Benchmade  Bugout 535GRY-1 Drop-Point Fine-Edge Knife

REI is simply the best. Great products and customer service. The Benchmade Bugout is a perfect all purpose knife. Very light. Very sharp. Perfect opening and closing mechanism.

I didn’t know I needed a knife, but I’m glad I have this one now. It feels like good quality, but is very light. I don’t know much about knives, but it’s opens boxes very well so far.

Lightweight and SHARP! I’ve been carrying a Smith and Wesson tactical knife for a while and although it served its purpose, this is an ideal everyday carry. It’s lightweight, opens fast and can pretty much cut through anything.

I recently bought this Bugout and I’m loving it! I’ve got plenty of awesome folding knives, but this is my first Benchmade. The quality is outstanding and while it’s expensive, I think it’s definitely worth the price. I did a lot of research before placing my order. There is a ton of Bugout love on the internet as well as some criticisms. The most common criticism that I saw was that the Grivory handles are flexy. It’s true that you can flex the handles if you pinch down hard in the center of the scales with your index fingers and thumbs, but this isn’t something you’ll do while using the knife for cutting which is what it’s meant for. Squeezing the handle in your hand, no flex is detectable. I wear size XL gloves and I can get all 4 fingers onto the handle which is great too. This knife is insanely lightweight. The weight coupled with the deep carry pocket clip makes it an ideal EDC knife. Zero side to side or up/down blade play. Super solid lock and flicks open perfectly with the thumb studs. In the open position, if you disengage the lock, the blade swings closed again. It’s awesome. I almost went for the carbon fiber handled version for the extra rigidity, but I liked the look of these green handles more and it looks even better in person. The grey blade, green handles and gold anodized hardware makes this a stunning knife. REI calls it “Tan” but this is the Benchmade Ranger Green Grivory handle. The REI site also says the blade has a chromium nitride coating, but the knife I received has the updated cerakote blade coating on it. It should serve me well for many years! Couldn’t be happier with my purchase.

I've carried Benchmades for 20+ years, mostly one of my two 710s or sometimes a Grip or Mini Grip. My first 710 totally sold me on the AXIS lock. No problems with any of them, including the Bugout. Smooth actions, centered blades, etc. The Bugout is all of this in a thin, amazingly light package. As others mention it comes sharp, with a very smooth action. I love the minimalist design and eliminating the backstrap makes it easy to keep clean. That said it's an EDC, like many others I don't think it'll stand up well to heavy outdoor use. For that I grab a fixed blade, never a heavier folder. But I like this Bugout enough that I just bought a second one, the blue one.

This knife is very well made and exceptionally lightweight which makes it great to keep in your pocket for daily carry. But the light weight advantage also translates to a less than ideal knife for use around camp as it will not be strong enough for some jobs due to the G10 grips that aren’t lined with steel for added strength. The S30V steel is a personal favorite as it holds an edge well. But it is harder to sharpen so keep that in mind. A diamond stone will be helpful in these situations. I think that anyone who owns this knife will be happy with it knowing that it’s really an EDC knife and not a utility blade.

I have a lot of folding knives, this is my 4th Benchmade. I was surprised how thin it is, it disappears in the pocket. The pivot was way too tight out of the box, I had a loosen it a little and now the action is really good. There is a little blade play but I found a happy medium. This is a light duty knife, it does not feel very strong and the body of the knife flexes easily. If I had to take one knife camping for the weekend, this would not be it. It is a tad over priced, I feel this is a $100 knife and not more.

I’ve carried edc knives for over 30 years, and find myself using them most days. I occasionally treat them a bit rougher than they probably deserve, so I’ve always hesitated to spend over $90 or so. However, I’ve always wanted a quality edc knife from one of the big names, and the Bugout seemed to be a good choice given the brand and the relatively low cost. I took the chance, and couldn’t be more pleased. I can understand why some might complain that the scales are too light, but honestly for me that’s a plus. I’d much rather have a knife that will disappear into any size pocket than some monster tactical thing that I have to dress around. I would have zero hesitations buying again if/when I lose this one.

I do not understand how people continue to give these knives high marks. Perhaps they've simply not owned them past taking them out of the box. I've owned two Benchmade knives. I figured the first one that broke was an anomoly. I was wrong. After my first Bugout's I returned it for a second Bugout with opening assist. It's opening mechanism broke as well; it literally broke and allowed the blade to swing open and shut without being activated. Additionally, the first Bugout I bought came dull. I sent it in -- paying postage -- to have Benchmade sharpen it, and it came back exactly the same as I'd sent it in. It wasn't even able to cut paper. When I emailed Benchmade, I received no response. For the exhorbitant prices you pay for these knives, you'd think the quality and customer service would be over the top. Never again Benchmade.

Great knife! Slightly preferred over Spyderco PM2. Extremely light in comparison but still sturdy enough for my light duty everyday use.