Benchmade  15002 Saddle Mountain Fixed-Blade Knife

Other than the handle feeling a bit narrow, the comfort and handling is better than expected. Light on the touch and cut where I want to cut.

the knife itself is very good and came extremely sharp however it came with a small chip on the end of the handle and the sheath is falling apart after a singular day of use. if you have large hands I would get a knife with a larger handle as the handle is bordering on too small for my average size hands. all this could excused if this wasn't an extremely expensive knife but for what i paid i expect better.

Razor sharp out of the box. Broke it in field dressing 3 deer. It was as sharp afterward as it was when I started. It was actually too sharp for skinning because it tended to slice right through the hide. I’m astounded and even a little intimidated by the quality of this knife. Feels so good in the hand that I don’t want to put it away. The steel is unbelievable.

I purchased this knife last summer with the intentions of using it as my hunting/fishing/camping knife. For those tasks it performs wonderfully. The knife size is just right for cleaning out a deer, or gutting a fish. The jibbing gives you a good feel of control when the knife is covered in animal goop. The s20v steel holds and edge extremely well, and after a years use, it is still razor sharp. I take care of my knives, and clean and strop them after each adventure that they go on. This knife is not very heavy, (When compared to a bushcraft knife) which makes it a great fixed blade for backpacking as well (IMO).I feel that this particular knife could handle light weight bushcrafting I just wouldn't expect to baton and chop with it. This is a knife that will last you a lifetime.

Rambo should have used one of these babies! Seriously though this knife is perfect. It is a Hunt knife but translates well into just about everything else. It’s a bit much for an EDC though. Compliments my bugout nicely. Well balanced, sharp, and another home run from Benchmade.

I ordered this knife because I trust Benchmade knives. I intend to use this knife on big game hunts for skinning and cutting up game. It is well sized and balanced for that purpose.

The knife seems well made. My issue is that the retention strap is falling apart. I didn't have it out of the box when a chunk of leather fell off. Further examination shows another piece peeling away.

Sharp, lightweight, comfortable handle. A very nice do-it-all knife.

I purchased this knife to replace an older version of the same Benchmade Saddle Mtn that I ended up losing during a hunt. This replacement unit was sharp enough that the first time I pulled it out to show my kids, I cut off the tip of my thumb! 10/10 would cut off left thumb tip again.

Steel/Blade: 5 stars. Good shape, length, thickness and sharpness. Shipping: 5 stars. Arrived ahead of committed schedule. Handle: 2 stars. Wood grip is thin. Tang protrudes on the bottom and is not comfortable. Tooling marks exists in wood that are not consistent. You can tell they sanded certain areas and not others. Not ergonomic at all. The shape and thickness does not find a "home" in your hand naturally. Pricepoint: 3 stars. I'm sure this steel is a price driver but this is like a 100 dollar knife max. I bet REI has a significant markup on these... Overall, I wont return this as I used gift cards to purchase online for fun. Its still a cool blade and the sheath is nice. However, if I handled this in store I would not have bought it. Due to thin grip nature and poor ergonomics, I would recommend this knife for only light use. Perhaps use with a glove to thicken the grip and save you from the pinching tang on the bottom.