Benchmade - Bugout 535 EDC Knife with Black Carbon Fiber Handle (535-3)

Outstanding as always. I have several and they never disappoint. A little small but fits in a hand nicely. A spring assist would be a nice add.

Carbon fiber s90 variant. Arrived when expected in a sticker sealed box. Suprisingly sharp edge out of the box.

Overall it’s an incredible knife. You don’t realize how light it is until you get it in hand. I tuned the pivot easily and put loctite to keep it there. A little grease on the washers and it feels much smoother now. The jimping on the top of the handle is not sharp enough for my preference but that’s a minor gripe. I love the deep carry pocket clip as well and I typically replace them but this one is staying.I was really surprised (unpleasantly) at the blade grind. It was 16° on half of one side and 18° on the other half. Again, same side. Other side was completely different. Sure it was sharp enough but there was a definite burr from the factory. I spent about 25 minutes on the WPA leveling it all out to 16°. The bevel still isn’t perfect because part of the edge had been started at a lower angle, likely 14 or so, and so there’s a rough patch above my nice even bevel. It’s only cosmetic but still. I would have had to remove a lot of material to fix that and at this price it’s not worth doing. I was concerned it would take ages with the S90V but the diamond plates cut into the steel well. I only finished it out to 1K and hit it with the strop, and it’s easily popping hairs.The description on Benchmade’s website says that the blade is satin finished but mine is much more of a scratched satin finish, not quite a stonewash though. I actually prefer this over a pure satin for durability but I felt the difference was worth noting.I took one star off the lock feature because you can get some lock stick when flicking the blade out with force, but that’s just because of the interaction between the titanium lock bar and steel blade. Rub a little pencil lead on the blade tang that contacts the lock bar and that will help during the break in period

I own a lot of knives, about a half dozen of them Benchmade varieties, and this is my favorite in terms of flipping, which supprised me given its lack of any kind of assist mechanism. The caveat is that the blade comes nearly all the way to the end of the knife. Why is that a problem? Well, if you also like to flip your knives closed like I do, and if you have any amount of your palm protruding past the butt end when you flip it closed, you will be sporting a cut. I have done this numerous times. Ive tried to adjust me grip to avoid this, but it takes a pretty unnatural hold that I have to continuously think about to achieve, and typically when I go to close a knife I'm not focusing on how I'm holding it. Had the same issue with the mini Griptillian. No such issue with the mini Freek or grizzly ridge, or really any of my other knives for that matter.All that being said, this is still my 3rd favorite knife and nearly tied up with my second favorite. My top favorites in order are: Benchmade mini Freek, Spyderco Montra 3, Benchmade Bugout, Benchmade Grizzly Ridge. The full size Freek is to big for my hand to be comfortable. The mini Griptillian felt awkward in my hand. Mini Bugout is good if you want a smaller knife, but doesn't feel as well in the hand as the full size, and has the same issue with cutting your palm.If you don't have any meat on your hands, maybe the cutting wont be an issue? Maybe its me holding it weirdly/different than other people? Either way, still love the knife, but its an issue to be aware of.

Bought as gifts for my son and son-in-law on a recommendation. Both men were very happy! Great gift for the man who has everything!

the knife is really very beautiful and light. There are two comments: 1 out of the box it is sharpened to a C, I had to sharpen and polish the blade. 2 after opening the knife you need to apply force to move the mechanism on the spring, I lubricated it with oil it became better I don't know maybe because it is new and it takes time for everything to rub in.

Definitely an edc knife! I made the decision to purchase this knife because I wanted to retire my Griptilian which I've owned about 20 years. It was my 1st real quality blade, in comparison it's more substantial then its counter part the bugout. There is nothing wrong with the Benchmade bugout, accept that, it's good qualities work against it in my case. 1st the ergonomics, it feels very comfortable in the hand, i have small to medium size hands. I work as a handyman so there not skinny frail hands either. The knife is light, thin and it carries very well, you don't notice it's even there, and that's my concern. The griptilian is much bulkier/ robust so if it accidentally slips out of your pocket, you will feel it. Not do with the bugout. I enjoy using a more fuller knife, like the Coldsteel Recone 1. I do have other light, smaller blades like the Dosier which is a close comparison to the Bugout in size, weight and overall performance. It's not a 100% equivalent but at a fraction of the cost, it's pretty darn close, i choose not to carry the dosier for the same reason. It doesn't cost the same but the end result is a lost blade. If you make the purchase you won't be disappointed with the bugout, it's everything you thought it would be. I returned it, because I didn't want to toss it in a drawer and never use it but it is a good everyday carry. Hope this helps

Another beautifully made knife from Benchmade. I have previously had the Griptillian. This is a slimmer and lighter knife than that. I love their locking mechanism. I have small hands, so this makes it so much easier for one handed closing than with other knives with a more traditional liner lock. Very impressed so far.