Finally got a Bugout...and I get it

Undefeatable

Undefeatable

Joined
Feb 28, 2015
Messages
370
My quick knife backstory: I got into this hobby a few years ago and quickly went from Benchmade/Spyderco, to Midtechs, to customs. Within a few months I went from spending sub $200 on knives and cringing, to easily sending PayPal payments for $1500 for a knife. Well, that was when most of my income was disposable. After growing up and getting more financial responsibilities, I started finding around the $500 price range to be my comfort range. I was a frequent buyer/trader/seller of CRK, Hinderer, Strider, and more recently the Chinese Reate and WE knives. Well, one thing I will admit is that anything over $200 got used verrrryyy delicately. I would open at most, packages and mail with them. Anything harder use I would go find a box cutter or beater knife I had lying around. I recently wanted to purge my expensive knives since I wasn't even using them, and wanted to find a knife I could buy and use without fear of damaging and without the idea that I was going to resell it so I had to keep it pristine.

The Bugout: I had known about the Bugout since its release (how could you not, its gotta be one of the top 5 knives ever talked about at this point) but ignored it because I really didn't like the idea of the "plastic" handles and I thought I didn't care about the weight savings. I mean, if I was used to carrying around a 4-5oz Strider, why do I care about a light knife? Well...I couldn't ignore it anymore and figured Id give it a shot, worst case scenario I could sell it for a small loss. My local REI happened to have all the versions of the Bugout in stock, so I went there to try the side by side. I was pretty much set on either the ranger green one, or the CF Elite one.

I decided to go with the CF Elite for a couple reasons.
  1. Black goes with everything.
  2. I wasn't sure if I would swap the scales or leave stock, and I preferred the stiffer CF Elite scales.
  3. It was the same price as the green one.
What do I think now that I own it?: I get it now. This thing disappears in the pocket. I have been trying to slim down what I carry more and more. I swapped my wallet to a smaller wallet (Craft and Lore Port wallet), reduced the amount of keys I carry and got rid of my heavy Keybar in favor of a smaller and lighter Belroy keycover. Got the smaller iPhone 12 Pro since my previous 7 Plus was slightly too larger for me, etc... It's been a long time since I have carried a knife and then patted my pocket because I wasn't sure if I had my knife on me. Its a no BS perfect EDC knife. Full sized blade, weighs literally less than half of my Titanium scales knives (see pic below), no flipper tab or anything to "pocket peck" my phone (I keep my phone and knife in my right front pocket).

Conclusion: I think I will keep it stock for now. I just can't get over how light it is. Maybe in the future I will grab some titanium scales for it, but not now. This isn't pocket jewelry like the knives I used to carry. It's a utilitarian blade that I am excited to not worry about. I am excited to be able to open a bag of soil and not look at the blade after to see if I got any scratches on it. I am excited to be able to toss it around without treating it like a raw egg. I am going to try and carry this for 1 year straight. I will carry another knives as I get them, but I will also have this one with me.

Anyway, here are some pictures:

The knife:
QKbV1XE.jpg


Blade centered perfectly. I handled a few at REI and all of them had centered blades!
Hojo4xs.jpg


So light compared to the same sized APurvis Progeny (both have around 3.25" blades). Literally less then half the weight:
hiiLPFV.jpg

O5FyePC.jpg


The thinness is insane compared to the Progeny:
ReFw5Cp.jpg
 
Great write up Undefeatable. I also did a pass on the bugout and just recently picked up the BladeHQ G10 satin and black bugouts and then understood what all of the fuss was about. Your BK-2 looks great and I hope it gives you years of faithful service. Down the road, if you do decide to get aftermarket scales, I recommend Rockscale Designs titanium scales. They have worked really well for me. If carbon fiber is more your thing, I have heard good things about Rogue Bladeworks carved carbon fiber scales. Thanks for sharing.

JonesE
 
Good read, thanks for sharing! I love the Bugout and think it is one of the most practical knives out there (along with the Chaparral). A Ti Rockscale setup really takes it to the next level IMO.
 
I picked up a standard blue handled Bugout when they first came out in '17. I heard, at the time, about the "squishy" handle from a well known youtuber and read all the flack that that initiated, but didn't put much stock in it.

For an EDC knife, it does an admiral job, and the "flex" is not something I even notice. As far as better and stiffer scales, the stock ones are just fine. I do have a 531 so have an idea as to what stiffer scales would be like on the 535 and I can save myself the expense of spending more money on something that I feel is unnecessary.

However, the new versions of the Bugout do look quite nice and if I were ever in the market for another one, I may be tempted.
 
I had the same experience when I first held one back in 2017 at a local benchmade dealer. I thought it felt cheap and flimsy. Well fast forward to last year.....I picked up a ranger green bugout and within a week I fell in love with it. It was my exclusive edc knife for quite some time until my knife obsession took over. I reluctantly sold it and I am wanting another one already.
 
Congrats on your enlightenment--not only on the Bugout but also on the slimmed down EDC in general. I've carried a Bugout every day since they were first released with the exception of vacations I flew to. You just can't beat it in my opinion! Hope yours gives you many years of faithful service.
 
Whelp...it was only a matter of time. Picked up the Mini Bugout!

Mw08ah7.jpg


Love this little thing. On the hunt for scales for this one now. Any suggestions? I prefer aluminum or maybe titanium. I am looking for aluminum mainly because of weight/cost vs titanium.
 
Undefeatable said:
Whelp...it was only a matter of time. Picked up the Mini Bugout!

Mw08ah7.jpg


Love this little thing. On the hunt for scales for this one now. Any suggestions? I prefer aluminum or maybe titanium. I am looking for aluminum mainly because of weight/cost vs titanium.
Click to expand...

For scales:
Titanium I recommend Rockscale Designs
Carbon Fiber look for Rogue Bladeworks
Micarta I recommend RC Bladeworks

JonesE
 
I've had mine for a little over a year and as aggravating as the Omega Springs are I still love it. I'm not easy on it, I put it through the paces daily and it holds up well except for replacing the springs twice
Xcw9yrr.jpg
 
I recently received my 3rd Bugout and I think I’m not going to buy anymore.
My first was mini Bugout in orange that I bought about a year ago. Then I wanted to try the original Bugout and bought the same blacked out one. After that my orange Bugout didn’t find much use so my spouse smoothly took it. But after awhile I noticed that the original Bugout is a bit too big for me. I got small hands. So I ordered the stormtrooper mini Bugout and I think I’m settled.
I got the original Bugout for some tougher work and the mini for EDC. If/when I get bored of the white scales I just buy a bottle of Rit Dye and paint them to light blue.
 
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