Hey everyone, David C. Andersen here coming at you from the knife center. And today we're
comparing two of the most popular EDC pocket knives on the market today. It's the Benchmade
Bug Out versus the we knives banter. Let's check them out. (KnifeCenter.com)
So as I mentioned, both of these knives are extremely popular, and they're both very easy to
carry knives, they're not big boat anchors in the pocket, especially the bugout, which we'll
get to that in a little bit. But just these are kind of modern epitomes of the pocket knife, not
too big, not too small, just enough to get you through most days. And they're both knives that
prize slicing capability over other things like overbuilt toughness and that sort of thing. And
they're even priced within a shout of each other. The Benchmade itself is made in the USA
and comes in a little bit over 130 bucks right now. Whereas the banter is a little bit less it
is an imported knife from China and it comes in a little bit under $110
Let's compare the blades themselves here first, both of them have a drop point profile. The
banter is technically a spear point, but spear points are just a derivative of the drop point.
But they're both very versatile shapes that are going to work just about anywhere, not just as
like an urban EDC. But also you know, out in the woods, that sort of thing, if you wanted to take
your pocket knife out there just covers a lot of bases very well. In addition to similar
profiles, they've also got very similar steels as well. The Benchmade comes with s 30 v, nice
particle metallurgy steel with a very high amount of edge retention here and the banter
comes with s 35. vn same company that makes s 30 v. Both of these are American Steel's. Now, the
S 35 may not hold an edge quite as long should be pretty close, but you're gonna get a little
more toughness out of the S 35. vn, you're going to be able to see that especially right behind
the edge as well, you know a little bit more stability as a result. And let's talk about the
edges since I just mentioned it, I will say that the edge on the banter is definitely a little
bit skinnier, a little bit thinner edge, so you're going to have a really nice bite right
behind the edge there. That's only one of the factors when it comes to overall slicing
performance. However, we got to talk about the blade thickness and the grinds. As you can see
here from the spine shot both of them are very thin, but the bugout is just a little bit
thinner than the blade on the banter itself. Now in addition to the thinner steel on the bugout,
the height of the grind is just a little bit higher than it is on the banter, which when you
combine that with the slightly thicker steel means that the actual wedge formed by the
primary grind here is going to be a little bit thicker. So overall, I'd probably give outright
slicing capability to the bug out in this particular matchup. But they are going to be
very, very close to one another. As far as the length of the blade, haven't mentioned that
we're at about three and a quarter inches on the bugout. The cool thing about that, when combined
with the handle is even though you've got a very compact, very lightweight knife, it still offers
a little bit more of a full size cutting experience in terms of the blade itself. Whereas
the banter comes in just under that three inch mark. There are some places out there where you
can't really have something over a three inch blade. And even if you can, the three inch blade
is a very nice size that is not too big. And yet it's still going to be able to manage most of
the jobs you're going to need from your EDC knife. Now, this is the point where I do want to
mention the mini bug out because you know, some folks out there might be asking, you've got that
sub three inch blade on the banter, what about the bug out with the sub three inch blade that
many bugs out. And this is a sort of situation where if you're just shopping based on photos in
isolation or the spec sheet on the internet, it's not going to tell the whole story. Because
these two knives have a very different character. The dancer despite having that
shorter blade still also in a way just like the full size bugout manages to feel like a bit of a
larger cutting experience. Whereas the mini bugout feels decidedly much more Mini. I mean,
you just hold them up here next to each other You can kind of see that when you hold all three
of these in the hand. The banter definitely feels like a much more natural competitor to the
full size. But let's move back to the handles. Now. I've got the blue versions of both of these
knives right here because the bugout launched in a blue color. And blue was one of the first to
launch colors when the banter was introduced as well. You can get both of these knives in a few
different colors though. But I will say if you want even more choices, the bugout is going to
offer a little bit more by way of the aftermarket support. There are companies out
there making all kinds of different replacement handle scales for the Benchmade Bug Out made out
of high end materials. Everything from like the titanium, carbon fibers all the way down to you
know g 10s. And those sorts of things can be had. There's also some Kind of fancier versions
that Benchmade makes have the bug out right now, which we don't have kind of an analogue to with
the banter at this time. As for materials, they've gone two very different ways with both
of these knives, the Benchmade comes with a Grivory injection molded material. And for that
reason, it's part of what makes this knife so lightweight, were like 1.8 ounces for this guy.
So you got, you know, a roughly full sized folding knife blade, it's not going to weigh
down in the pocket in the slightest, even like thin athletic shorts, you can be able to clip
this to no problem, let's say you're taking us on a run or something like that handle itself
has this kind of checkered section here in the middle for a little bit of traction, we're open
in the back so it's easier to keep clean, there's a little hint of contour to the handle
itself. And it is a lot to grab onto I do have slightly larger than average hands and I can
still get all four fingers on this knife, no problem. And unlike some other knives, even in
Benchmade's lineup, you can actually get pretty close to the heel on the the edge of that blade
with your hands so you can choke up and get some really fine control on the back end of that
blade when you need it. I will say one thing that some folks aren't a big fan of on the
Benchmade handles here is there is a little bit of flex to that. And you can't really deny that.
And if that's not your thing, you'll probably want to go for the banter between these two
because you've got g 10. In this case, and while you don't get you know the nice contouring that
you will get on the Benchmade, you do get a more stable feel. And because of the height of this
handle, it actually feels possibly even more of a heavy duty grip if you were pushing this into
some heavier tasks if you needed it to. So despite the shorter blade, I don't know between
between the two in my hands at least, the banter does inspire just a little bit more confidence
for those heavier cuts is a little bit shorter, I gotta say, my pinkie finger does kind of fall
off the back just a little bit. But because of that cut off right there, I'm able to wrap
around quite easily, it doesn't feel like I'm kind of being pushed off the knife handle, just
like the bug out you can get real close to the heel of that edge real fine control. And both of
them kind of have roughly a similar angle in terms of the index finger protection they offer.
It's not like an aggressive finger guard, more of a gentle slope. Now as for locking mechanism
and the pocket clip, this is where if you're left handed user the bug out is definitely going
to pull out ahead because when we talk about the banter itself, we do have a nice inset liner
lock. It's executed very well feels very solid when open, but it is a right hand bias lock Most
definitely. And then the pocket clip set up on this knife is right hand only. It is deep carry
though you've got flush mounted screws and an inset clip into the handle as well. So it is
going to extract and go back into the pocket quite easily. But you don't get your holes
milled on the other side if you wanted to carry it more easily on the left hand pocket. The
Benchmade maintains a deep carry pocket clip just like this guy. It's not inset and you don't
have flush mounted screws, but it is a little bit wider. And I've used one of these quite
extensively and I have found them very easy to go back into the pocket. But importantly for the
lefties out there you do have the holes on the opposite side to use if you wish. As for the
lock backing up that ambidextrous quality, you've got Benchmade's famous AXIS Lock, you
just pull back on the lock bar, and you can flick that blade open and closed if you like you
don't have to use the thumb studs if you don't want to works equally well for both hands. It's
a completely symmetrical system. And of course, it also allows you to keep your fingers out of
the moving path of the blade when you are going to close the knife. So you got a little bit more
of a kind of inherent degree of safety with the style of lock. Now in terms of comparing the
opening action between these two, I'll start with the Benchmade since I did just mentioned
the centrifugal action of that AXIS Lock. And it is a very satisfying motion to do. And some of
them have required like a little bit of breaking out of the box. This particular one though,
feels very good. Now if you want to use the thumb studs as a slow roll works just as you'd
expect. But if you're the kind of guy who likes to kind of flick the thumb stud quite rapidly
get that satisfying flick. The Benchmade certainly works very well. But I think the
banter a little bit more satisfying could be because of the ceramic ball bearings in the
pivot here combined with the detent it has just a very different kind of more crisp feel than
the AXIS Lock will. opposite side of the ball bearings thing though, we do have brass washers
here which can be a little less susceptible to grit kind of gumming things up as your work.
Last but not least, I've talked about kind of how each of them will cut. But most of the time
these are going to be sitting in your pocket. So how do they carry again, I did mention the
weight of this bugout were like 1.8 ounces, which is virtually nothing. Now the banter by
comparison is percentage wise a heck of a lot heavier but in reality, it's not. It's about 2.8
ounces. Just as Hair over that. Definitely when you hold them side by side, you can notice but
just throw this guy in your pocket, that's never going to be a wait. I think that's going to
bother you. The book out will take up a little more depth in your pocket, but it is going to be
slimmer. You can see there we've got a little bit more handle thickness on the banter. Part of
that is what contributes to that kind of more filling grip and more rock solid grip. Now as
for the banter doesn't take up that much more room, let's be honest, but it is a little bit
wider and a little bit squatter. And as such, this actually fits fairly well. And a lot of the
fifth gene pockets that are out there, not all of them, of course, some of them do get kind of
small. But on a lot of the pants, one of the jeans I usually wear anyway, this is going to
slide in there quite easily. So if you really wanted to go for discretion, obviously, both of
these knives are going to be fairly discreet with their deep carry pocket clip 's. But it's
going to be very easy for this to really disappear inside that fifth pocket without
having to kind of rattle around in your main pocket with all your other stuff. And honestly,
I think that's about it in terms of this comparison. We'd love to know your guys's
preferences between the two, what's the one that you guys would pick to carry or what's the one
you've already picked to carry? Let me know if if either of these knives are part of your EDC
rotation already. Let me know what you think. And if you want to get your hands on either of
these knives, we will have links in the description as always, that will take you over
to KnifeCenter.com we'll make sure to link to our replacement handle scale section for the bug
out as well so you can see some of the extra options we've got there. If you go over there to
the KnifeCenter make sure you sign up for our knife rewards program. So at least when you buy
one of these knives, you're going to earn some free money to spend on your next one. I'm David
C. Andersen from the KnifeCenter signing off. See you next time.