What’s the best size for an EDC knife?
Most people will say something small (but not too small) and lightweight…
After all, it’s really annoying to have a chunky knife taking up space in your pocket and weighing you down all day…
Of course, I agree with most people, I want a compact and lightweight knife for everyday carry but it can’t be too small because that’ll make me feel like I don’t have enough knife…
Right now, two of the best knives I can think of that fit into this category are:
| Image | Products |
 | Benchmade Bugout (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
 | Benchmade Mini Griptilian (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
And in this Mini Griptilian Vs Bugout article, we’re going to compare these two awesome EDC knives in the following six categories…
- Blade Steel And Materials
- Blade Shape And Handle Design
- Locking Mechanism
- Size And Dimensions
- Pocket Clip And Carry Position
- Price Comparison
In the end I’ll reveal to you which knife I prefer and you should have all the information you need to determine which knife is best for you…
Let’s get started!
Blade Steel And Materials…
Benchmade Bugout
The Benchmade Bugout was built from the ground up to be an extremely lightweight medium sized utility knife, and it uses very high quality materials…
To start off with, the Bugout uses CPM S30V blade steel. CPM S30V is considered a premium blade steel because it does a good job of resisting rust and it maintains an edge pretty well too…
I really like it because, even though it does a good job of holding an edge, it’s also not too difficult to sharpen…
Now speaking of sharpening, Benchmade actually offers a service called Life Sharp when you purchase any of their knives…
The Life Sharp program basically means you can send your knife back into Benchmade and they will repair it, lubricate, and resharpen it for you…
They’ll perform this service for the life of the knife, and it’s all done for free. I really love that Benchmade does this because it shows that they’re willing to go above and beyond to take care of their customers…
…and that they stand behind the quality and durability of their knives. Now the handle on the Bugout is made from a glass filled nylon called grivory…
I like the use of grivory for this knife design because it’s a strong material, but at the same time, it’s extremely lightweight…
It also feels great in your hand, and gives you a really solid purchase on the knife when you’re using it. All in all, I’m pretty impressed with the materials that Benchmade chose to use on the Bugout.
Benchmade Mini Griptilian
The Benchmade Mini Griptilian is actually a scaled down version of the incredibly popular Benchmade Griptilian…
And like the Griptilian, the Mini uses some pretty high quality materials. Now the blade steel on the Mini Griptilian is 154CM…
154CM is considered a high end blade steel. It does a good job of resisting rust and maintaining an edge, but the CPM S30V blade steel on the Bugout will hold an edge longer…
That being said, it’s still a high quality blade, especially for a small utility knife like the Mini Griptilian. Just as with the Bugout, the Mini Griptilian comes with the Life Sharp service, which again is something I really like…
And the handle is also made from glass filled nylon (grivory). Again, I like the use of grivory for the handle material because its strong and very lightweight, and it feels really good in your hand…
In the end, both knives use the same glass filled nylon handle material, which I like because its strong, lightweight, and feels good in your hand…
However, they differ in the blade steel used. The CPM S30V blade steel on the Bugout is superior to the 154CM blade steel on the Mini Griptilian because it will hold an edge longer…
But even though the S30V is better, the Mini Griptilian’s 154CM steel is still pretty high quality.
Blade Shape And Handle Design…
Benchmade Bugout
The Bugout has a very traditional drop point blade. I’ve always been a big fan of drop point blades, and I really think the Bugout’s blade shape is pretty attractive…
It has kind of a high flat grind, and it performs really well at cutting, slicing, and dicing. In addition to that, the Bugout can be had with either a plain edge or a serrated edge…
Benchmade’s serrated edge is really a combination edge with the top half of the blade being a plain edge and the lower half being serrated…
Personally, I prefer the plain edge version because it’s just easier to sharpen, but I know there are a lot of guys out there who really like serrated blades and I’m glad that Benchmade gives you that option…
You can also get the Bugout with a satin finished blade or with a black coated blade, and the thumb stud allows you to quickly and easily open the blade with one hand…
Now like I mentioned earlier, the handle is made from glass filled nylon which is extremely lightweight. It also feels very ergonomic and comfortable in your hand…
And the texturing allows you to get a good purchase on the knife when you’re using it. Additionally, you can get the Bugout in a variety of handle colors such as blue, tan, and black…
And it also has a lanyard hole, so you can attach a little bit of paracord if that’s something you like to do with your knives…
All in all, I love the drop point blade on the Bugout, and as I mentioned before, the handle is lightweight and very comfortable.
Benchmade Mini Griptilian
Like the Bugout, the Mini Griptilian has a drop point blade (at least the most common version does). Its the same drop point shape as the full sized Griptilian (just scaled down)…
And it has a slightly more unique profile to it than the Bugout’s more traditional style drop point. That being said, I still think it looks great, and the hollow grind allows you to get the Mini Griptilian very sharp…
It can also be had with either a plain edge or a serrated edge, and again, I prefer the plain edge version because it will end up being easier for you to sharpen when the time comes (or you can just send it back to Benchmade for Life Sharp service)…
In addition to that, the Mini Griptilian also comes in either a satin finished blade or a black coated blade, and it has some jimping along the spine to help give you more control for precise cuts…
Now the handle, again, is made from grivory just like the Bugout, but it’s a little shorter in overall length. It’s still comfortable in your hand, but not quite as comfortable to hold as the larger handle on the Bugout…
That being said, it’s still comfortable, and it’s a little more compact (we’ll get into the dimensions later in this comparison)…
Last, the Mini Griptilian also comes in a variety of handle colors such as black, blue, green, tan, pink, yellow, gray and others.
Locking Mechanism…
Both the Bugout and the Mini Griptilian utilize the AXIS Lock locking mechanism. The AXIS Lock is a system that incorporates a spring-tensioned bar, a track inside the handle and liner, and the tang of the blade…
It’s a pretty strong and rugged locking system, and it also allows the blade to deploy very quickly and smoothly…
The AXIS Lock is actually a proprietary locking mechanism and Benchmade acquired the patent for it all the way back in 1988…
So it’s a mechanism that Benchmade has been using for a pretty long time, and it seems to have stood the test of time…
I’m a fan of the AXIS Lock, and I think it’s a high performing locking mechanism that works great on both of these knife designs.
Size And Dimensions…
Benchmade Bugout
The Benchmade Bugout was designed from the ground up to be a pretty compact utility knife. It has a blade length that measures in at 3.24 inches long, and the handle length is 4.22 inches long…
That brings the overall length on the Bugout to 7.46 inches long when the blade is fully locked out. In addition to that, the Bugout weighs in at just 1.85 ounces (which is extremely lightweight)…
So overall, it’s a pretty compact and lightweight knife, and I think that makes it a great option for everyday carry.
Benchmade Mini Griptilian
Like I mentioned earlier, the Mini Griptilian is a scaled-down version of the original Griptilian, and it was really created to be an even smaller EDC option than the Bugout…
Now the Blade Length on the Mini Griptilian measures in at 2.91 inches long, and the handle measures in at 3.87 inches long…
That brings the overall length of the Mini Griptilian to 6.78 inches long when the blade is fully deployed. As a comparison to the original Griptilian, the Mini Griptilian is around 1.29 inches shorter when both of their blades are locked out…
And compared to the Bugout, the Mini Griptilian is around 0.68 inches shorter in overall length (when both blades are deployed)…
In addition to that, the Mini Griptilian weighs in at 2.5 ounces. That’s a lot lighter than the original Gripitlian which weighs in at 3.88 ounces, but it’s actually heavier than the Bugout by around 0.65 ounces…
So even though the Mini Griptilian is a more compact knife than the Bugout, it is just a little bit heavier in weight.
All that being said, I do think the size and weight of the Mini Griptilian make it a great EDC option just like the Bugout…
Pocket Clip And Carry Position…
Benchmade Bugout
The clip on the Bugout sets you up for tip up carry only, and you can swap it over to either side of the knife…
Personally, I prefer tip down carry, but I’m ok with tip up carry if I like the knife design and that’s the only option available (and I like the Bugout’s overall design)…
I also really like that the clip is swappable to either side of the knife because it gives you a little bit of flexibility over your clip position and allows you to optimize the clip for left handed or right handed carry…
In addition to that, the Bugout features a deep carry clip. I always prefer a deep carry clip when I can get it because it pretty much makes the knife disappear in your pocket…
Also, even though it sits very low in your pocket, the Bugout is still quick and easy to get to, and because it’s such a lightweight and slim design, it’s extremely comfortable to carry around in your pocket all day…
All in all, I really like the clip design on the Bugout because the knife practically disappears in your pocket.
Benchmade Mini Griptilian
The clip on the Mini Griptilian also sets you up for tip up carry and can be swapped to either side of the knife…
Again, I personally wish there was an option for tip down carry, but that’s just what I prefer and I don’t think it’s that big of a deal…
I do like that you have the capability of swapping the clip to either side because, again, that allows you to set the clip up for carry whether you’re right handed or left handed…
Now the clip on the Mini Griptilian is not a deep carry clip like the one on the Bugout…
So there is a little bit of handle material that remains visible while you have the knife in your pocket…
That being said, it doesn’t stick up too much, so the knife is still pretty discrete when you’re carrying it, and it’s also pretty comfortable in your pocket too…
Between the Bugout and the Mini Griptilian I do prefer the deep carry clip that you get on the Bugout because the knife just disappears in your pocket…
But the clip on the Mini Griptilian is also pretty discrete and allows you to comfortably carry the knife around too.
Price Comparison…
Unfortunately I won’t be able to give you exact numbers in this section because the prices on these knives are known to fluctuate due to changes in the market…
In addition to that, both of these knives come in a few different versions which are all priced a little bit differently…
So keeping all that in mind, you can usually find the Mini Griptilian for around 30 to 50 dollars less expensive than the Bugout…
Again, the actual price of your knife will depend upon which particular version you go with, but in general, the Mini Griptilian is going to be the less expensive option…
So if you’re on a budget and are really trying to keep the price down, you’ll probably want to go with the Mini Griptilian.
Mini Griptilian Vs Bugout – Conclusions…
So to sum it all up, in the Blade Steel And Materials category, both the Bugout and the Mini Griptilian have glass fillled nylon handles…
However the CPM S30V blade steel on the Bugout is superior to the 154CM blade steel on the Mini Griptilian because it will hold its edge a little longer…
In the Blade Shape And Handle Design category, both knives have a version of a drop point blade and bother perform very well as cutters…
In the Locking Mechanism category, both knives utilize the AXIS Lock locking mechanism which is a great system that locks your blade out very securely and allows you to deploy the blade very smoothly as well…
In the Size And Dimensions category, the Bugout is a little bit longer (0.68 inches) than the Mini Griptilian when both of their blades are fully deployed…
And it’s also a little more lightweight compared to the Mini Griptilian, with the Mini weighing in at 0.65 ounces more than the Bugout…
In the Pocket Clip And Carry Position category, both knives have a clip that sets you up for tip up carry, but the Bugout has a deep carry clip (which I prefer), and the Mini Griptilian has a standard clip…
And last, in the Price Comparison, the Mini Griptilian is around 30 to 50 dollars less expensive than the Bugout…
So which of these knives do I prefer? I prefer the Bugout…
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I prefer the Bugout for a few reasons. First of all, I prefer the CPM S30V blade steel you get on the Bugout over the 154CM steel on the Mini Griptilian because it will hold its edge for a longer period of time…
I also prefer the size and shape of the handle on the Bugout. It’s very comfortable in your hand and it gives you a great purchase on the knife when you’re using it…
In addition to that, I love how slim and lightweight the Bugout is because it makes it extremely comfortable to carry around in your pocket all day…
And last, I prefer the flat grind on the Bugout’s blade because it makes it a great cutter.
Now if you’re happy with 154CM blade steel (still a very good steel), you don’t mind a slightly smaller handle, and you want to save a few bucks…
Then feel free to go with the Mini Griptilian because it’s still an awesome knife…
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You won’t go wrong going with either of these two awesome little EDC knives because they’re both built to a high standard and have high quality materials…
Anyway, I hope I was able to show you the major similarities and differences between these two great knives from Benchmade.