Quick Hits: Updating Classics
This is a long overdue post as I have the Gen 2 Synapse in for about a year. New business, wife getting cancer, and now a pandemic will reek havoc on a hobbyist’s review schedule. Because these are all upgrades, I am going to answer the obvious question of whether any of these changes warrant a new purchase. Anyway, these are all strong updates to absolute classics, so lets get to it.
Benchmade Bugout with CF Elite
Imagine a huge hit knife with one issue that really bugs the IKC (“Just one?” you might rightful ask given how picky the IKC is). That’s the Benchmade Bugout. Frankly, the community has taken to this knife like no other Benchmade and part of that is brisk sales from aftermarket scale makers. Rogue Bladeworks, for instance, has made tons of different scales and the IKC has gobbled them up. Seeing this niche, Benchmade went back to the drawing board and “fixed” the gummy scales (which, for the record, I had no problem with at all). This version sports a new composite material that replaces fiberglass with carbon fiber in the FRN mix. The result is an exceptionally light and exceptionally stiff handle material. And when you have those scales on a great design like the Bugout you have a knife that has some of the best specs of any folder on the market. I wish the steel was upgraded too, but this late, middle aged S30V is actually decent. I also which the exposed rear tang was not quite as pronounced, having gotten used to a smaller one on the Mini Bugout.
If I own the original, should I upgrade? No. This is a close call, if the scales really bother you then yes. If you have no knife like the Bugout and want the full sized model, this is clearly the one to get. You’ll have a hard time finding a better ultralight full sized knife right now.
Overall Score: 19 out of 20 (1 off design for the large exposed rear tang)
Emerson Mini A100
Oh man, I am a pretty shameless Emerson fan despite having exactly zero need or use for a folder this overbuilt. The ur-Emerson, the A100, is a classic folder with absolutely dead simple design. The original is pretty big, but the Mini A100 is smaller, hitting a 3” blade length dead on, making it, in my mind, a great all-around folder.
The interesting thing is that in recent years Emerson has really scaled up their capacities. It used to be that they had good designs with very rough finish. This was passed off emblematic of being a “hard use” folder, but the reality is, despite by fawning adulation, they were crude. Detents were gushy, handles were rough, and blade centering was terrible. In the past few years they added a second detent and now they have dropped their “chunk of stuff” backspacers in favor of stand offs. The blades also appear to be machined, but for the final edge grind. In total these improvements have really upped the feel and quality of Emerson knives. My Mini A100 is a very recent build and it is a really great knife, an Emerson as nice as a Kizer or a Benchmade. They are still a step below CRK or Reate, but not by that much. With these upgrades there is very little to complain about with the current generation Emerson Knives stuff. I still detest the chisel grind, knowing, of course, that this Emerson heresy. If you landed one of these with the PDW set up consider yourself very lucky. The gray one looks amazing.
Overall Score: 19 out of 20 (1 off Grind for the chisel ground cutting bevel)
If I own the original, should I upgrade? Yes. The original Mini A100 was a rough hewn knife with persistent issues. They weren’t fatal by any means and the brilliance of the design still made the knife great, but it was a less pleasureable user experience than it could have been. This current version could be my EDC forever and I’d be pretty happy (once I regrind the cutting bevel).
Tom Bihn Synapse 25 Gen 2
The Synapse is by far my favorite 25L backpack I have tried, crushing Maxped and TAD bags like bugs (though in the 18L category I still like the Maxped Pygmy Falcon II the best—cinched exterior water bottle holders for the WIN!) The original was a 20/20. This new one, with an important upgrade, is better. How do you make a great bag better? Improve those portions of the pack that contact the body. The original design had bound shoulder straps. That is, they had material sewn around the edges to hold the straps together. The new Synapse 25 has edgeless straps and like with modern monitors, the less edge the better. The difference in appearance is negligible, but during the year in which I had the pack, it has become clear to me that edgeless straps are the way to go. There is less snagging, bunching, and rolling when putting the pack on and during long hikes or with heavy gear, the straps dig less.
Plus you are buying into a system, Tom Bihn bags, that is about as complete and user-modifiable as you can get. The gear is well-made and brilliantly thought out. The materials are top notch. And the prices are super competitive, even in the “high end gear” pack world with competitors like Mystery Ranch and Hill People Gear. When I stayed with my wife at the hospital for five days after he cancer surgery, I lived out of the Synapse 25 and it was great (the bag, not the stay). I took the bag on probably two dozen day hikes and it was superb. I also took it on a vacation and to Fenway Park and it did well. Even without the upgraded straps this is one of the best general purpose bags on the market. With the new straps, the best got even better. And making the best better is what people that make the best gear do.
Also, because Tom Bihn is one of the few companies I recommend without reservation, it is important to note that they don’t just make good stuff. They do the right thing as well. In fact, they are currently making masks for the Covid-19 outbreak.
If I own the original, should I upgrade? No. Overall, it is a clear upgrade, but its probably not enough to toss an old but fully functional Synapse away. if you are looking for a pack of this size, this change makes the decision easier (not that it was all that tough with the original Synapse). Right now they have both bound and edgeless strap versions of the Synapse, with the edgeless straps being $10 more. There is simply no reason not to spend that extra money. It is easily worth $10 to get the edgeless strap version.
Overall Score: 20 out of 20; PERFECT
Amazon Purchase Link
Some of the gear mentioned in this article is available on Amazon. If you want to support the blog and are interested in the gear mentioned here, follow the links below and purchase items—the proceeds help buy new review samples to keep the blog running and 100% independent:
Benchmade Mini Bugout (temporarily sold out)