Gift Guide 2022: Light and Saber Pair Under $500
I am leaving the threads in the clip in the picture just to drive you crazy.
Price Category Overview
Here is the previous price category.
This category used to be something like best under $300. Two things have happened to make that kind of silly. First, the knife market went WAY, WAY, WAY upscale. The Paysan is like $700. Its one thing for Shiros to be radically overpriced. That’s kind of their thing. But when mainstream brands like Spyderco are selling $700 knives, its a different thing entirely. Interestingly since the Drunken and the Paysan there have been very few Spydercos released with MSRPs over $500. Perhaps the move to the upscale doesn’t work all that well.
Second, the price of everything has gone up. The Sebenza is now a $425 knife. Inflation is a real thing and in consumer goods, as opposed to something like electricity, you get a reminder immediately. When I started the blog I owned a Delica 4. I paid $55 for it. Everything is going up and so, this price category had to change. There is not much of a difference between a $100 knife and the Civivi Lumi. But if you cross over the $150 mark, things get good. Really good. To get a substantially better tool you have to double the price from $150 to $300. Even then the pickins are slim.
This price category is the place where most people should land. Spending more will not get you better performance, just more gilding, exclusivity, and rarity. You will find all of the best steels and emitters. You will find insane slicers and weeks of runtime. The designs are refined and thought out with the best (including the two winners here), subject to years-long refinement and iteration. Simply put, if you view your light and knife as tools (which, hint hint, they are) then don’t bother spending more. If you are collector, sending more cash to makers can make sense, but no sane person will tell you its for increased performance.
Flashlight: Four Sevens Ti Mini Turbo Mk. 3
You could ALMOST grab a Boss 35 and stay under the price threshold here, but for sake of highlight more gear, I am going to opt for the Four Sevens Ti Mini Turbo Mk. 3. This is the best, smallest, full performance light on the market. It is not a kilolumen flamethrower, but it is a great light with great runtimes. The choice of a smooth reflector is really unusual in a market jammed full of orange peel reflectors and TIR optics, but it does make the light different. This combined with the Turbo head gives you some real throw in a thumb-sized light. Is the Ti version better than the regular version? Not really, unless you are REALLY into emitter tint. The Nichia 319, sequel to my favorite emitter ever, is better than the XPL emitter in the original. Additionally, while the materials and looks are upgraded, the price isn’t that much more at $70. Go for the Turbo head. Its worth it.
Knife: TRM Neutron 2 (review)
With all that explained, the odd thing here is that the pick, the Neutron 2, just barely costs more than $150 and the light is under $100. The best knife under $250 is also the best knife under $200, under $190…you get the point. The Neutron 2 is such an outsized value, as is the case for all TRM stuff, that it kind of laps the field. I honestly think the Neutron 2 is best available production knife in the world right now. Some might be nicer, but none perform better. The clip is excellent, the blade is slicey, and the action is perfect. With the sculpted handle scales, the 2 is better than the 1 (though the Neutron 1 would probably come in second here). The price barrier is right below the price for most self-published blades.
Extras
There are a ton of lights and knives in this price category worth looking at here. The Sofirn from the prior choice is really good. The Zebralight SC05 II LE is a spectacular work light for those still using AA batteries. The HDS Rotary might max you out but it is excellent as well. If you want a flamethrower, try the Acebeam TK17. This is a great, inexpensive, high lumen light that isn’t huge. The optics are tad squashy, as you would expect for a triple this size. I still enjoy the beam patterns of Surefires and the EB1 is good. What I wouldn’t give for some new, cutting edge lights from Surefire. I am not a big fan of 18650 lights or complex UIs so that drops off a huge number of torches.
The list of knives in this price category is staggering. Here are a few good ones:
Spyderco Native 5 in S110V or SPY27
Para3 in S110V or S45Vn
PM2 in S110V or S45Vn
TRM Atom
Boos Blades Mini Smoke (can we get some more of these please?)
WE Knives Eidolon
Demko AD20.5
Protech Malibu
Monterey Bay Knives Mini Old Guard
There is just an embarrassment of production knife riches here with expensive stuff like Reate knives and self-published blades beyond this. There are a few expensive knives that are more affordable because you opt for G10 instead of titanium or carbon fiber. This is a choice I would always make.
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