Spyderco Para-Military 2 Review
June 23, 2014
97 The Good
- Made in Golden, Colorado. USA. Earth
- CPM S30V Blade Steel
- Light weight
The Bad
- You can’t find it anywhere
The Para-Military 2 is made of high-end materials, right in our backyard, and I know I can rely on it for anything. After more than 3 weeks of it in my pocket, I am still intimidated by the viciousness of the blade, but am welcomed by the sleek style lines and ultra-thin frame.
More and more we’re seeing the tactical/military world bleed into the outdoor world–and for good reason. Those military folks are using top end equipment! So, please don’t be turned away by the name of this knife, fair camper. I too required a learning curve to accept these more militant items into my brightly colored collection of camping gear!
Construction & Materials
Typical of Spyderco, they have built this knife to be lightweight, but bulletproof. The G10 handle scales have been cored out to allow for the metal frame to fit within them, keeping the bulk down. The whole thing is kept together using Torx screws and a thong tube in the rear (for a lanyard). For its weight, the Para-Military 2 is really solid.
Ease Of Use
Having the over-sized thumbhole (common to most Spyderco knives) makes the opening and operation of this knife a breeze. Jimping (notching) on the neck and throat of the blade improve the grip when you’re bearing down on stubborn materials.
Now here’s where the weird comes in–and it’s not a bad weird. The Para-Military 2 uses a compression lock, which is designed like a liner lock and is located on the spine of the knife, instead of on the bottom; or belly. This eliminates the possibility of closing the blade with one hand (unless you’re creative). The benefit of this is that it’s almost impossible to actuate by accident.
Steel Quality & Edge Retention
It’s going to be a little hard writing this without sounding like a total geek–but CPM S30V is a powdered stainless steel that relies more on vanadium than chromium, which in commonspeak means it will have a more refined, longer lasting–heck, sharper–edge than most other knives that rely on other elements to make up their composition. In the knife-making world, it has its own religious following because of these long lasting properties.
Durability
Spyderco sometimes gets a bad rap for keeping their knives so lightweight but they’re doing it because we’ve all asked for it–and they do it really well. I’ve had the pleasure of testing this knife to the extreme, but also using it as my every-day carry knife and it after all that use, it still looks and functions like it’s fresh from the box.
Value
A $200 price tag on most pocket knives will scare most people away–which is good for you because that means there are more chances for you to find one Looking at the materials used and the fact that it’s made in the U.S.A warrants the higher price. Note that this knife has become legendary for being out of stock in many places since it has become a legend in the outdoor and military worlds.
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