As the blog has gotten older, I have tended to focus on gear that is at the absolute zenith of performance and design. While I still like custom knives and I wouldn’t get mad if I had something with Moku Ti accents, for me, the thrill of the hunt is focused on getting stuff that really works. A few years ago I even added a category to the review format for value (“Other Considerations”). The relentless drive to find that one knife or light that both worked exceedingly well and cost less than a new set of tires was real. Hence we arrive at this review.

Asher Knives is a small brand out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (which, in my opinion, is one of the cooler places to live East of the Mississippi). The brand is a one-man design firm. He uses overseas production to bring his knives to life and the results are interesting. Instead of going to Reate and asking for the normal trio (titanium, carbon fiber, and green micarta), Asher Knives instead hones its focus on making clean, simple knives, with nice steel all for a bargain price. The Nomad tends to the flagship knife of the line up getting the most revisions and being the first to sport new steels. The 3.0 is the first Asher knife to run M390 and the price, around $90 shipped, is pretty remarkable.

I wish Asher Knives was a bit more forthcoming about origins and the like. There are rumors that I cannot confirm that the company used to make knock offs under a different name. I can’t, for the life of me, find out who the OEM is. Either way, without solid details, I am going to mention this and move on to the knives themselves. The Nomad 3.0 is a great blade with a few flaws that resets the expectation for value.

Here is the product page. The Asher Nomad 3.0 costs $90 shipped, when in stock. The knife comes in two variants—black or OD green G10 handles. Here is a written review by an incredibly insightful and attractive gear reviewer (there are no other written reviews). Here is a video review.

Finally, here is my review sample:

Availability Notes

Asher Knives does runs like Strider—when the runs are sold out, you can’t find the knives because unlike Strider, there are, to my knowledge, no Asher Knives retailers. So when the company site is out of stock they don’t exist. Right now, as of March 27, 2022, there are no Nomad 3.0s in stock. I bought the original black run, but there was an OD Green run a few weeks later and that too sold out.

Twitter Review Summary: Derivative but really good.

Design: 1

This is a Bugout. With a fuller. And sculpted handle scales. Really, I have to take a point off for originality. But let’s be clear—the Bugout is so popular because in many ways it is the common denominator of a knife—thumb studs, drop point, blade length, and handle design. It was good because it was so familiar and sensible. The same is true here, but the objection to the Nomad based on originality is a fair one, if a shallow one. There were a lot of knives that looked like the Bugout before the Bugout (see for example the Fantoni Hide, the Spartan Harsey, or the Sebenza…this is a pretty basic format). But yeah, I wish this wasn’t SO close a rendition of the form. Heck, it is so close to the Bugout that it includes my least favorite part of the original—the large exposed rear tang.

The performance ratios aren’t bad, but the knife is heavier than the feathery Bugout (solid G10 handles will do that for you). The blade:handle is good at .76, while the blade:weight is decent at 1.07. Neither are below par, but the b:w is a bit off compared to the Bugout.

Fit and Finish: 2

Sliding bar lock knives are notoriously fickle and hard to get both smooth to open and solid when locked up. The Nomad 3.0 balances these considerations admirably and, like with the rest of the knife, the tight tolerances make for a very well built blade.

Grip: 2

The knife is excellent in the hand and the clip rides in the hollow of your palm. This is a very good grip, just slightly below the very best knives out there. The buttered edges really make for a great knife in hand.

Carry: 2

Setting aside the overly grippy pocket clip (see below), the heavily contoured handle scales result in a truly amazing piece in the pocket. Like a river rock, the Nomad 3.0 has no sharp edges, but for the exposed rear tang.

Steel: 2

M390 is now clearly a midtier steel in price, even if its performance still top shelf. Such is life—the grand and spectacular bit of tech is commonplace just a few years later. Don’t sleep on this fact: the Nomad 3.0 is one of the cheapest knives on the market with M390 steel.

Blade Shape: 2

Um…yeah, we have seen this before. Of course, the Bugout has a drop point, but so do dozens of other knives. Drop points are just good all around designs. At least the Nomad 3.0 has a fuller? I intended the question mark because is that really enough of a difference?

Grind: 2

The plunges are even, the cutting bevel is dead straight, and the thickness behind the edge is quite keen. Compared to a chunky grind like on the 945, the Nomad 3.0 is a very competent cutter, even if it is a smidge below truly elite level performance of something like the TRM Neutron 2.

Deployment Method: 2

The thumb studs are nice here and the deployment is snappy and easy. Combining tight tolerances, a sliding bar lock, and ceramic bearings result in a knife that pops open like pretty much no other sliding bar lock I have ever used. Asher Knives has a real winning feel here and hopefully they can propagate it across all of their knives.

Retention Method: 0

The clip is WAY TOO tight. You can fix it a bit, bending it out carefully, but an overly tight clip is harder to fix than an overly loose clip. If you don’t fix it, it will absolutely shred the top of your jeans pocket. It is okay in slacks, but not great there either.

Lock: 2

The sliding bar lock is a great design, but the studs here are better, easier to find with your fingers, than those found on Benchmade renditions of the SBL. Of course, the lock is fantastic as SBLs always are.

Other Considerations

Fidget Factor: Very High

With a snappy pivot and a sliding bar lock, the Nomad 3.0 is great to play with and fun to carry because of it.

Fett Effect: Very Low

Stonewashed M390 and black G10 will show wear in the next geologic epoch, so if you are around post-Anthropocene, this will look beat up.

Value: Very High

Great fit and finish, good design, and M390 for under $100? This is the new bar for value in the knife game.

Overall Score: 17 of 20

This is a really good knife with lots to love. The clip stinks and the exposed rear tang is irksome, but for the money you won’t find a better knife. This is a sign that American companies need to re-up their game if they want to stay competitive. This knife, with the level of fit and finish shown here, and with the M390 steel is an exceptional value and a really competitive entry in a crowded field. As a knife, the Nomad 3.0 hangs with some of the very best blades out there.

Competition

Let’s skip the normal broad comparisons and look at the knife versus is most similar competitor—the full size Bugout.

If the almost rubbery plastic handles on the Bugout bother you, if you don’t like the S30V, or you are put off by the price, then the Nomad 3.0 is a easy choice. In many ways it is just a better Bugout. Even the sliding bar lock is better implemented here than on the Bugout. The clip is noticeably worse on the Nomad 3.0, but the inclusion of the filler tab makes the Nomad 3.0 look superclean. But part of the the problem I have with the knife is the guilt associated with buys design SO CLOSE to the Bugout that is made overseas. This is not a concern most knife buyers have, but for me, it is a real issue.

The problem is the Bugout is just overpriced in 2022. You can go to the customizer and basically recreate the Nomad 3.0—G10 handles and M390 steel. When you do it costs $250 (changing the FRN handle to black G10 and the blade from S30V to 20CV). That’s a huge difference in cost, with an additional $150 associated with what aside from domestic production?

Alas, I am strangely conflicted about the Asher Nomad 3.0, as a knife it is great. As a sign of the times it is worrying for two independent reasons. If you aren’t a guilt-ridden knife reviewer don’t worry about this stuff.

Amazon Links

Benchmade Bugout

Benchmade 945

Yes, I took this at an off angle just to bother people.