Clik here to view.
I have been getting email after email about the new Benchmade Weekender knife, which is supposed to be “the redux of the traditional folder pocket knife tailored for weekend escapes to nature.”
Benchmade says that the Weekender “has everything you need for basic camp chores, from whittling to opening a cold one by the fire.”
Benchmade dealers make it sound like the Weekender is an instant-classic and the best off-hours EDC folding knife ever made.
Don’t get me wrong, it seems like a solid design – maybe – but something’s missing.
And this isn’t just because I had a terrible experience with Benchmade’s first flipper knife, leading me to steer away from the brand anytime they try something new again. This design seems simple enough to be fairly risk-free.
Clik here to view.
The Benchmade Weekender has a 3″ clip point blade “for your EDC cutting needs” according to one dealer, and a smaller 2″ drop point knife for “smaller cutting jobs.”
Another retailer says the saber-ground clip point blade is for heavy work, and the flat ground spear point knife blade for finer tasks.
It also comes with a bottle opener. No, it’s not a combination screwdriver and bottle opener, or can opener and bottle opener, it’s just a bottle opener.
Clik here to view.
The blades are made from CPM-S30V, and you have two handle material choices – greenish brownish Micarta, or grey G-10. The handle measures 4.08″ closed and is 0.40″ thick.
If given the choice between Micarta and G-10, I think Micarta is the better choice for an outdoors knife, as it tends to handle better in sweaty hands.
Clik here to view.
Here’s what the grey G-10-handled version looks like.
Clik here to view.
The Weekender has a non-locking slip joint mechanism for both knife blades.
I’d like to ooh and ahh at the new Benchmade Weekender, but I can’t help but feel that it’s a miss.
I have nothing against slip joint knives, and own a couple. S30V is a great knife steel that has good edge retention, wearability, and corrosion resistance.
The knife is priced at a premium, but doesn’t seem unreasonable for Benchmade, especially when you factor in that this is two knives in one, and that you get Micarta or G-10 rather than fiber-reinforced plastic of similar.
But, I feel that I could take two other USA-made knives, one large and one small, and cobble together a slimmer multi-bladed knife for less money. It wouldn’t be a Benchmade, though.
Maybe it is the absence of active locks that’s throwing me off. Or – where’s the pocket clip? Lanyard hole? If this is advertised as a weekend camping knife, where’s the carabiner clip?
I’m in the minority when it comes to Benchmade knives. I’ve purchased their Bugout knives for review purposes, and while I don’t strongly dislike them, I also don’t understand how they’re as popular as they are. Maybe the same will be true here, and I’m way off-base.
I have had both good and bad experiences with multi-bladed folding knives, and so I don’t think that’s my problem.
The way I see it, either the knife is missing something – at least for a knife that retails at $225 – or there’s something coloring my views.
I’m sorry – I know not every tool or knife is suited for everyone’s individual needs or tastes, but there seems to be a disconnect between what I see in the Weekender (or don’t) and all of the promotional hype surrounding it.
To me, it doesn’t look comfortable to hold or convenient to carry, with no carrying options besides having it swimming around a pocket or tool pouch. A gentleman’s slipjoint knife should be slimmer. An outdoors knife should have a lock.
If a “pass Go, get a free knife” card landed in your hand, would you get the Weekender, or pass on it? Why?
Options: Micarta (model 317-1), G-10 (model 317)
COO: USA
Price: $225-250
Note: One retailer has special “call for price” pricing that’s lower than competitors’. You don’t have to call them, simply add it to your cart and you’ll see the special low price at checkout.
