Pros: Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Weight, Lock Ease of Use
One of the best, NO DOUBT!! And help with the only negative review.
The knife: It is without shortcomings with most users pending out of the ordinary physical incompatibility (to include user weakness) for its intended uses. It's truly amazing. If you know anything about what you are doing, you will not regret your purchase. My credentials: I'm an expert. No, really; with weapons of all kinds, steel, most all other commonly available components, or raw materials used in manufacturing of said weapons; and I've spent an entire career outfitting warriors with weapons and tools that were used in changing the world (for better or worse). I am a warrior myself. My level of experience with Cold Steel (CS) and the Bush Ranger: I've purchased hundreds of CS knives and tools. I've personally purchased 16 Bush Rangers (this exact model). All were purchased from different retailers including KnifeCenter. All were purchased prior to the sale of CS to GSM. Most all the locks stick just like the negative reviewer is complaining about. He's totally right BUT.... I just think the reviewer is also confused and experiencing what I like to call, USER MALFUNCTION. Plain and simple. I'm not sure I believe the claim about owning 20 CS knives with Tri-Ad locks. If you know how the lock is made and works then you want this initially, or you’ll be able to completely understand it, know that it will "break in", and how to do it. (If you want to avoid the possibility of initially hard lock stick) First, and prior to initially opening of the knife, please add a few drops of light machine oil (I prefer 3-in-1) around Tri-Ad locking surfaces, pivot and back spring/lock bar. Then, work that MFer HOWEVER, ensure you do not SLAM it open into the locked position like a mall ninja the very 1st time. This will increase likelihood of a very tight lock stick condition. This can be remedied with brain use and strength (a vice and protective cloth is also helpful). If you can’t do this on your own, then ask the lady at KnifeCenter customer service to come over and close your knife for you. Yeah, sometimes you must "break in" the weapon/tool. The question is, do you want the power this lock/tool offers you once prepared for the work at hand? This knife is not made for the weak-hearted or handed person. Just like you must sight in or adjust any weapon or most tools. Deal with it. The people at KnifeCenter have very high functioning brains. The negative reviewer sadly does not. The knives that KnifeCenter has are very unlikely to be defective at all. The few I received have zero issues. CS has not developed a quality control issue since GSM took over. The locks are just as great or jacked up as they used to be (however you'd like to feel about it). I believe that the lady customer service person probably did a great job telling the negative reviewer they should be able to handle the sticky knife lock. It's a shame that customer felt inadequate enough to feel they needed to insult her. I'm sure her "proper knife function" knowledge exceeds that of the negative reviewer’s as well.
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