary knife.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Marbles]

I'm going to revive this thread one more time.

I lost my S30V bugout a while back so I ended up ordering a new one when I found a great price on Ebay. This new one has aluminum scales with a steel liner, and M390 steel. Of course after buying it I found my old one in a zipper side pocket of a dry bag. Apparently I only thought I'd checked everywhere!

My postage scale says the new one is an ounce heavier than the old one, but the old one has it's pocket clip removed. The new one has less flex with the aluminum/steel scales.

From anyone who has used these is there much performance difference between these steels? It serves me as a back-up knife to a fixed blade mostly so I'm not trying to do a whole elk, moose, caribou, etc with one. It's more for caping or if I lose my primary knife.

Thanks for your help.

Yes. M390 is close to S90V. It has amazing abrasive resistance and is known for holding an edge. It has about 2-4 times the abrasive edge holding of S30V (from my experience).

M390 is hard and not as tough as S30V. The edge tends to chip out if cutting things with lots of junk. The chips can be harder to resharpen (and M390 is already more difficult than S30V).

Personally, I have liked both steels from Benchmade. For a general use knife in the field, I prefer S30V. It takes abuse better in my experience. For EDC, I feel the blade needs to be touched up every week, but with M390 it is closer to every 4 weeks.

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks for the reply, that helps.

My main job for the little back-up knife is caping if I’ll shoulder mount, or cleaning the skull if not. I have a little ceramic rod for touch-ups I carry too.

With lots of contact with bone likely would you recommend the S30V over the M390?

 

[S-3 ranch]

Thanks for the reply, that helps.

My main job for the little back-up knife is caping if I’ll shoulder mount, or cleaning the skull if not. I have a little ceramic rod for touch-ups I carry too.

With lots of contact with bone likely would you recommend the S30V over the M390?

No
s30v is easy to sharpen , but m390/ 20cv holds up longer imo
a crock or strop in the pack will keep it sharp

 

[Marbles]

Thanks for the reply, that helps.

My main job for the little back-up knife is caping if I’ll shoulder mount, or cleaning the skull if not. I have a little ceramic rod for touch-ups I carry too.

With lots of contact with bone likely would you recommend the S30V over the M390?

Personally, I would take S30V if expecting a lot of contact with bone. While not M390, I sold my S90V Altitude and Saddle Mountain skinner because I got tired of sharpening out chips. Replaced them with an S30V Bugout. Technique will probably make a difference, I tend to be a tad sloppy and put lateral pressure on the edge at times; so the problem might just be that I treat a knife like a crowbar.

 

[mcseal2]

I’m that way with my primary knife. That’s why I went with a fixed blade in 3V. Its also part of the reason I always have 2 knives. I can be hard on them.

 

[Ishisube]

I lost my S30V bugout a while back so I ended up ordering a new one when I found a great price on Ebay. Of course after buying it I found my old one in a zipper side pocket of a dry bag. Apparently I only thought I'd checked everywhere!

That's how I find things I lost all too often and I just went through finding where I'd left my Leatherman after it being gone for a month. All it took was getting the new one in the mail and sure enough, a couple days later there it was sitting out in the open in the shed where I'd been using it.

 

[TheGDog]

I picked up a Benchmade bugout folder in July and I've been carrying it every day since. At this point I can say you guys NEED to try one out! Make sure you have diamond sharpeners, because the steel is hard, but this knife rocks. I reprofiled the grind on the S30V blade to a much shallower, slicey, angle and I'm in love with this knife. I need to skin a few animals with it, but I have a feeling this will handle multiple deer/one elk without a resharpening job because of the steel. And with the reprofiled edge it's scary sharp! At 2oz I envision this being a great alternative to Havalons, etc. Which is great, because I'm not big on land-filling things unless it's absolutely necessary, so Havalons just don't do it for me.

I also bring along the smaller bugout w/ the orange handle.

But... I use that for my everything else knife, like if I need to cut a thin branch off that won't just snap off when trying to back into a hidey spot somewhere.

I was REAL impressed with the Argali Carbon though! It was like all of the things you liked about a Havalon, but without the fear of flexing/snapping the blade, or the fear of oopsie'ing and poking the hide. And the deeper belly to the blade made it so I could be a little bit faster with the skinning process since not having to worry as much about mistakenly poking thru the hide. It did a great job on two coyotes so far. liked it better for doing caping like the eyelids and lip area. I was surprised as I figured I'd probably need to bustout the Havalon to have more sharpness while working the skin of the head/face.. but NO! It did it all very well! And that stiffness, and not having to deal with the flexy blade... saved you all these bits and pieces of fractional parts of a second that add up by the time you've completed, so you're ready to packout sooner. I especially noticed the difference when you're trying to make the cut up the legs along the line where the different colored fur meets each other. It did that part significantly easier and faster. For the smaller critters I'd still kinda like to use the Havalon for the cut around the Anus part. For those smaller critter that smaller scalpel make doing that carefully a teensy bit more precise and cleaner. The Argali managed it fine enough... just was a teensy bit less efficient turning that tight circle back there is all, just cause the blade increases in height more rapidly as you plunge deeper in so takes a little more care doing tat little circle like that is all.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

Since the last time I checked on this thread, I've upgraded my bugout to one with G10 and cpm 20cv steel. It holds its edge longer than the S30V for sure. Can't go wrong with either one though.

 

[BurtMacklin]

Bugout is my everyday carry. Fantastic knife.

 

[signing off]

Online I found the Benchmade site and Benchmadeonline site.
Would trying to save a few bucks be worth trying the second one? Anyone else see that?

 

[mcseal2]

Last time I looked Ebay had some at a decent price.

 

[Marbles]

Online I found the Benchmade site and Benchmadeonline site.
Would trying to save a few bucks be worth trying the second one? Anyone else see that?

I don't know anything about the second one. It sounds fishy. There are fake Benchmades.

If you qualify, Benchmade has good LE, mil, first responder discounts.

 

[GotDraw?]

I don't know anything about the second one. It sounds fishy. There are fake Benchmades.

If you qualify, Benchmade has good LE, mil, first responder discounts.

^^^^I read that Benchmade eliminated their LEO/First Responder discount program/.

If anyone knows differently, I'd love to hear.

JL

 

[Marbles]

^^^^I read that Benchmade eliminated their LEO/First Responder discount program/.

If anyone knows differently, I'd love to hear.

JL

They have not. I just put an item in my cart and was able to apply the discount. I think it was a larger discount in the past, but it is still a good discount.

If memory serves, it use to be through their website, and the discount would show while shopping. Now it is applied via ID.me and you apply the discount once an item is in your cart. That may be where the idea they ended the program came from.

 

[schmalzy]

I'm going to revive this thread one more time.

I lost my S30V bugout a while back so I ended up ordering a new one when I found a great price on Ebay. This new one has aluminum scales with a steel liner, and M390 steel. Of course after buying it I found my old one in a zipper side pocket of a dry bag. Apparently I only thought I'd checked everywhere!

My postage scale says the new one is an ounce heavier than the old one, but the old one has it's pocket clip removed. The new one has less flex with the aluminum/steel scales.

From anyone who has used these is there much performance difference between these steels? It serves me as a back-up knife to a fixed blade mostly so I'm not trying to do a whole elk, moose, caribou, etc with one. It's more for caping or if I lose my primary knife.

Thanks for your help.

Picked up the same one. How are you liking it a few months later?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mcseal2]

Honestly I have not used it to much. I like it but it hasn’t had much of a test. I work on a ranch and carry a larger ZT 452 cf when I carry a folder, or an LT Wright fixed blade when working and using a knife a lot.

 

[Marbles]

Well, put my S30V Bugout to work breaking down a bear last weekend. It did well, needs to be touched up, but no chips in the blade even though I broke down joits with it. It is capable of getting through an entire animal.

 

[jth7186]

What’s the street price on a new bug out, and from where? EDC right now is a North Arm Skaha that I love.