Cold Steel Spartan vs. Cold Steel XL Voyager

J

Joshua Wong

Joined
Feb 26, 2018
Messages
33
During this time, I feel it's necessary to be carrying a larger folder. I can't decide between the cold steel spartan or the cold steel xl voyager. It will either go in my pocket or in a fanny pack. Mostly for defensive purposes and something I'm going to carry 24/7. Any thoughts?
 
I can attest to the Spartan being totally solid. Great handle ergs. Sharp out of the box. Legendary Tri-AD lock. Never failed me. If it's gonna be a pocket knife, I hope you have another pocket for everything else! It's my truck knife. Well, one of my truck knives!
 
I would suggest asking at the Cold Steel sub-forum as well. :)

Sadly I don’t have the Spartan, but I can vouch for the quality of the Voyager XL in Aus10a steel. The knife arrived razor sharp and there were no QC issues on my unit. For my large-ish hands, the ergonomic handle is just perfect. Deployment is smooth, bladeplay is non-existent, and lock disengagement is just manageble. Top of my head, the Voyager XL is about 7-8 ounces, so for a large blade, you get a decent blade length-to-weight ratio IMHO. For large EDC applications, this is my go-to folding knife.

Some cons you may want to consider are the following. First, when clipped to your pocket, a significant portion of the knife will be showing. This may throw off your deep carry game. Second, the handle scales with the “Templar cross” patterns won’t be everyone’s favorite because of texturing hotspots. Personally, I don’t mind the handle scales. Other than those two, there isn’t much else I can nitpick.

Either knife (provided you don’t get a lemon) should serve you just fine. Happy hunting, friend.
 
I have and like both models. The Spartan has a very secure handle ,you can actually hold the knife without closing your fingers. However I prefer my fully serrated XL voyager because as someone noted above it has a longer blade and is a devastating cutter.
 
The XL Voyager is bigger and lighter than the Spartan, and it provides more reach. On the other hand, the Spartan has a thumb plate, which may or may not prove useful for your defensive application. Of those two, my choice was the XL Voyager, clip point. I EDC that thing almost every day and get a great big kick out of using it for pretty much everything from food prep to opening mail. Those things said, you won’t go wrong with either choice.
 
I just order my spartan today. Did my homework for 2 days. At first I looked into xl voyager and rajah 2. Love the xl voyager tanto, but they’re just a bit too big for me. Then I looked into recon 1 and voyager large, which are about the same size. Love them too, but size seems a bit small for me. Then I find the spartan, size is between voyager xl and voyager large, which is perfect to me. It has a kukri blade shape just like the rajah 2, but in a much reasonable size. Tri-ad lock, metal liners, Aus10a blade, firm firm grip, 9oz weight, everything seems right to me. I will say pick spartan unless you are really into big knives. And if you are, I will say check rajah 2 as well.

Joe
 
I know most chuckle at the idea of carry a knife for self defense. As a POST Range Master, POST Tactical Instructor, and POST Defensive knife tactics Instructor don't bring a gun to a knife fight. Fast, effective, and devastating. In a serrated blade, the damage can be easily irreperable. Fact is MOST LEOs can't draw in a second. A combatent can cover 30 Feet in less time than most Officers can draw. Video is on YOUTUBE. Even after extensive training. Those that can usually go back to their slower draw two weeks after training. Knives are ubiquitous to our culture and do have a defense in court from my court experience of 850 cases as court cadre. However, not giving legal advice etc.

I own most of the choices. So EDC, its not the length, its the width and how you carry it. Voyager is so useful, lightweight, thin, strong, etc. VAQUERO IN SERRATIONS IS A CHAIN SAW. Spartan is a jack of all trades. Rajah interrations are awesome in any enviroment. After 2 weeks of carrying any knife, you'll get used to it. It I can feel naked without my knife and gun and...you can carry something over a rediculous 6 ounce weight limit.

A recommendation is dont clip your knife to your pocket for the world to see. Its so easy to loose it via getting caught on something you brush up against. I carry IWB (inside the waisteband) in urban or rural settings.
Really, any of your knives mentioned are top shelf. It'll come down to ergonomics in the hand and aesthetics. Like I said, I have most of them. Lynn Thompson tells a story of a friend that used a Spartan in street combat. Again, as stated, devastating. Remember a knife is the oldest tool that we use for work. Old topic for those considering.
 
ive had both and for me they are just too big and heavy to comfortably carry in my pocket, im 5'9 and 150 lbs so im not a big guy and i could just never get comfortable carrying these, you could try a voyager xl without a pocket clip on some kind of lanyard it makes it a bit better, if you plan on carrying it in a backpack then it wont matter and i would recommend the voyager xl as they are larger and the tanto version is literally a pocket sword

if you want something that will be easy and comfortable to carry at all times in your pocket or waistband i would reccomend a spyderco police 4 lightweight, its very large but light yet strong cause of the backlock and the price is great
 
Joshua Wong said:
During this time, I feel it's necessary to be carrying a larger folder. I can't decide between the cold steel spartan or the cold steel xl voyager. It will either go in my pocket or in a fanny pack. Mostly for defensive purposes and something I'm going to carry 24/7. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
So you want a knife to carry in your fanny pack for self defense? Maybe toss a rape whistle and some pink keychain mace in the fannypack, too.
 
Another resurrected thread from almost 2 years ago, but still interesting points from back then and today --> @ D dragonram7 I'll chime in anyway because I enjoy such topics :cool:
I agree with most of what was said, I do carry firearm and knife and I did draw both of them in self defense occasions, in the States and back in Europe/Russia (CCCP in those days...)
As some brought it up first priority would be to de-escalate the situation, run, leave, do it anyway, who cares...
However, when you have to defend yourself with any tool, knife or firearm will do it effectively only if you deploy it as fast as you can and present it ready to use.
A regular training with both is a must, otherwise you're risking to be hurt with your own weapon...
In my cases, I was lucky enough to have my assailants come to their senses and moved back so no actual use came to play.
With this said, before I started thinking about carrying any kind of weapon, I was stabbed twice with knife, not seriously, but still...

I had the Spartan, and still have the Tanto Voyagers, LX, absolutely favorite knives for work or to carry for self defense.
However, I would prefer to have wave system for opening, combined with a fob, I draw much faster, secure, and my palm positions much faster over the knife controls,
I hardly adjust my grip, something inevitable when you're using folder IMO.
Spartan is a great knife but blade geometry requires some skills, otherwise, the grip is absolutely solid in both directions, stab and slash, and most importantly
the knife comes with ability to be waved off your pocket without any mods.
I still do prefer the Voyager tanto because of the length and geometry of the blade, longer than the clip point, and solid purchase on the grip.
No wave, sadly...
Just for the heck of it I'll slap a picture of what I usually carry, the little Shield with moded 10 rounds mags and choice of waved folders, the last one - Cold Steel ProLite is also waved.
The serrated Voyager, the ZT620 and the Emerson CQC are chisel grind.

d3e76c.jpg
 
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POCEH KOCEB said:
Another resurrected thread from almost 2 years ago, but still interesting points from back then and today --> @ D dragonram7 I'll chime in anyway because I enjoy such topics :cool:
I agree with most of what was said, I do carry firearm and knife and I did draw both of them in self defense occasions, in the States and back in Europe/Russia (CCCP in those days...)
As some brought it up first priority would be to de-escalate the situation, run, leave, do it anyway, who cares...
However, when you have to defend yourself with any tool, knife or firearm will do it effectively only if you deploy it as fast as you can and present it ready to use.
A regular training with both is a must, otherwise you're risking to be hurt with your own weapon...
In my cases, I was lucky enough to have my assailants come to their senses and moved back so no actual use came to play.
With this said, before I started thinking about carrying any kind of weapon, I was stabbed twice with knife, not seriously, but still...

I had the Spartan, and still have the Tanto Voyagers, LX, absolutely favorite knives for work or to carry for self defense.
However, I would prefer to have wave system for opening, combined with a fob, I draw much faster, secure, and my palm positions much faster over the knife controls,
I hardly adjust my grip, something inevitable when you're using folder IMO.
Spartan is a great knife but blade geometry requires some skills, otherwise, the grip is absolutely solid in both directions, stab and slash, and most importantly
the knife comes with ability to be waved off your pocket without any mods.
I still do prefer the Voyager tanto because of the length and geometry of the blade, longer than the clip point, and solid purchase on the grip.
No wave, sadly...
Just for the heck of it I'll slap a picture of what I usually carry, the little Shield with moded 10 rounds mags and choice of waved folders, the last one - Cold Steel ProLite is also waved.
The serrated Voyager, the ZT620 and the Emerson CQC are chisel grind.

d3e76c.jpg
Click to expand...
While I don't have any of the aforementioned knives, nor I expect to fend off any assaultant with a blade... I NEED to get me one of those Voyagers.... (but not the XL size, illegal in my country due to blade length). Great picture, BTW.

What about that Cold Steel Black Talon? It does resemble the Spyderco Matriarch A LOT!

Mikel
 
Hi M Mikel_24 , mentioning the blade length, I'd assume you are in EU, one of the Scandinavian countries ?
The only length restriction I'm familiar is for non-locking folding blades, 2.7", applies for Denmark (?) correct me if I'm wrong.
As far as I'm aware, pretty much everywhere in EU knifes are forbidden to be carried as a weapon but not as a tool.
I'd say a tanto blade folder with appropriate blade length could go for a " folding scraper" ? ;)

To your question - Black Talon is lager than the Spyderco. It's a fully serrated blade with chisel grinded bevel, around 15 degree on the grind side.
I intentionally took the picture that way so it'll be visible. It is unbelievably sharp straight out of the box.
Pro's IMO: large knife, allows solid purchase on the grip in any way. Flat but comfortable handle, easy to control in space.
Position of the clips along with the screws sticking out allows for solid grip when drawing off the pocket without fob added, engaging the "wave" plate.
For lots of people hiding the knife, putting "deep pocket" clip is a must, in reality deep pocket clip without fob only slows deploying the knife
so for me personally any deep pocket clips without adding fob to it are "no", especially if the knife is designed to be a weapon of any sort.
Not much Con's for the Tallon in my books, it's a large knife to carry but I think it's worth it.
This type of blade requires some basic training and it's not easy sometimes to find time for this but it's needed, otherwise carrying is worthless.

Another idea if a blade length of 3.25" is allowed in your country: The Cold Steel ProLite folder.
Absolutely rock solid lock, as most of the CS Triad locks, great little tanto blade and it's easily modified to be waved.
I've done it with an old beater and it looks almost factory made, works flawlessly. I did some work with the lock, just to make it easier to open, Triad Locks are notorious with the little bit more force you need to open it.
As you can se on the second picture, the Talonn have longer leverage to work with during draw from the pocket, where the ProLite have pretty much the same force on the Triad lock but shorter leverage.
Just an idea, I don't know how comfortable you feel of doing such things, or if the blade length is suitable for your needs or local laws, we don't want you to be in trouble,
but Cold Steel is a great company and I'm sure they certainly have a blade length option suitable for EU...

Uc9Q2N.jpg


tIIsew.jpg
 
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