New vs Old Benchmade Steep Country Initial thoughts and Comparison

[mattj0rdan]

Exactly what I did. Even if they sheath fit perfect, Id still dremel those wings off. Theres enough of a ramp left to get enough push to get even a tight fitting knife out.

Does yours fit as poorly as mine, rattling like hell? Its not simply the santoprene handle being a problem. the blade itself doesnt fit at all.

Mine doesn’t rattle, the fit is snug but not super tight. I would prefer it to be more snug.

 

[Wyyld]

Uhhh i cant type. The Black version is back in stock for 85 bucks on bladehq. I just bought one. I think they have 3 left at this price. Great steel! Great deal!

 

[TheBootBowhunting]

Good find. Debating selling my V2 to grab a backup v1 before you cant find em. But that orange handle has honestly come in handy quite a few times.

Follow up on the sheath...I emailed Benchmade. They told me to call customer service. Been trying to do that a few days unsuccessfully.

Sheath aside, I still prefer the V1 by a wide margin. Grab 1 of these 3 at blade hq before they are gone.

Edit: Got in touch with Benchmade. They told me to send the knife and sheath in and theyll see whats wrong with it and they dont think sending a new sheath would fix it. I guess the 3.00 in plastic was a bridge too far for them. Im just going to find someone to make a kydex for it. Honestly when I buy benchmade knives, I expect the sheath to be terrible at this point. I still think their knives are worth the price of admission though.

 

[Wyyld]

One left!

 

[MThuntr]

I really like my old version of the Steep Country. Got it several years ago at a BHA Rendezvous where a purchase got you in for a Kimber Rifle. Had it resharpened by the factory a last year and it's due for a touch-up after cutting an elk and mule deer with it this year.

 

[Warren]

I used to carry a Benchmade now I carry a Half Faced Blade.
I had the same issue with the sheath. Reach out to Poor Henry's Customs (Instagram account) and he will build you a custom kydex for your knife of choice. I'll post more in a separate thread.

 

[NDGuy]

I used to carry a Benchmade now I carry a Half Faced Blade.
I had the same issue with the sheath. Reach out to Poor Henry's Customs (Instagram account) and he will build you a custom kydex for your knife of choice. I'll post more in a separate thread.

I’ll have both after this week lol

I got one a knife kick and ordered a HFB and Gene Ingram as well as grabbing a S1 Steep Country.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Ordered 2 orange handled original models last night.

 

[TheBootBowhunting]

Just to update this thread, I bought a sheath through Cleveland Kydex for my V1. Finally someone made it the way I wanted it. I dont belt carry this knife, its in my pack, so I wanted a simple, thin kydex sheath. Im not sure if this is how they make them stock, but I explained in the comments of the order that I wanted the simplest, streamlined kydex sheath possible. I believe it cost around $35. Very happy with this one.

You dont have to mail the knife in with them as the guy has a v1 on hand to make the kydex mold. He doesnt have the v2 available yet, althought he said he could do it if I mailed the v2 in.

 

[Outlaw99]

I wanted to get a saddle mountain knife, but couldn’t get one before they “upgraded” to their jacked up blade shape on the new ones. Maybe they’ll come to their senses and change it back or I guess I’ll never get to own one.

This site shows they still have the original if you’re still looking https://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/...238&vpr=new2020&ttl=New+2020+Benchmade+Knives

 

[N2TRKYS]

This site shows they still have the original if you’re still looking https://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/...238&vpr=new2020&ttl=New+2020+Benchmade+Knives

They must have sold out. All I’m seeing is the newer versions with the rounded tip.
Thanks, though.

 

[Outlaw99]

Oh, you’re looking for the hunter model. That was my favorite as well. I’ll keep an eye out. Was the best designed fix blade shape of anything they have IMO


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[N2TRKYS]

Oh, you’re looking for the hunter model. That was my favorite as well. I’ll keep an eye out. Was the best designed fix blade shape of anything they have IMO


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My bad, I didn’t realize it was called that. Thanks.

 

[robby denning]

This seems to be a pretty popular blade here on Rokslide. I figure some people may have a choice between old and new, so maybe this will help someone. At the end of the day, this is going to come off as an odd review. Ill save you some time....If you can get the older model at a discounted price, Id jump on it before they are gone. But thats not to say I dont like the new version.

Just to get this out of the way...the original Benchmade Steep Country 15008 is my favorite hunting knife, or any type of knife for that matter, of all time. This also happens to be the least expensive fixed blade knife if the hunt lineup. The original SC, Ive used it to break down 40-50 animals - from beginning to end. Ive touched the blade up after each one, but I cant recall having to touch it up in the field. I havent done an elk - Im working on that part. Any revision or refresh of this knife was going to have its work cut out for it.

Last week Benchmade released the Steep Country 15006. Benchmade has updated the Hidden Canyon, Saddle Mountain and now the SC in 2020. Mostly it was an update of the blade shapes, and adding s90v as an option on some models.

What it amounts to is that theyve changed the things they shouldnt have, and then changed other things in ways that it didnt compliment the changes they didnt need to make. Ill try to explain that.

First, the blade and blade shape. Both blades are S30V steel. The original SC had a high saber grind with a slightly thicker bladestock. The new version is thinner bladestock and a full flat grind. That part I can get on board with, we're good so far. The jimping locations on the bladestock on the original for the index finger position seemed slightly too far forward. So Benchmade moved the jimping back to the right spot...BUT, they changed the blade shape which changed how it feels in hand. To my hands, the new jimping location would be perfect on the old blade. Next, the blade is taller on the new knife and just looks and feels a good bit larger than the original which traveled the middle of the road between nimble for detailed work and burly for popping joints and cutting tendons. I easily prefer the blade shape on the original as of now.

The handle on the new SC feels thinner in hand. There is a more pronounced belly in the finger area that does feel better than the original There is a more aggressive 'knurling' on the santoprene handle which also was a good move for when your hands are slick with blood. But the large jimping that sticks out of the santoprene on the top side of the hande was squared off and aggressive which helped when you really needed traction on the original. On the updated version those are rounded off, and just dont seem to have the same bite. Another situation where I prefer the new handle feel, but wish they wouldve kept the more aggressive squared off knurling on top. If you didnt like the aggressive handle knurling on the original, youll be pleased with the update.

As far as the sheaths go, the original sheath was so poorly done that damn near anything short of cardboard wouldve been an improvement. Well, they did do better than cardboard, but this is easily the most disappointing part of the update for me. It appeared as though the new boltoron sheath would be an upgrade. It is orange on one side, and black on the other. Looks nice. But thats about the extent of nice. The knife fits very poorly in the sheath. Rattles around as bad as any knife Ive owned. If it were thin and low profile, I could get over it. But the design on the thumb ramp leaves overly large wings sticking out both sides of the sheath and just takes up more space in a kill kit than it needs to. It is better than the originals sheath, but in ways Ill never understand, only marginally. Im already thinking about cutting down the 'wings' to see if I cant make it less cumbersome. I bought a kydex sheath for the original (shown below) and I may end up having to do the same for this one.

A lot of these things are feel, which will change from person to person. Ultimately, they changed things on the knife for the better, and also some I wish they didnt. I still think the new version is a top of the line hunting knife. I wish I could have the blade on the original and the handle on the update. But since thats not happening, Id say I prefer the original as of now. If you can still find the original at the discount price (i think it was $85 at a few online retailers) Id grab one of those. If not, I think the new version is still the best of the hunt line for Benchmade. Ill update the thread once Ive used the update hopefully on a buck this weekend.


In all of these pics, the new knife is on top and the original on bottom. Thanks!

Great review. Thanks for taking the time to type that up. Gonna help a few guys. @ktowncamo , you still got Gen 1 of the Steep Country in stock?

 

[chukwithak]

I found a couple of the old model on ebay today if anyone is looking.

 

[fwafwow]

Long story, but the one I purchased from DLT is now "spoken for" and I'm hoping to find another of the original version. I did see some eBay listings, but for much higher than the DLT deal of ~$85.

 

[ReefJones]

Excellent write up, sir! I'm in the market and looking at them both on Sportsman's website and wanted to know the difference. My Google search yielded this write up... I should have known the good folks at Rokslide would be on top of it!

For what it's worth, Sportsmans has both versions for sale in orange for $96.99 (still cheaper than the $130 for the newer version) :

Benchmade 15008-ORG Steep Country Hunter 3.5 inch Fixed Blade Knife - Orange

Benchmade 15008-ORG Steep Country Hunter 3.5 inch Fixed Blade Knife - Orange - This knife was designed to hit the dead-middle of hunter preferences for shape and feel of hunting knives and the materials used exceed the performance expectations.

www.sportsmans.com

Thanks,
Reef

 

[woods89]

Just to update this thread, I bought a sheath through Cleveland Kydex for my V1. Finally someone made it the way I wanted it. I dont belt carry this knife, its in my pack, so I wanted a simple, thin kydex sheath. Im not sure if this is how they make them stock, but I explained in the comments of the order that I wanted the simplest, streamlined kydex sheath possible. I believe it cost around $35. Very happy with this one.

You dont have to mail the knife in with them as the guy has a v1 on hand to make the kydex mold. He doesnt have the v2 available yet, althought he said he could do it if I mailed the v2 in.

Your post prompted me to order one myself, and I concur, if you have one of these knives this is money well spent. Excellent retention, and very slim and lightweight. You will have to buy mounting hardware if you want to put it on a belt but mine always goes in a pack so I'm going to leave the hardware off.

 

[Twodog]

Dont know how many of you are still wanting a better kydex for the V1 but Armatus Carry makes a really nice one. He has them for both versions.