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Pros: Handle Material
Cons: None
3 inches, 2.5 ounces "travel knife" - Medium Voyager reborn
Pluses:+ thin & light, lighter than any other Cold Steel 3" except the Counterpoint 2, which weighs the same+ "goldilocks" blade width - not as wide as the Mini Recon (or Grik), not as skinny as the discontinued Medium Voyager and not the toothpick with an edge design of the 3" Counterpoint+ rigid handle; stiffer than usual FRN/GRN; unlike a Bugout, it doesn't easily pinch flex + thumb stud easy to reach and use, but closer to the handle than usual for Cold Steel for greater snag resistance+ finally a pocket clip that isn't a bear to use+ finally a deep carry pocket clip!+ finally a reversible Cold Steel pocket clip instead of an "extra in the box"+ finally, a really smooth opening Triad, and even a really easy to close Triad (on a scale of nasty to easy: original Hold Outs impossible to close; last gen Medium Voyager rolled out smoothly, but sometimes tricky to close; recent Large Voyagers easy to roll out and easy to close; Verdict so easy to get startd and finish rolling out that it doesn't feel like a lockback, plus its very easy to unlock, no worse than a non-Triad lockback)+ solid lockup at pivot with no up/down or left/right blade wiggle+ no offensive billboarding on blade, handle, pocket clip+ unobtrusive in front shirt pocket, due to narrow, simple, not chromed pocket clip, with faint logo, and due to deep carry (brown and olive handles should be even less of a print out)+ almost "goldilocks" FRN stippling: not super aggressive like the Range Boss, not great bidirectional grip like Sypderco Endura FRN, but also not semi-slippery like the Rat and Zancudo+ clip point looks classic without sacrificing tip strength + I prefer thinner blades for EDC, like the Buck Ranger 112, Rat 2, Zancudo, but this isn't bad for Cold Steel, known for over doing it+ choice of 3 colors, choice of 3 blade shapes (clip, drop, tanto), reduced reflectivity stone wash (satin) finish; available upgrade edition with AUS10 and G10 (but at $90 or so it should have been S30V) tl;dr = more choices than average+ paper slicing sharp from the factory; even sharper after a short visit to the strop; but I will have it custom re-profiled to 17 degrees and mirror finished for the best paper slicy-ness - 4116 takes great edge+ 4116 is mere kitchen steel; but that also means so long as I keep it away from salt water and salt water humid environments, it's not going to ever stain, much less rust Negs:- At $52 this should be AUS 10, but if the price drops to the $30-$40 range - which is typical Cold Steel high roll-out pricing, lower long term pricing strategy, then I understand Cold Steel's choice. - To continue the steel whining, why didn't Cold Steel shift to the well-regarded Sandvik 14C28N), I get the feeling its a political backlash since Kershaw talked Sandvik into that improvement over 12C in the first place.- Come on Cold Steel, I'm not a wimp, give me the incredibly aggressive and grippy stippling you use on the Range Boss- 4116. 4116. 4116. Sure it's ok on the Crawford 1, because that's a knife you only use once in your life, but the Verdict is for daily EDC use. For twice the price of a Buck Slim Select Ranger 112 I think I should get the equivalent of twice the steel, and not just twice the lock- bravo for colors other than black. But THOSE colors out of millions to choose from? They aren't bad...they're just so meh.In conclusion - did I say how much better this is than the Bugout Mini, at 1/3 the cost?
