Benchmade Altitude reviews?

[Cass Via Jr]

Ok, so I don't have an Altitude, but I do have a Spyderco South fork, which is also S90v. Reason I'm commenting is to say that S90v blade steel is like no other blade steel I've ever owned. It stays sharp 10x longer than my S30v blades. It's absolutely amazing. It's also VERY time consuming to sharpen. I'm using a Spyderco Sharpmaker with diamond rods, then ceramic up to ultra fine.

If you're moose hunting, I think you'd appreciate the S90v, because it could probably take apart an entire moose without needing a touch-up.

All that said, a certain retailer gives me a discount on the Altitude, which would make it $161. I'm tempted to buy one myself.

Could I pay you to get me one for that price and then you ship it to me? Lol


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[Mosby]

That steel is difficult to sharpen but Benchmade will sharpen for free. You could use it during the season and send it back in every year. At least that is what I told myself. I really wanted to buy this knife but I won't pay $200 when I have other knives I really like and are easy to put an edge on. I have decided to stay with my softer steel knives that I can easily resharpen.

 

[fisherman983]

Picked one up for $149 shipped. Haven't had a chance to use it yet but so far I really like it.

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[mcseal2]

I see the advantage to carrying a 1095 or similar steel blade. The knives I carry on the ranch are either an O1 steel knife by Battle Horse or a Pine Ridge knife in 1095 depending on what I'm doing. Riding I like the LH angled sheath of the Pine Ridge, just working I like the RH belt sheath of the Battle Horse. I like that I can re-sharpen those blades easily in the evenings with my Spyderco Sharpmaker and a ceramic steel.

The biggest positive for me looking at the Altitude is that I think I could get through a season using it and not carrying a sharpener. I contacted Benchmade about it. For my use I'd carry no sharpener in the field and use a ceramic steel on it between trips to re-align the edge. Biggest downside is the price and it might be to brittle for what I'd do with it as my primary knife.

I think for most of my hunting use packing a decent fixed blade of a less brittle and more easily sharpened steel plus a Tyto replaceable blade knife makes sense. I just always am looking at ways to drop more weight. Packing a $150-200 Altitude as a back-up knife to another fixed blade isn't any lighter than packing a Tyto with a few blades as my back-up. Either is about 2.5oz with the sheath and lighter than most any sharpener I would carry to touch up my primary knife in a D2 or S30V steel. That way if I dull my primary knife or just want the scapel blade for caping I have it. Instead of spending a little weight on a sharpener I'm spending it on a back-up knife if I lose my primary one. Knives aren't a bad item to have a back-up especially since I tend to be hard on one.

The Altitude is still a cool knife and I may pick one up if the price is right down the road, but I think there are cheaper options that I should stick with for now.

 

[Lawnboi]

Learn to sharpen by hand via stones, sandpaper and strops. This will allow you to sharpen any blade angle, and for field touch ups, a .5oz piece of sandpaper saves you even more weight on your backup knife.

Back on topic, personally I can't see why this knife is so popular. Having sharpened a bench made s90v knife, I know field sharpening is out of the question. I'd still touch up between animals, cause I like my knives to remain very sharp, and I know s90v is even tough to do at home, and can be frustrating at times, same can be said for elmax steel, which is a stainless I really like. Add in how brittle both s30 and s90 can be and I'm not the least interested. Not bashing benchmade, I have a few myself.

As far as comparing s90v to 1095, your looking at two completely opposite sides of the spectrum. There's a lot of knife steels out there, Aebl,cpm3v,A2 for example will give you an easy to sharpen, tough, long lasting knife, and two of them are basically stainless. Here steels are more comparable to s90v for a blade that I plan on breaking down game with. They also don't take a degree in knife sharpening to get them hair popping sharp if done right.

 

[6mm Remington]

Thanks for the reply. I have that same Spyderco sharpener with all those rods. I re-sharpen my Benchmade S30V stuff with it fine but I might take advantage of Benchmade's lifesharp program after season if it's that time consuming to do.

I do not have that particular Benchmade but I do own the mini-barrage and love that knife. I do believe that Benchmade makes a great knife. I use a Lansky sharpener with the guide rods and once you have gotten the perfect edge on a knife, touchups are a breeze. It might take me 30 minutes or a bit longer to get a knife wicked sharp but when it's time for a touch-up, it takes maybe 5-10 minutes tops and it's back to perfect again. I'm really liking the Lansky system in conjunction with the Super C-clamp to help make the sharpening process faster and safer.

Deluxe 5-Stone Knife Sharpening System | Lansky

Super "C" Clamp | Knife Sharpening Accessories | Lansky Sharpeners

 

[mcseal2]

Just an FYI for anyone interested. I had the opportunity to see a Benchmade Altitude and their Bugout knife side by side. A buddy ordered both and is going to return one, he let me stop by and check them out. The blade shapes are very very similar. The Bugout does not have the jimping on the spine and might have just a shade more drop to the point giving it less belly, but it might not too. Both are very close. If a person is looking for something even lighter than the Altitude in S30V that's easier to re-sharpen it might be worth a look.

Bad thing for me was that I had my hands on the Altitude. It's sheath fits perfect in the mesh pocket on the side of my FHF bino harness like it was made to go there. I liked the idea of keeping it in the harness so I'd always have it along and accessible. It looks like it would work well. Still haven't talked myself into one, but if I find one lower in price I might.

 

[fisherman983]

Just an FYI for anyone interested. I had the opportunity to see a Benchmade Altitude and their Bugout knife side by side. A buddy ordered both and is going to return one, he let me stop by and check them out. The blade shapes are very very similar. The Bugout does not have the jimping on the spine and might have just a shade more drop to the point giving it less belly, but it might not too. Both are very close. If a person is looking for something even lighter than the Altitude in S30V that's easier to re-sharpen it might be worth a look.

Bad thing for me was that I had my hands on the Altitude. It's sheath fits perfect in the mesh pocket on the side of my FHF bino harness like it was made to go there. I liked the idea of keeping it in the harness so I'd always have it along and accessible. It looks like it would work well. Still haven't talked myself into one, but if I find one lower in price I might.

The Facebook benchmade knife group has several dealers that sell for way less than msrp.. usually 32-35% off retail

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[mcseal2]

Thanks I'll get my wife to log in to her facebook and check it out.

 

[tarheelpwr]

I’m really drawn to that kestrel. It’s heated to 63RC. I understand it not able to be field sharpened, but will you even need to? 90V at 63 is in a completely different league than 59-61 on the BM.

Unless you chip it or abuse it, the edge will last forever at that hardness.

 

[Dobermann]

Picked one up for $149 shipped. Haven't had a chance to use it yet but so far I really like it.

Was this a standard retail price or a brother deal? If standard, can you share with us where you got it from?

 

[Logan T]

I used one on my elk this year. I also carry a havalon with me. When making the cut along the neck, the hide was just too thick and tough for the havalon type blades and the bench made did great. I ended up doing all of my bull and a little of my buddy’s bull- which was covered in mud- with it before it needed a touch up. It was definitely not as hard to sharpen as a lot of people make it out to be. I used the worksharp sharpener that benchmade sells and recommends. Easy to sharpen it back up to hair shaving sharp.

It’s the first time I’ve used anything but a havalon in years. And I’m glad I had it. I will say, I didn’t buy it and wouldn’t have bought it just due to the price on it alone, but I received it as a gift. Due to it being easy to sharpen (I personally think) and being able to send it in to get sharpened with their “forever sharp” program, I would probably buy another one if something happened to the one I have.


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[tarheelpwr]

There are a lot more options in this category than I realized, in some great steels too. Price ranges anywhere from $90 for the wrapped S35VN backpacker and only $85 for the Elmax Fastpak.

White River Backpacker in S35VN - available with wrap for just over 2oz and scales for just over 3oz:
M1 Backpacker Pro
– White River Knives

Rainier Fastpak in Elmax, just over 1oz in either FFG or Saber:
Fastpak - Sabre

 

[Skerhunter]

Got one of these knives as a gift this year. So far I have used it on a few grouse, couple of turkeys, a couple elk, and a few deer with no problems. Easy to carry, easy to clean, and I haven't needed to sharpen it yet, plan on sending it in to benchmade once season is over to resharpen it.

 

[prm]

Not significant experience as I just recently picked one up. I deboned a mule deer the other day with an altitude. Seemed just as sharp at the end as the start. I also have a Havalon Piranta, and I did few cuts to compare, and the Altitude seemed to cut as well, but obviously a much more stout blade. I think I’ll really like this knife. Possibly just send to Benchmade and have them sharpen during the off-season for years where it sees significant use.

 

[mcseal2]

I ended up getting one. I have only used it on some chuckar and pheasant so far. It worked fine filleting the breast on them. I think it will live in my bino harness for the foreseeable future. That way I'll always have a knife with me, I'll probably still carry a little larger knife in my pack for a lot of hunts.

 

[fisherman983]

Was this a standard retail price or a brother deal? If standard, can you share with us where you got it from?

It was thru a dealer on the benchmade Facebook page.. not an official page but rather a benchmade fan page. I cant remember the name of the guy I got mine from. But there are several dealers on the page as members.

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[Andymanofsteel]

There are a lot more options in this category than I realized, in some great steels too. Price ranges anywhere from $90 for the wrapped S35VN backpacker and only $85 for the Elmax Fastpak.

White River Backpacker in S35VN - available with wrap for just over 2oz and scales for just over 3oz:
M1 Backpacker Pro
– White River Knives

Rainier Fastpak in Elmax, just over 1oz in either FFG or Saber:
Fastpak - Sabre

WOuld you recommend either of these for an elk season skinner?

 

[tarheelpwr]

I have not killed an elk yet, so I’m not the best person to weigh in on that.

But, the backpacker feels great in the hand with their G10 handles.

 

[Nrolson2002]

I have the backpacker pro and it is a pretty sweet knife. The s35vn steel is suppose to be better than the s30v and the knife is very sharp out of the box. Half the price of the bench made. Haven’t had a chance to use it on animals but I love the way it feels in my hand.


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