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Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Finish, Handle Material, Materials, Overall Quality, Weight
Cons: Sheath/Scabbard
Great Combat Knife.... so so survival knife.
This really is a great combat knife and probably a so so to good "survival" knife. I've seen it perform well in TOPS's own abuse video. I believe this knife is cryogenically treated, making it extra tough so don't just look at blade steel and decide on that alone. This is a great stabber and the handle is great with or without gloves. There is a nice guard that will really help you stab hard and not allow your hand to slip forward. This guard works. Some i feel are more for looks and can hurt your hand. This one does not hurt your hand and it does work. It also has 2 holes in it for 550 cord. You could really jack someone up with the pry bar end of the handle as well. Blade came pretty sharp, which is nice because many people complain about TOPS knives not coming sharp from the factory. This one was, though it could also be improved. This is not so much a "slashing" type of blade as it's more of a stabber but that is fine with me. It does have a choil which is nice for giving a bit better control when wood working. I did buy this to be more of a combat knife to go on a kit as opposed to relegating it to survival knife status. If you want a survival knife for chopping and battoning... this isn't your knife. You could batton with it but it's a lighter knife which has pro's and cons. The lighter weight PRO is self explanatory. The con is that it's not a good chopper. Just know what you're getting here. My designated "survival" knives are my Work Tuff Gear Lanzeta's. Those are great all around knives but again...i think this is a great COMBAT knife. You get a really, really good purchase on this knife for stabbing. If you're locked up in a fight for your life and you're stabbing as hard as you can and you hit body armor or ballistic helmet.. with many so called fighting knives, you would really be at risk for having your hand slip forward. NOT with the Desert Nomad. I really love this knife. Finally... i don't love the leather sheath. The strap is the reason why. It's not the kind of strap that enables quick draws. Sure leather is quiet but the button on the leather isn't. I'll definitely have a kydex sheath made for this knife. I bought this knife after having purchased MANY knives and doing my research. This knife won out over many others as a designated combat knife to go on a fighting "kit" set up. You COULD make this into a spear as well with the 3 available holes, 2 in the guard and one in the handle. Price is probably a little much but just get it on sale to negate that. I have a number of "Camp", "Survival", "Bushcraft" and "Tactical" blades and this one shines. For comparison, i would prefer this over the SOG Pillar in a knife fight due to the guard and longer blade.
