Eoin May Reviews: Benchmade Bugout, Version 2.Awesome

There once was a knife design that took the knife world by storm. The so-called perfect knife for EDC, the chosen one, the creation of the knife gods. Released in 2017, it’s often imitated but never duplicated: the Benchmade Bugout. This knife was an instant hit as soon as it hit the market. The weight, shape, and action of this pocketknife was untouchable; it just outmatched everything else in its class. The feel, usefulness, and shape were just perfect … for everyone but me.

Why wasn’t I a fan at first? Short answer: The original Benchmade Bugout weighs a little under 2 ounces. If you have read or watched any of my other content, you know I hate light knives. If a knife is too light it makes it feel less durable and this knife in my opinion was just too light. Don’t get me wrong—the action is amazing, and I can’t think of a single manual-opening knife that can compete with the Bugout’s smooth kinetics. I just didn’t like it.

That’s why nobody was more surprised than I when, out of nowhere, Benchmade’s latest iteration of the Bugout caught the final 4^th quarter Hail Mary pass. The specific name is the 535BK-4 Bugout, and I suggest you make a note of it. This knife is a little heavier than the original, a half ounce to be exact, and that was just enough for me.

All the rest of parameters are just like the original design. This knife comes with an M390 blade and 6061-T6 aluminum handle scales. It has all kinds of sexy action for those of us who like our blades with a little junk in the trunk. It wears a Cerakote finish that complements the aluminum handle scales—Benchmade even added red accents on the thumb stud and back spacers. All of these things together made for a perfect looking knife and an even better working one.

I would really like to touch on the little things that make this knife perfect. On the handle scales Benchmade added these grooves down the length of the scales that gives the knife that little extra pop and adds a little grip when in use. The mini deep-carry pocket clip that comes with it is great. Some deep-carry pocket clips make it kind of tough to pull out the knife or get caught on different things. This pocket clip is tight enough to keep the knife where you leave it, but also is loose it enough to make it easy to extract from your pocket. The little curve on the end is just big enough to aid in clipping the knife in your pocket but is small enough to not get caught on anything. These little addons really make the Bugout one of the best EDC knives on the market.

This model of the Bugout is a little bit pricier than the original, but in my opinion it’s worth every penny. I urge you guys to go get your hands on one the Bugouts and tell me how you like it. Did you like the original design? If you like this article you will definitely like my other content. Go look at my author page and follow me on Instagram and YouTube @atoz_reviews. Thank you, guys, and remember to always stay AtoZ.