Before I write anything about this knife, let me address the political situation with Benchmade. You can read about it here, here, here, and here. I could probably write an entire post about that situation, but this is not that post. Read on if you want to know more about the knife.
I own a Benchmade Bugout, and I find it to be an excellent knife. It is the knife you carry when you don't want to carry a knife. It disappears into a pants pocket and I struggle to remember that it is there when it is time to undress at the end of the day. It became my default knife for when I wasn't working or wanting a bigger knife. I remember talking to a Secret Service Agent about it, and he referred to the Bugout as "life changing." I don't know if it meets that level of hype, but for something so small, it definitely punches above its weight class. You could acquire one and do a bunch of destructive testing, or you could just watch this video and trust that they're pretty durable.
Now, we all probably understand how good the Bugout is, so why am I talking about the Bailout?
So I heard about the Bailout and how it was just ever so slightly bigger than the Bugout, with some different steels and profiles available. On two of the models it also features a glass breaker pommel, which seems like it could come in handy in some situations. Some of you probably feel that feature is over-rated, but I don't know that I can weigh in one way or the other. Your chance of getting stuck in a vehicle under water is low, but it definitely isn't zero. If you're in law enforcement, having access to one may be of use in other situations as well. ASP batons aren't great for breaking windows, and if you don't believe me, ask any poor cop who has tried it. There is a very specific technique and place to hit windows, and even then you have to apply a lot of effort.
Now the Bailout comes with exactly one blade profile, the tanto. Historically I haven't been the biggest fan of that profile, but if you're trying to create a more durable blade profile, this is definitely one way to do it. By profiling the blade as a tanto you put a lot more blade steel closer to the tip, which should help resist blade deformation or snapping if you use the tip as any sort of pry. (Not that you should do this, but sometimes if you're forced into a situation of bad choices, you do as you must.)
My Bailout arrived directly from Benchmade, which I purchased with my own cash. I suspect that I could've scrounged it up more cheaply from other sources, but Benchmade had it in stock. I paid something like $238 for mine if memory serves. MSRP is $260, but I see it available as low as $220 from Knifecenter and Blade HQ. As of this writing they are still calling it a pre-order though. When I got it the knife was in excellent shape, as you would expect. Blade was centered and the opening and closing required no break in to get it to flip open and closed easily. The pocket clip was installed for right hand pocket carry, but as I am a lefty, I swapped it. There was some evidence of additional thread locker on the scale behind the clip, but nothing that bothered me overly. The scales are very thin but surprisingly grippy for their size. If I had any complaint, it was the initial sharpness and grind angles of the primary cutting bevel. The knife certainly arrived reasonably and usably sharp, but it wasn't overwhelming. I stropped it a lot and it got better, but still not what I would want.
I ended up breaking out my Apex Edge Pro and getting all of the grind angles the way I wanted them. (Approximately 21 degrees.) It took me about 30 minutes of work to get things as I wanted. I then hit the edges with a strop for about 10 passes per side. When I was done, the edge would quite readily shave hair from my arm. (I have several bald patches now.)
One other downside to tanto profile blades is that you really have to sharpen it like there are 4 edges rather than 2. It basically doubles the time it takes to sharpen them. Also, if you're not careful, you can quite readily round off some of the angles of the blade. I would not use a belt sharpening system to sharpen a tanto, or at least not one you care about.
Lastly let me mention the blade steel, which is CPM-M4. If you google it up, you'll find out that it is a "high vanadium special purpose high-speed steel." Doesn't that sound nifty? If you're a knife steel nerd it might tell you all that you need to know, but for those of us who don't obsess over the amount of chromium and other elements in any given steel formulation, what do we need to know? Firstly, you probably want to know that M4 is not stainless. This is one of the reasons why the blade has a coating on it, in order to deter corrosion. That said, you really need to keep a knife like this clean and wiped down every so often, or it will definitely rust on you. M4 is known for durability and edge retention, and it can definitely take a very fine and sharp edge, at least based on my work getting this one to where I wanted it.
If you're looking for a small knife that is very capable and not horribly expensive, I would still steer you toward the base model Bugout. That can be found for around $130 at the time of this writing, comes with a S30V blade which is definitely stainless and also takes quite a good edge, and the profile of the Bugout is probably better suited to all sorts of tasks. The Bugout is the knife I recommend to police recruits who don't want to carry any sort of big knife, or for carrying while not at work.
That said...
If you want something slightly bigger than the Bugout. If you want something slightly more capable than the Bugout. If you want something slightly tougher than the Bugout, then the Bailout is your knife. It still only weighs 2.7 ounces, which is stupidly light for a knife this capable. It'll require a bit more maintenance and upkeep, and it costs about double what the Bugout does. But if you need that additional capability, with the same very small and light package, the Bailout is definitely your knife.
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