Benchmade Bailout AXIS Lock Knife Black Grivory (3.38" Gray) 537GY

For a long time I heard great things about the bugout, and came close to getting one a time or two but i didn't. Yeah the budget is good, but it just didn't seem to fit me. "If only they had it in tanto point" I thought to myself. then, one day, it happened. i got the newsletter. INTRODUCING THE BENCHMADE BAILOUT!! Shiniing light from above, heavenly choir, my prayers had been answered, it was real! Tanto point, beefier 3v steel, and the looks to boot. i could barely hold out to get one, when I did I got it engraved. Ultra light weight, LOVE IT. I wear a lot of running shorts so it is great to have something so light that doesn't pull your shorts down. Now I'm just waiting for whenever flytanium come out with some copper scales for it. Love the scales it has, but the finish on the blade, with copper, will look amazing!! amazing knife, 10/10

This is my favorite benchmade knife that sees regular use. So light you don’t even know it’s in the pocket. The tanto blade is much better than other harsh angled tantos. Two small complaints that knocked a star off for me: the blade finish is prone to snail trails very easily and the aluminum pommel seems pretty useless.

I bought this knife when it first came out and I was really excited because it was my first Benchmade. I liked the 3V and the aluminum pommel on the end. I'm not a fan of the grivory scales and I replaced them with carbon fiber and even reground the blade into a different blade shape. I think I should have bought the bugout but its fine. I still carry it every day.

The Bugout, Spyderco Brouwer, and now the Bailout, all sacrifice ergonomics, in pocket comfort, just so the knife can have a lanyard added for Instagram modeling. In the specific case of the Bailout / Bugout, knives that boast a super lightweight feel, why and a lanyard for weight? If the Bailout had a aluminum back spacer that was flush with the handle, this becomes an infinitely better knife. The 3V is tough, which compliments the already tough tanto point.

I carry a variety of items on me everyday for work as a mechanic. In my search of a well rounded edc tool load out i found the bailout to have all the pieces that the bugout lacked in a similar package. it compliments this set well and makes it an almost perfect everyday carry.

My collection consists of thousands of dollars worth of high end knives. The Bailout is my favorite. There is just something about it, weight, size, feel in the hand, it’s basically my Goldie locks knife. I’ve carried the Bugout for a year, trust me, spend the couple extra bucks on the Bailout. You won’t be disappointed.

This knife is sharp out of the box. Good grip, very portable, almost disappears in your pocket. Holding it feels so light, honestly I'm not used to it yet. AXIS lock is probably my favorite, but at first, this knife is so light weight that it is hard to snap out with your wrist without using the thumb stud. Once you work it in a bit it goes nice and smooth. The 3V steel seems good to me.

This knife is fantastic. The complaints about the steel are exaggerated--I have not had any issues with 3V. Highly recommend this knife.

knife was ok out of box fit n finish was so so even for benchmade but the heat treat is somewhere around 57 hrc so definitely not work the price tag for that soft of steel

Super light weight, scary light. Blade is super thin, but works like any other EDC and cuts like a champ. Love 3V by the way, but first folder in 3V. Mainly use this steel in my field fixed blade knives. I can see why other hate the pommel, but realistically it is helpful part of this tool, the handle is so thin and plasticy that it helps doing other tasks. This is going to be my light weight knife, but used it as a work knife for a while, till I could resharpen it since it didn't come razor sharp like other benchmades I own. Now it's perfect.

I love the looks and feel of this knife, personally a lot more than the bugout, I've EDC'd that knife for about a year now. But just like the bug out the blade's grind was pretty bad out of box and pivot was very over tightened. If your like me that won't bother you too much as I just slapped a new edge on it and loosed the pivot a bit. Still would def recommend.

The knife is great. I don't know if it is better than the Bugout, but it is close. The Bailout does feel alot more "grippy" in a sense, due to the cerakoted blade, and thumb ramp on the frame. I probably will not hard use this knife, but it definitely feels up to the task. Buy with confidence!

I purchased this as a gift for my wife's son and he absolutely loves it. I don't have a lot of experience with knives myself but his father does.

First of all this is a great knife. Tough 3V steel, no bling, and so light it absolutely disappears in the pocket. Came sharp out-of-the-box and the AXIS lock wasn't too tight. The blade falls right into the handle when engaged. On our partner's Bugout the AXIS lock is so tight that it takes a flick of the wrist to put the blade away. Not so here.

He's a former Marine and Iraq veteran and got a good laugh from Benchmade's marketing of this knife. Not a single time he said would anyone trust their life to a folder no matter the quality. They use fixed blades for a reason. He chucked at the idea of pulling out a small knife, flicking it open, and prying a round from the magazine well of what he called an "M16." When I asked what that was he said its one of the guns Benchmade cut up in service to the Oregon City police department. Thank you Benchmade!

Overall his son loves this knife and can't say enough good things about it. A great extension of the Bugout platform but laughable marketing. And he especially appreciates, as I do, Benchmade's commitment progressive values and social justice.

Positives:
As far as the overall design of the knife goes, it is basically the bugout frame; just a little longer; with a changed thumb ramp, blade shape/steel, an external lanyard loop/pommel, and a nice cerakote coating on the blade.
Just like the bugout, this knife is incredible light, a fidget flicker with the axis lock and a super good slicer with the thin blade stock.

Negatives:
The only bad thing I can really find with the knife is that when the blade stock rubs on the axis bar when opening and especially closing, it has a gritty/grinding sort of feel.
(This went away after opening it hundreds of times and breaking it in)

As far as hard use goes, the 3V blade is very tough and strong. In my old review I said that the blade was too thin and would break under hard use. I wanted to retract that statement and correct it. It is not the blade you have to worry about with hard use, but you have to worry about the handle.


Love this knife 6 chickens out of 5