New vs Old Benchmade Steep Country Initial thoughts and Comparison

Joined
Jun 27, 2019
Messages
1,702
Location
The Boot
This seems to be a pretty popular blade here on Rokslide. I figure some people may have a choice between old and new, so maybe this will help someone. At the end of the day, this is going to come off as an odd review. Ill save you some time....If you can get the older model at a discounted price, Id jump on it before they are gone. But thats not to say I dont like the new version.

Just to get this out of the way...the original Benchmade Steep Country 15008 is my favorite hunting knife, or any type of knife for that matter, of all time. This also happens to be the least expensive fixed blade knife if the hunt lineup. The original SC, Ive used it to break down 40-50 animals - from beginning to end. Ive touched the blade up after each one, but I cant recall having to touch it up in the field. I havent done an elk - Im working on that part. Any revision or refresh of this knife was going to have its work cut out for it.

Last week Benchmade released the Steep Country 15006. Benchmade has updated the Hidden Canyon, Saddle Mountain and now the SC in 2020. Mostly it was an update of the blade shapes, and adding s90v as an option on some models.

What it amounts to is that theyve changed the things they shouldnt have, and then changed other things in ways that it didnt compliment the changes they didnt need to make. Ill try to explain that.

First, the blade and blade shape. Both blades are S30V steel. The original SC had a high saber grind with a slightly thicker bladestock. The new version is thinner bladestock and a full flat grind. That part I can get on board with, we're good so far. The jimping locations on the bladestock on the original for the index finger position seemed slightly too far forward. So Benchmade moved the jimping back to the right spot...BUT, they changed the blade shape which changed how it feels in hand. To my hands, the new jimping location would be perfect on the old blade. Next, the blade is taller on the new knife and just looks and feels a good bit larger than the original which traveled the middle of the road between nimble for detailed work and burly for popping joints and cutting tendons. I easily prefer the blade shape on the original as of now.

The handle on the new SC feels thinner in hand. There is a more pronounced belly in the finger area that does feel better than the original There is a more aggressive 'knurling' on the santoprene handle which also was a good move for when your hands are slick with blood. But the large jimping that sticks out of the santoprene on the top side of the hande was squared off and aggressive which helped when you really needed traction on the original. On the updated version those are rounded off, and just dont seem to have the same bite. Another situation where I prefer the new handle feel, but wish they wouldve kept the more aggressive squared off knurling on top. If you didnt like the aggressive handle knurling on the original, youll be pleased with the update.

As far as the sheaths go, the original sheath was so poorly done that damn near anything short of cardboard wouldve been an improvement. Well, they did do better than cardboard, but this is easily the most disappointing part of the update for me. It appeared as though the new boltoron sheath would be an upgrade. It is orange on one side, and black on the other. Looks nice. But thats about the extent of nice. The knife fits very poorly in the sheath. Rattles around as bad as any knife Ive owned. If it were thin and low profile, I could get over it. But the design on the thumb ramp leaves overly large wings sticking out both sides of the sheath and just takes up more space in a kill kit than it needs to. It is better than the originals sheath, but in ways Ill never understand, only marginally. Im already thinking about cutting down the 'wings' to see if I cant make it less cumbersome. I bought a kydex sheath for the original (shown below) and I may end up having to do the same for this one.

A lot of these things are feel, which will change from person to person. Ultimately, they changed things on the knife for the better, and also some I wish they didnt. I still think the new version is a top of the line hunting knife. I wish I could have the blade on the original and the handle on the update. But since thats not happening, Id say I prefer the original as of now. If you can still find the original at the discount price (i think it was $85 at a few online retailers) Id grab one of those. If not, I think the new version is still the best of the hunt line for Benchmade. Ill update the thread once Ive used the update hopefully on a buck this weekend.


In all of these pics, the new knife is on top and the original on bottom. Thanks!
 
Last edited:

woods89

WKR
Joined
Sep 3, 2014
Messages
1,779
Location
Southern MO Ozarks
Good to know! I bought one of the originals (for $85) a few weeks ago, and I'm glad to know it holds it's own. So far I like it a lot.
 
OP
TheBootBowhunting
Joined
Jun 27, 2019
Messages
1,702
Location
The Boot
Pics
 

Attachments

  • D63FEA8E-FBC3-45C0-ACAA-6504127DFE0A.jpeg
    D63FEA8E-FBC3-45C0-ACAA-6504127DFE0A.jpeg
    352.2 KB · Views: 577
  • 895BA25F-ACD3-44F8-A41E-611B84E90DF1.jpeg
    895BA25F-ACD3-44F8-A41E-611B84E90DF1.jpeg
    332.4 KB · Views: 545
  • 12B56E4B-F1F1-403F-93E4-FCB24E5C2D36.jpeg
    12B56E4B-F1F1-403F-93E4-FCB24E5C2D36.jpeg
    349.7 KB · Views: 497
  • 4CBFD557-EE4D-41AA-901A-51F83CF9542D.jpeg
    4CBFD557-EE4D-41AA-901A-51F83CF9542D.jpeg
    277.4 KB · Views: 489
  • 40398844-C56F-48B2-A3C3-BE720E59AAA6.jpeg
    40398844-C56F-48B2-A3C3-BE720E59AAA6.jpeg
    345.3 KB · Views: 450
  • 6B807CF4-147A-4E4C-A625-17CBE31D7CFD.jpeg
    6B807CF4-147A-4E4C-A625-17CBE31D7CFD.jpeg
    311.4 KB · Views: 446
  • 873587EE-18A9-4F23-8935-6D8FD667C059.jpeg
    873587EE-18A9-4F23-8935-6D8FD667C059.jpeg
    311.2 KB · Views: 414
  • 70B8627B-AEAC-40B8-A51D-D405026B10FE.jpeg
    70B8627B-AEAC-40B8-A51D-D405026B10FE.jpeg
    143.1 KB · Views: 428
  • 2CD56489-CB29-4010-B87C-BD856675A82B.jpeg
    2CD56489-CB29-4010-B87C-BD856675A82B.jpeg
    228.8 KB · Views: 442
  • E598BC5F-F451-4686-8271-4F048271EABE.jpeg
    E598BC5F-F451-4686-8271-4F048271EABE.jpeg
    406 KB · Views: 531

T28w

WKR
Joined
Dec 10, 2018
Messages
585
I’ve been looking for an old one for $85. Anyone got a website they are still in stock at?

Thanks for the review
 
Joined
Jul 9, 2016
Messages
308
Location
AK
Great write up! I have both the 15008 and 15009, both fantastic knives that have gone through several animals in a single triple, multiple times without sharpening. Worth the price if you could grab one.
 

Grady.J

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Dec 29, 2014
Messages
228
Location
Coquitlam, BC
Thanks for the post. I was excited when I saw they'd gone with a thinner blade stock and a full flat grind, but now the other changes I'm not so sure about. Definitely like the looks of the blade profile and thicker handle of the original.
 

N2TRKYS

WKR
Joined
Apr 17, 2016
Messages
3,954
Location
Alabama
I wanted to get a saddle mountain knife, but couldn’t get one before they “upgraded” to their jacked up blade shape on the new ones. Maybe they’ll come to their senses and change it back or I guess I’ll never get to own one.
 
OP
TheBootBowhunting
Joined
Jun 27, 2019
Messages
1,702
Location
The Boot
Thanks for the post. I was excited when I saw they'd gone with a thinner blade stock and a full flat grind, but now the other changes I'm not so sure about. Definitely like the looks of the blade profile and thicker handle of the original.

Yeah, I skinned out an ole doe with the updated version (V2 from here on out) yesterday. Ill stand by the initial impression that I prefer the V1. They couldve simply added the grip texture and the more pronounced belly on the handle, and moved the index finger blade jimping back a bit and called it a day, but they didnt.

V1 is just a better all around blade, IMO. Detailed work, its not even close. The taller blade just isnt as precise and just feels a little clumsy. Ill keep it around, its still a great knife. But Id definitely choose the V1 if I could only keep 1. If the v1 is sold out everywhere, I still wouldnt hesitate to get a V2.

Im going to make this bold claim. The sheath, while it looks nicer, is full on junk. Reminds me of a girl that is absolutely beautiful, but you feel sorry for the dude who falls for the looks because the girl is a full on nutjob and has a reputation for ruining peoples lives. The sheath wont have you in debt and filing restraining orders, but you get the point. Hyperbole is a useful tool. Looks good, poor function. I initially said it was marginally better than the old sheath, and I was wrong. The boltoron feels like a fancy name for toy plastic. There is barely enough sheath tension on the knife to prevent it from falling out. Yesterday, I grabbed the knife out of my pack and the sheath stayed in the pack, any amount of resistance and its going to release the knife. I got home and took a razorblade and some sandpaper to the 'wings' on the sheath, shown in the pic below. Looks better, functions the same and doesnt change the poor fit and rattling. This will at least make it lower profile in a kill kit and prevent it from getting snagged as much coming out of a pack.
 

Attachments

  • FF3D83FE-1793-4595-AEEE-7E294CE95DCB.jpeg
    FF3D83FE-1793-4595-AEEE-7E294CE95DCB.jpeg
    484.9 KB · Views: 100
Last edited:
OP
TheBootBowhunting
Joined
Jun 27, 2019
Messages
1,702
Location
The Boot
I have the V1 and I don't see what everyone's gripe with the sheath is. What's so bad about it?

In comparison to the v2 sheath, its probably not as bad as I remembered. Ive been using that kydex sheath for 4+ years, so its been a while since I used the factory sheath. I know I did modify the original to get rid of the belt loop. I dont belt carry the knife, so maybe thats where some of my opinion comes from. The biggest complaint about the v1 sheath was the retainer strap was so close to the kydex that people were cutting it when taking the knife out/putting back in. The gripe people usually have about Benchmade fixed blades is usually the sheath though. All personal preference I guess.

Anyone looking for a v1, looks like dlttrading.com has some stock at 79.95. Ive never bought anything from them, but it does appear they have some left.
 

NDGuy

WKR
Joined
Feb 13, 2017
Messages
3,886
Location
ND
In comparison to the v2 sheath, its probably not as bad as I remembered. Ive been using that kydex sheath for 4+ years, so its been a while since I used the factory sheath. I know I did modify the original to get rid of the belt loop. I dont belt carry the knife, so maybe thats where some of my opinion comes from. The biggest complaint about the v1 sheath was the retainer strap was so close to the kydex that people were cutting it when taking the knife out/putting back in. The gripe people usually have about Benchmade fixed blades is usually the sheath though. All personal preference I guess.

Anyone looking for a v1, looks like dlttrading.com has some stock at 79.95. Ive never bought anything from them, but it does appear they have some left.
Valid complaints, I just guess I am not picky about sheaths lol

I grabbed mine from Scheels they price matched bladehq and they had an online deal for a $25 e gift card to boot. Essentially got it for $84.99 with a $25 gift card.
 

UP NORTH

WKR
Joined
Mar 12, 2018
Messages
474
Location
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Valid complaints, I just guess I am not picky about sheaths lol

I grabbed mine from Scheels they price matched bladehq and they had an online deal for a $25 e gift card to boot. Essentially got it for $84.99 with a $25 gift card.
How did you get them to price match? Did you do it online or was it in person at the store? Do you think they would price match when its out of stock at BladeHQ?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 

NDGuy

WKR
Joined
Feb 13, 2017
Messages
3,886
Location
ND
How did you get them to price match? Did you do it online or was it in person at the store? Do you think they would price match when its out of stock at BladeHQ?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
Nope. I went in when it was in stock and Scheels had a gift card promo going too. Still is on but sold out online it looks like.
 
Top