Even though I love large folders, sometimes it’s nice to carry around a compact blade…
It’s just more comfortable, and actually, a small knife that is designed well is way more comfortable to carry around than a small knife with a bulky or clumsy design…
Spyderco is one of the manufacturers that I think gets it right most of the time, and right now, two of their most popular small folding knives are…
| Image | Products |
 | Spyderco Chaparral (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
 | Spyderco Native 5 (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
So in this Spyderco Chaparral Vs Native 5 article we’re going to compare these two awesome little knives in the following 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 tell you which knife I personally prefer, and you should have all the information you need to determine which knife will work best for you…
Let’s get started!
Blade Steel And Materials…
Spyderco Chaparral
Spyderco considers the Chaparral to be a gentleman’s folding knife. Part of the reason for that is the compact and sleek design, but it’s also because of the high-quality materials that are included in the knife…
To start off with, the blade steel on the Chaparral is CTS XHP. CTS XHP is considered a premium blade steel, and it does a great job at resisting corrosion as well as holding an edge for a long period of time…
It’s also not too difficult or tedious to sharpen, which I think is a great benefit because it won’t be a hassle to keep a fine edge on your blade, and overall, I think it’s a great knife steel…
Now the handle on the Chaparral changes depending on which version you choose to go with. The most common version is the Chaparral with the carbon fiber and G-10 handle…
That’s actually my personal favorite version because the carbon fiber helps to keep the knife lightweight, while at the same time, the G-10 helps keep the handle extremely strong…
It also feels great in your hand, and gives you a good amount of traction when you’re gripping the knife. The Chaparral can also be had with a fiberglass reinforced nylon or FRN handle, which I think is also a great option…
And there is also a version with a Raffir Noble handle and the Sun and Moon Chaparral comes with a fully G-10 handle.
Like I said though, my favorite is the carbon fiber/ G-10 version, and I really think that the CTS XHP blade steel was a great choice by Spyderco.
Spyderco Native 5
The Spyderco Native 5 is also built using very high quality materials. To begin, the Native 5 uses CPM S30V blade steel…
CPM S30V is also considered a premium blade steel. It’s actually very similar to the CTS XHP that the Chaparral uses, and they’re both about the same in terms of performance…
I do personally favor the CTS XHP a little bit because I think it holds an edge just a tiny bit better than S30V, but honestly they’re both great blade steels and any difference between them is very small…
The handle material on the Native 5 also depends on which version you choose to go with. The most common version has a fiberglass reinforced nylon (FRN) handle, which is an extremely lightweight material…
But there’s also a version that comes with a G-10 handle, which is also a great handle material in my opinion because it’s very strong and feels very comfortable in your hand…
All in all, I’m very impressed with the quality of materials that Spyderco chose to use in the Native 5, and I think they’re definitely on par with the materials used in the Chaparral.
Blade Shape And Handle Design…
Spyderco Chaparral
The Chaparral has a pretty elegant blade shape in my opinion. It’s a version of a drop point blade, and it has kind of a leaf-like shape to it…
It comes with a full flat grind, which I like because it keeps the blade strong and makes it an excellent cutter and slicer…
And the Plain Edge that you get on the Chaparral is razor sharp right out of the box. Now right now, the Chaparral only comes in a Plain Edge version…
That’s not a problem for me… I typically prefer Plain Edge blades on my folding knives because it makes them easier to sharpen, but if you’re looking for a serrated blade, you’ll probably want to look at the Native 5…
The blade on the Chaparral also comes with a traditional Spyderco deployment hole which allows you to easily and quickly open the knife with one hand…
And there is jimping on the spine of the blade and the finger choil, which allows you to choke up on the knife when you need extra leverage or control…
The handle on the Chaparral, regardless of the material you choose to co with, is very ergonomic and comfortable in your hand…
It feels great, and it really locks into your hand to give you a very solid purchase when you’re gripping the knife.
Spyderco Native 5
The Native 5 also has a version of a drop-point blade on it, and it also has a kind of leaf-like shape…
It actually looks very similar to the Chaparral’s blade, but it has a bit of a swedge at the top and it’s actually a lot beefier, which makes it very strong and a great utility blade (the Chaparral’s blade is much thinner)…
The Native 5’s blade is also a full flat grind which, again, is something I like because it makes the knife a great cutter and slicer…
And you can get the Native 5 with a Plain Edge, a Spyder Edge (Spyderco’s version of a serrated blade), or a Combination Edge (a half Plain Edge and half serrated blade)…
Like I mentioned earlier, I prefer the Plain Edge version because it will end up being easier to sharpen, but I’m glad that Spyderco offers the Spyder Edge and Combination Edge for those who like a serrated blade…
You can also get the Native 5 with a stainless steel blade or with a black coated blade, and just like with the Chaparral there is jimping on the spine of the blade and the finger choil so you can choke up on the knife for more control…
The Native 5 also has the traditional Spyderco deployment hole which allows you to deploy the blade quickly and easily, but I do think it’s a little bit less smooth than the Chaparral…
Now the handle on the Native 5 is also very comfortable and ergonomic. It feels very good in your hand and because of the bi-directional texturing (on the FRN version) you can really lock onto the knife…
It also comes in a variety of colors such as: black, blue, gray, pink, and yellow, and overall, I think the handle on the Native 5 is designed to be very comfortable and very functional.
Locking Mechanism…
Both the Chaparral and the Native 5 feature the Back Lock locking Mechanism. This is a locking system that incorporates a pivoting arm with a lug on it, and the lug engages with a notch in the tang of the blade…
Truth be told, the Back Lock is a very common locking mechanism, and it can be found on a wide variety of knives from many manufacturers…
Part of the reason the Back Lock is so popular is because it’s a simple system, and it locks the blade out pretty securely…
And Spyderco’s version of the Back Lock is particularly good in my opinion because it allows you to flip out the blade very easily and quickly, and the deployment is very smooth.
Size And Dimensions…
Spyderco Chaparral
As I mentioned earlier, the Chaparral is really designed to be a compact gentleman’s knife. It has a blade that measures in at 2.80 inches long, and a handle that measures in at 3.60 inches long…
That brings the overall length on the Chaparral to 6.40 inches when the blade is fully locked out.
Spyderco Native 5
The Native 5 is also a fairly compact knife, but it is a little bit larger than the Chaparral. The blade on the Native 5 measures in at 2.95 inches long, and the handle measures in at 4.00 inches long…
That brings the overall length on the Native 5 to 6.95 inches long when the blade is fully deployed. So when we compare the Native 5 to the Chaparral…
…the Native 5 is around 0.55 inches longer when both of their blades are fully deployed.
Pocket Clip And Carry Position…
Spyderco Chaparral
The pocket clip on the Chaparral is a wire clip, and it sets you up for tip-up carry only…
Personally I prefer tip down carry when I can get it, but I OK with tip up carry if I like the overall knife design and that’s all that is available to me (and I do like the Chaparral)…
In addition to that, the clip on the Chaparral can be swapped to either side of the knife. I really like this feature because it allows you to optimize your knife for left handed or right handed carry very easily….
Now the wire clip on the Chaparral is actually a deep carry clip, so the end of the knife barely sticks out of your pocket. That makes it very discrete to carry around…
…and because of the very slim and lightweight design, it’s an incredibly comfortable knife to carry around in your pocket all day long.
Spyderco Native 5
Because the Native 5 is a slightly larger knife, it has a pocket clip set up that is more similar to something like the Spyderco Delica (another very popular Spyderco knife)…
With the Native 5 your clip can be set up for tip up or tip down carry, and it’s also able to be swapped to either side of the knife…
Like I mentioned earlier, I prefer tip down carry, so I really like that I have that option with the Native 5, and again, I’m glad they made the clip swappable so you can optimize it for left handed or right handed carry…
Unlike the Chaparral, the Native 5 does not have a deep carry clip, so the end of the knife sticks out of your pocket a little bit…
But that being said, it’s also a very lightweight and slim design. So just like the Chaparral, it’s a joy to carry around in your pocket all day.
Price Comparison…
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to give exact numbers in this category because the prices of these knives are changing all the time…
Both knives also have several different versions, and the price can change a lot depending on which one you choose to go with…
All that being said, the least expensive version of the Chaparral is usually around 10 bucks less expensive than the lowest priced version of the Native 5…
When you start comparing the higher priced versions of both of these knives, they end up being about the same in terms of price…
So if you’re on a budget, and you’re looking to keep the price down as low as possible, I recommend you take a look at the Chaparral (specifically the Chaparral FRN) because it will probably end up being the least expensive option for you.
Spyderco Chaparral Vs Native 5 – Final Thoughts…
So to summarize everything, in the Blade Steel And Materials category, the Chaparral uses CTS XHP blade steel and the Native 5 uses CPM S30V…
The two blade steels are very similar, and they’ll both resist rust well and maintain a very fine edge well…
In the Blade Shape And Handle Design category, both the Chaparral and the Native 5 have a version of a drop point blade, and both have very comfortable and ergonomic handles…
In the Locking Mechanism category, both the Chaparral and the Native 5 feature the Back Lock locking mechanism, which is a good system because it allows you to deploy the blade easily and quickly…
In the Size And Dimensions category, the Native 5 is around 0.55 inches longer than the Chaparral when both of their blades are fully locked out…
In the Pocket Clip And Carry Position category, the Chaparral’s pocket clip sets you up for tip up carry and is swappable to either side of the knife…
Whereas the Native 5’s pocket clip can be set up for tip up or tip down carry and is swappable to either side of the knife…
And last, in the Price Comparison, the least expensive version of the Chaparral is around 10 dollars less expensive than the lowest priced Native 5…
So which of these knives do I prefer? I prefer the Spyderco Chaparral…
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I prefer the Chaparral for a few reasons. First of all, I prefer the carbon fiber/ G-10 handle that you can get on the Chaparral…
It’s a very lightweight and strong handle material, and at the same time it’s incredibly comfortable in your hand…
I also really love the deep carry clip that you get on the Chaparral. The knife practically disappears in your pocket, and it’s extremely comfortable to carry around in your pocket all day…
Last, I like the size and look of the Chaparral a little better. It’s a little bit more compact than the Native 5, and I just think it looks more sleek and elegant.
Now if you want a more EDC oriented knife that will be a little bit stronger and better for overall utility, then feel free to go with the Native 5 because it’s still an awesome knife…
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Either way, I hope you enjoyed this comparison between these two great knives from Spyderco!