Need Opinions on my Final 8 EDC...

TripleB67

TripleB67

Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Messages
183
Thanks to everyone who responded to my post about your favorite EDC under $127 - all your input was an incredible help and MUCH appreciated!!! I looked at each individual knife that you recommend, read reviews, watched videos, re-read your comments...usually numerous times. To those of you who I didn't follow your recommendations...I apologize!!!

Thanks to your input and advice I've narrowed my new under $127 EDC to 8 contenders. I agree there isn't much variety in the brands, but there is just a bit of variety in the knives themselves (I tried to go with some of the knives you mentioned the most). I would love to hear your experiences with any of these knives and if you could do a comparison of any of them I would be forever grateful!

- Spyderco Para 3 CTS-BD1N steel
- Spyderco Manix 2 BD-1 or S30V steel
- Spyderco Sage 5 CPM-S30V steel
- Benchmade Bugout S30V steel
- Benchmade Mini Bugout S30V steel
- Benchmade Griptilian S30V steel
- Benchmade Mini Griptilian S30V steel
- Benchmade Mini Presidio II S30V steel

Again, I appreciate your input and advice in helping me purchase my first quality EDC over $100 and I promise to leave you alone now!!!

As a side note...recently I was sent a 3.5" Payout Kershaw knife by mistake...it felt too large for my EDC needs. That's why most of these are on the smaller side compared to some of the ones you recommended.

TripleB67
 
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I typically carry knives the size of the PM2 or Manix2, and I've also owned a mini-grip. Of the ones you listed the Manix2 would be my choice. The Para3 is a good knife but smaller than what I like. The Sage 2 is the nicest knife in the group.
In reality all 8 of those are good knives that would work well for you, it somewhat depends on our own tastes.
And BTW there is a Manix 2 lightweight clipped in my pocket right now.
 
Personally I'm a big fan of the Benchmade axis lock. Offers an easy way to flip the knife open without dealing with a thumb stud or hole. Also the benchmade knives I own have the tip seated deeper inside the knife than the spydercos I own, so I don't have to worry about the knife partially opening in my pocket, as I do with the spydercos. Ymmv
 
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If favoring the smaller sizes, I'd go for the Spyderco Para 3. I don't like broken axis lock springs and wobbly blades, both of which are sometimes features of the axis lock. And at 2.4 ounces, the Para 3 is dinky and cool.
 
Just to echo DocJD, and he and I are not quite on the same page when it comes to Cold Steel ;), the American Lawman is a really super folder.

Of your list, for me it would be the Manix 2 in S30V. Here’s a sprint version - one of my most used folders:

wXDuTWx.jpg
 
I too find a 3.5" knife too be too big most of the time, and when a task DOES comes up where a longer blade would be useful, I'm usually at home where fixed blades are readily available. I prefer a folding knife with a blade between 2.75" - 3.25". That really seems to be the sweet spot for me.

The steel on the Para 3 has the least amount of edge retention of the bunch. It also has the thickest blade stock. That could be a good or bad thing, depending on your point of view/most common tasks. The knife It's also the best priced.

The Manix 2 is a sweet knife, I just found too large for me and sold mine within a week of owning it. The blade length is only 3.375" and the knife is 8" overall, but it felt much larger to me for some reason. I think the G10 version is an especially good value considering for only $20 more, you get S30V and G10, instead of BD1N and FRN.

I'm guessing you mean the Sage 5 LW? But if you can find a Sage 2 for that price, I'd hop all over that. I really like the Sage LW. It has a slightly longer blade than the Para 3, but has a slightly shorter handle. Lots of knife for the size. It also has a slicier blade than the Para3, not to mention better steel. To me, it really comes down to which ergonomics you prefer... The Para style handle or the Native style handle.

I found the Bugout to be right on the cusp of being to big. In the end, I got rid of it because the I found the handle to be way too flexible and I didn't feel like spending another $80 - $100 on new handles for a knife that I wasn't stoked about to begin with. The Mini Bugout was just big enough to keep. It feels smaller than it's specs in my opinion. Just like it's big brother, I found the handles to be too flexible and there were no custom handles available at the time, so I planned on hanging onto it until there were... Unfortunately mine was defective, so back it went. I'll probably give one of these another go here soon.

The Mini-Grip is another great knife. My only complaints would be that the handle is a little thick and I'm not a fan of the plasticky feel of the Noryl GTX versions. The full-sized version was much too big for me.

No experience with the Mini Presidio 2.
 
Spyderco Lil’ Native. Look into it. It’s a great little big knife.

If you’re committed to this list, Benchmade Bugout is the clear winner IMO. The handles do flex, but only when you’re trying to flex them. For 99% of cutting task, you’ll never notice. It’s the perfect size/weight combination and it’s popular for good reason. But look into that Lil’ Native! SOOO GOOD!
 
SpyKers said:
Spyderco Lil’ Native. Look into it. It’s a great little big knife.

If you’re committed to this list, Benchmade Bugout is the clear winner IMO. The handles do flex, but only when you’re trying to flex them. For 99% of cutting task, you’ll never notice. It’s the perfect size/weight combination and it’s popular for good reason. But look into that Lil’ Native! SOOO GOOD!
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The Lil' Native is another great suggestion! It's a small knife, but I think it punches well above it's weight class. It has the added bonus of being easily modified into a front-flipper for some sweet fidgeting, lol.

Here's mine in orange Micarta and REX45. Sweet knife!

 
There's only 3 on that list I'd buy.

Of those, anything bd-1 is out. That steel (ive got a frn manix in it) gets dull if i look at it sideways.

S30v pm3 or chapparrel in same.
 
TripleB67 said:
Thanks to everyone who responded to my post about your favorite EDC under $127 - all your input was an incredible help and MUCH appreciated!!! I looked at each individual knife that you recommend, read reviews, watched videos, re-read your comments...usually numerous times. To those of you who I didn't follow your recommendations...I apologize!!!

Thanks to your input and advice I've narrowed my new under $127 EDC to 8 contenders. I agree there isn't much variety in the brands, but there is just a bit of variety in the knives themselves (I tried to go with some of the knives you mentioned the most). I would love to hear your experiences with any of these knives and if you could do a comparison of any of them I would be forever grateful!

- Spyderco Para 3 CTS-BD1N steel
- Spyderco Manix 2 BD-1 or S30V steel
- Spyderco Sage 2 CPM-S30V steel
- Benchmade Bugout S30V steel
- Benchmade Mini Bugout S30V steel
- Benchmade Griptilian S30V steel
- Benchmade Mini Griptilian S30V steel
- Benchmade Mini Presidio II S30V steel

Again, I appreciate your input and advice in helping me purchase my first quality EDC over $100 and I promise to leave you alone now!!!

As a side note...recently I was sent a 3.5" Payout Kershaw knife by mistake...it felt too large for my EDC needs. That's why most of these are on the smaller side compared to some of the ones you recommended.

TripleB67
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I have the Para3, Manix 2, Bugout, Grip and Mini Grip, can't comment on others but here are my 2 cents worth:

1) In terms of cutting/slicing performance, I think Para3 and Manix2 will outperform my BMs. Some member did comment the tip of some Spyderco maybe on a thinner side, so dropping them may risk breakage. I haven't dropped Spyderco or BM, so I don't know how true that is. But if rough use is a concern, then the thicker blade BMs may potentially be better? But for average day to day EDC use, I find them all adequately sturdy and do quite well.

2) In terms of grip size, I like Grip more than Mini Grip, somehow the Mini Grip handle felt a little small to my M-L size hand(3.5 fingers grip). Personally I am never a fan of manufacturer shrinking the size of a knife proportionally to make it 'mini', since handle size often shrunk too much and end up cramping the users' fingers. Having said that, Para3 is fine since it has a generous forward choil, which would still offer a full grip despite the shorten handle from Para2. If you have larger hand or prefer bigger handle, I'd recommend Grip and Manix2 since they both will fill the hand nicely.

3) Axle lock, ball bearing lock(I think Manix 2 have different locks available, IIRC) and compression lock are all good locking mechanism. I don't carry all of them nearly long enough to comment how long can they last in daily use, but based on what I read, there are few isolated cases of the omega spring failure, while I may have a slight bias towards compression or ball bearing lock for robustness.
 
Fixall said:
I too find a 3.5" knife too be too big most of the time.
I'm guessing you mean the Sage 5 LW?
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Maybe because it's I'm used to carrying a Dragonfly 2 a lot of the time, but that 3.5" Payout felt ginormous. Their mistake helped me see my EDC limit.

Yes, I did mean the 5...went back and corrected that error. Thanks!

TripleB67
 
TripleB67 said:
Thanks to everyone who responded to my post about your favorite EDC under $127 - all your input was an incredible help and MUCH appreciated!!! I looked at each individual knife that you recommend, read reviews, watched videos, re-read your comments...usually numerous times. To those of you who I didn't follow your recommendations...I apologize!!!

Thanks to your input and advice I've narrowed my new under $127 EDC to 8 contenders. I agree there isn't much variety in the brands, but there is just a bit of variety in the knives themselves (I tried to go with some of the knives you mentioned the most). I would love to hear your experiences with any of these knives and if you could do a comparison of any of them I would be forever grateful!

- Spyderco Para 3 CTS-BD1N steel
- Spyderco Manix 2 BD-1 or S30V steel
- Spyderco Sage 5 CPM-S30V steel
- Benchmade Bugout S30V steel
- Benchmade Mini Bugout S30V steel
- Benchmade Griptilian S30V steel
- Benchmade Mini Griptilian S30V steel
- Benchmade Mini Presidio II S30V steel

Again, I appreciate your input and advice in helping me purchase my first quality EDC over $100 and I promise to leave you alone now!!!

As a side note...recently I was sent a 3.5" Payout Kershaw knife by mistake...it felt too large for my EDC needs. That's why most of these are on the smaller side compared to some of the ones you recommended.

TripleB67
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Honestly dude, your selection is like a taco menu. No matter what you get, it'll be some combination of a tortilla, meat, cheese, and salsa. You're just trying to figure out if you want corn or flour, pork or chicken or beef, and green or red salsa. We don't know what you want, but you do. The only way you'll go wrong is if you don't really like pork but you got pork any way for some reason, but even then it'll still get the job done.
 
Hello,

here are my experiences
- Spyderco Para 3 CTS-BD1N steel : I have the G10, not a fan of the lightweight version. The bd1n steel is good to go. The ergonomics work beetle for me on the para 3 when i choke up.
- Spyderco Manix 2 BD-1 or S30V steel: no experience with the manix but it is a good knife and I think I would pick the S30v steel over the bd1
- Spyderco Sage 5 CPM-S30V steel: no experience
- Benchmade Bugout S30V steel: it is one of my default knife when I want something light. I prefer it over the para3lw. I don’t mind a little bit of handle flex. For the weight and how slim it is the blade length is great.
- Benchmade Mini Bugout S30V steel: IMO the standard is slim and light enough.
- Benchmade Griptilian S30V steel: great utilitarian knife. If you want a work horse you can go with this one. Benchmade makes a great job with s30vn
- Benchmade Mini Griptilian S30V steel: super nice small knife. I think I prefer it over the mini Bugout.
- Benchmade Mini Presidio II S30V steel: no experience
 
Planterz said:
Honestly dude, your selection is like a taco menu. No matter what you get, it'll be some combination of a tortilla, meat, cheese, and salsa. You're just trying to figure out if you want corn or flour, pork or chicken or beef, and green or red salsa. We don't know what you want, but you do. The only way you'll go wrong is if you don't really like pork but you got pork any way for some reason, but even then it'll still get the job done.
Click to expand...

I agree...but not being familiar with $100+ quality knives I thought maybe some board members might be able to shed some light on any quality control issues, blade play issues, sharpness retention of blades, slickness of handle issues, etc. with any of the knives; of if members had owned more than one maybe they could comment on the better quality knife (of the 2 or 3 or 4) for the money between the ones they own.

But I understand your point - to be honest I really like all of these knives "on paper".

Thank you for your honest feedback!

TripleB67
 
I feel the mini presidio 2 is under-appreciated. If you want small but not to small, it is perfect. I considered a bugout as well before buying the presidio. Presido is just stronger and has a less fragile tip.
I think the mini bugout and mini grip are a bit to small for me. Mini presidio is the bugout size, less than 3.5" without being to small at around 3.2" blade
It is nice and solid feeling without being heavy or bulky and it is comfortable in hand. I really love that knife
 
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