Pros: Blade Sharpness, None
Cons: Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard
Nothing special given the price
This knife would be a decent buy at about 50% of its current price, but for $260 one can buy significantly better knives around this size. I would not go so far as to say this is a bad knife--it is a nice size, fairly sturdy, and can take very sharp edge--but all in all the San Mai Recon Scout doesn't compare favorably to other premium-quality outdoor knives which which it competes. The biggest problem I had was: Cold Steel's "San Mai III" blades tend to be too brittle on the hard cutting edge, and thus chip far too easily right where chipping causes the most problems. The Recon Scout is no exception; mine chipped pretty badly with less than an hour's use on wood and scrub. Several millimeters of edge were ruined on a task that has never harmed any of my other similar knives. Many say that the sheath is terrible, but I've had worse. The CS sheath is simple, yes, but works OK for basic carry styles. It is a good idea to get a custom sheath made for any knife you carry for long periods anyway, so the sheath isn't too big an issue I think. There aren't much in terms of outstanding pros with this knife when compared to others in its price range. It does a lot of things reasonably well, but so do a number of medium-large knives around $100. CS works hard to hype their products and woo buyers with ridiculous implicit messages, but when you get past the manic marketing and look at what this knife actually does, it doesn't really justify costing $260. I highly recommend looking at other brands, or buying the high-carbon steel version of the Recon Scout for a lot less money.
