Benchmade Auto Presidio II Tactical Folding Knife – Review

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The Benchmade Auto Presidio II is the stoutest folder that I’ve ever tested.U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- BOMBPROOF. TANK. INDESTRUCTIBLE. That’s some of the descriptions that popped into my head when I opened the box on my new Benchmade Auto Presidio II tactical folder. It is the heaviest duty folder that I’ve ever seen. Benchmade Auto Presidio II Tactical Folding Knife A couple of days after receiving it my daughter and I ran up the mountains to hunt mushrooms. I had a smaller folder in my pocket and grabbed my mushroom knife. Suddenly I thought, yeah, I ought to take my new Benchmade Auto Presidio II folder. This would be a good trip in which to test it out and take some pics. We hunted mushrooms for a while and then stopped for lunch. I built a fire, heated up some burritos that I’d made that morning and pulled a can of Pork & Beans out of my daughter Alps Mountaineering Ghost 30 EDC backpack. On no, I’d forgotten a can opener. Briefly I thought well, this would be a good test to see if the Benchmade Auto Presidio II folder was as tough as it looked. Naw, I don’t want to annihilate the edge on a new $165.00 knife opening a can of beans, do I? Well, let’s see how tough the Benchmade Auto Presidio II actually is. It came from the factory with a sharp edge. I stuck the point into the top of the can, held the can of beans between my feet and started working the blade around the edge opening it. After opening the can I felt the edge to see if it was toast. I couldn’t feel the difference on the tip where I had cut the can and below the tip which was still new. I noticed that I had a newspaper that I’d brought to build the fire. I stuck the blade in it and it sliced through the paper like a razor. Unbelievable, it felt just as sharp as before. I used the tip to cut the can and it still felt as sharp as the rest of the blade. While typing this product review at home I thought, I’ve got to test that again to make sure that I’m not nuts so I sliced a sheet of paper again using the tip and then the lower part of the blade. Maybe the tip was just ever so slightly duller than the lower part but it was almost unperceivable. Unbelievable. I was for sure now sold on the Benchmade Auto Presidio II folder and declared it the best tactical folder that I’ve tested to date. Then of course it functioned fine on the rest of the tasks that I encountered on the mushroom picking trip. Cutting sticks to make S’mores (Another vital component to a trip according to my daughter) and every other cutting task that we encountered. Now to cover some of the traits. It has a button on the back. Slide it forwards and it locks the blade so it cannot be opened. When it is open slide it forwards and it acts as a secondary lock so the blade cannot be inadvertently closed. To ensure that you have a firm grip the handle has sideways slots and there are thumb grooves on the top and finger groves on the bottom for your pointer finger and a slight finger guard. The full-sized handle further ensures that you maintain a firm grip. The blade is a drop point and is half straight/half serrated. And lastly, it comes with a unique canvas sheath. The knife sets firmly down in the sheath and I don’t think that it could fall out but as a double guard it has a flap that Velcro’s down. It has a clip that fits on that acts as a belt loop that can be removed and the sheath has two MOLLE webs on the back so you can attach it to a pack. And it also comes with a reversible pocket clip. The MSRP on the Benchmade Auto Presidio II folder is $165.00 and as is usual, we will close with the specs. Benchmade Auto Presidio II Tactical Folding Knife Specs & Features:

• BLADE LENGTH: 3.72in [9.45cm]
• BLADE THICKNESS: 0.124in [3.150mm]
• OPEN: 8.72in [22.15cm]
• CLOSED: 5.0in [12.70cm]
• WEIGHT: 4.97oz [140.90g]
• HANDLE THICKNESS: 0.63in [16.00mm]

Features:

• Blade Steel CPM-S30V (58-60 HRC)
• Blade Style/Shape Drop-point
• Clip Type Deep-Carry
• Clip Position Reversible Tip-Up
• Handle Material CF-Elite™
• Lanyard Hole Yes
• MOLLE Compatible Yes
• Use Every Day, Tactical

About Tom Claycomb Tom Claycomb has been an avid hunter/fisherman throughout his life as well as an outdoor writer with outdoor columns in the magazine Hunt Alaska, Bass Pro Shops, Bowhunter.net, and freelances for numerous magazines and newspapers. “To properly skin your animal, you will need a sharp knife. I have an e-article on Amazon Kindle titled Knife Sharpening #ad for $.99 if you’re having trouble.”