Protech Malibu Review
NOTE: This review is part of a series of reviews of products that I either missed when they first came out or own but haven’t reviewed. Look for a review of the Spartan Blades Talos and the Bradford Guardian 3, among others.
Hot off the presses, from 2022. Actually, I am trying to go back and fill in a few gaps in my review catalog and this was one of them (look for a review of the Spartan Talos and a few other knives sprinkled in here and there over the next few months filling other gaps). The Malibu was the hottest knife on the market three years ago and being the utter snob that I am I passed it up for two reasons: 1) a profound and deep-seated hatred of finger scallops (aka bad design that everyone mistakes for good design); and 2) the pretty ugly blade shapes. When one of my favorite knife stores returned to NH (PVK.com), I got the chance to handle the Malibu where I prompted realized, despite the photographs online, it did not have true finger scallops AND boy was the action insane. So yeah, I bought one and here we are. I have nothing to report about the blade shapes—both are still fugly.
Here is the product page. As with all Protechs there are dozens and dozens of variants including very high end models that remind me of William Henry’s stuff. The variants come in two blade shapes. There is a wharncliffe blade and a reverse tanto. Neither inspire. The review sample has true blue aluminum handles with a reverse tanto Magnacut blade. Its pretty close to the most basic version of the knife you can get. Here is Nick’s review. Here is a written review.
Finally, here is my review sample:
TLDR: Supremely addictive, perfectly capable, and, as always, idiosyncratically Protech.
Design: 2
Protech has always been one of the best MAKERS of knives in the business. They are so tight and dialed in in terms of fit and finish, that its hard to really complain. But I will, at least for a bit. A lot of the Protech designs that are in-house designs seem…well…crude. Like they forget that an exposed rear tang is kinda ugly. Or that people want some nuance in their bladeshapes. Compare, for example, the pretty attractive reverse tanto on the Benchmade 945 to the reverse tanto here.
The 945 is really one of the more attractive knife blades out there (even better than the original 940, which had an awkward and bland straight away that is just a bit too long to we have the same elegant proportions as the 945) and in a directo comparison you see how rudimentary the Malibu’s blade is. Its basically a reverse tanto where they cut the tip of a regular blade shape off and what remains is a simplicitic bore. Despite all the design crudeness, the Malibu is a better cutter than the elegant looking 945. And this is something I have seen with many Protechs. They may not be the best looking knives, but the looks definitely live in service to performance.
Fit and Finish: 2
Despite their idiosyncratic appearance, every single Protech I have handled, and I think I have handled the entire line up, is just a dialed in slam dunk in terms of fit and finish. They are consistently dialed in across models and even among units of the same model that it is hard to think of how they could be better. The really basic versions, like this one, are great and the super blingy versions are immaculate. Frankly, I can’t think of another maker that spans as much of the price range as Protech and yet they still nail each and every knife from the $220 model up to the $12,000 model. They have fit and finish on lock down. This specific unit proves the point—even with the drop shut action there is not a smidge of blade play at all. Its perfect in every regard.
Grip: 1
I don’t need a “locked in come hell or high water” handle in an EDC knife. Its nice, like in the Giant Mouse Riv, but it is not necessary. That said, this knife just feels like a bar of soap. With a tapered portion at the end of the handle and no real contouring on the base model, its not the best in hand. When you add to that the “fake” finger scallops (which are better than real ones but still really stupid), this is a knife that is not killing it in terms of grip. It is the very definition of meh.
Carry: 2
This isn’t the thinnest knife in the world, but the combination of a dusty texture on the aluminum and the excellent finish on the spine and the roundovers on the handles, the knife just nestles into the pocket and stays there without being sharp or offensive. The long, deep carry clip is excellent.
Steel: 2
I am not sure what to do with the steel section anymore. Pretty much every knife runs either 14C28N or M390/Magnacut. Both are very good. In fact, its odd when a knife DOESN’T run a great steel. Either way, this is a Magnacut model so I am not too worried about steel performance.
Blade Shape: 1
I didn’t take points off for the blade shape above in design, but I feel like it is fair to deduct one here. The blade performs fine. Its plenty slicey. But, just like with a watch’s face, blade shape has an aesthetic component to it. And here, the Malibu lacks what Bob Loveless calls visual tension. Its just kind of boring. It looks like there was supposed to be something else happening at the tip of the knife, but it got sheered off. To be clear, the other blade shape is even less inspiring—the knife equivalent of the “Loaf of Bread” or jelly bean design language from early to mid 90s cars. For all of its homeliness, the knife is actually quite good at slicing and so, I think it deserves at the very least 1 point.
Grind: 2
For all the handwringing about the blade shape itself, the grind is excellent. I have written this before but it bears repeating: good fit and finish is almost always highly correlated to good grinds. Reate stands as the only major counterpoint I can think of, but only because they WANT thick grinds, not because they can’t DO thick grinds.
Deployment Method: 2
Oh Malibu blessed be thy deployment. This is the knife that launched a thousand button locks and for good reason. This is positively the most addictive, compulsive, powerful deployment you can find anywhere. Try in once and you will wonder why we even have automatic knives. Honestly, it is amazingly good.
Retention Method: 1
Decent clip, works well, could be shorter. The trend of micro clips is a great one. The ZT0454 really cemented in my head the idea that you don’t need these huge beefy stamped clips and so the Malibu with its clip from 2022 seems a bit more than it needs to be and offers to scratch up everything you walk by. I don’t think a micro clip is required, but one this big is a bit of a drag, literally and figuratively.
Lock: 2
Button locks, for a long time, were the territory of only the very best custom makers. They were fiddly, unstable, and incredibly sensitive to tolerances. Unlike the liner lock or the back lock, even a few thousandths off could ruin the function of a button lock. In the mid to late 90s, William Conable, of William Henry Knives (twice in one review!) perfected a slightly improved design. Then they kind of went dormant for a while. BLAM! The Malibu hits and everyone wants a button lock. For the record, I was a fan way back when the Freeman folder was released, but that was no where near as big a hit as the Malibu. The interesting thing is that now that we have really good machinists in China, button locks are everywhere. It is a great lock, probably not the strongest ever, but plenty strong for what most people need. Of the button locks I have had none are quite as smooth and snappy as this one.
Other Considerations
Fidget Factor: PEAK
Just try it. If you can snap it open once and put it down without another deployment, you have more self-control than the rest of humanity.
Fett Effect: High
Aluminum handles show wear and use, as you can see above, pretty easily. If that bothers you get a raw titanium version. If not, welcome to the club bounty hunter.
Value: Moderate
One of the weirder things about the Malibu is the fact that it is in a no-man’s land in terms of price—over $200 but under $300.
Overall Score: 17 of 20
One of the flaws in a scoring system like mine is that it does not reward things that do something exceptionally well. The Spydiechef is still the Slicer Supreme. The Dragonfly 2 and the N2 are perfect EDCs. The Sebenza still has the best lock up on the planet. And the Malibu is the best deploying knife I have seen that is not a custom (my Thys Meade Dino still holds the crown for best deployment ever; it blows away a Rosie or a Shiro). But it only can get a two. So the 17 is a bit lower than my fondness for the knife, though I do not think the score is wrong. I can’t get over the fact that ultimately, this is a pretty homely knife. The tapered handle and the crude blade shape don’t win me over and when you are in super rarified air, like the Malibu aims to be, it is fair to consider minor things like how a knife looks. The handle shape is actually a performance thing too.
The interesting thing about reviewing this knife is that time has given me a better perspective. My guess is that if I would have had this knife in 2022 I would have been so smitten with the action that I, like the reviewers then, would have felt it was hard to ignore and let that overwhelm me. But without the peer pressure, I think this score more accurately reflects the knife itself. Its good. Very good. But ultimately one step below the very best. Time and perspective is an exceptionally valuable thing.
Competition
The competition here is pretty stiff. In this price range we have the TRM N2, the Bridgeport Knife Co 395, the Kershaw Bel Air, the soon to be released Spyderco Sage 6 in S90V with the button-activated compression lock, the Giant Mouse Riv in Magnacut, the Zero Tolerance ZT0454, the Benchmade Bugout, and ton of other knives. A few are openly comparable but better. Both the N2 and the Bulldog are in the same size and price range and are just better knives. The Riv is also better. My guess is the Sage 6 will be better. But then there is a lot of competition below that elite tier. The Bel Air is slimmer and more attractive, but with a weaker detent. The same is true (for different reasons) of the ZT0454. I prefer the 495, but I am not sure it is simply better. I certainly like the appearance, the handle design, and the clip design better, but only the clip is a clear upgrade. The Bugout is the very definition of a modern classic, but it is not strictly better, in my opinion. The clean lines are nicer, but the action here is killer. If there were a mini version of the Protech Mordax, it would be better. That is a knife Protech build quality but without the quixotic design sense of a Protech in-house knife.
Let me wax poetic for a moment.
Dear Protech,
The Mordax is a brilliant and beautiful knife with clean lines that evoke classic knife patterns of yore. It is, currently, a bit too large for regular carry, with a blade length of 3.65 inches. I know some folks carry knives that big, but most folks tend to carry something smaller. If you look at market trends, most knives that sell very well tend to have 2.9 to 3.25 blades. Please, oh please, release a Mini Mordax with a 2.95 inch blade. I wouldn’t say no to a clip redesign, either.
Sincerely
The IKC
End aside.
If you want better action, well, then it is time to jump up a price tier. The Sharp by Designs Micro Evo 2.0 might be better. Shiros and Rosies are equal. I prefer the action of the Sebenza, but I know I am in the radical minority on that one. I have handled some true customs that are better. Eons ago at a knife show I handled a Tim Gaylean flipper and it was remarkably good. I had not handled its equal until the Thus Meade Dino I have.
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