I bought a mircrotech, and it broke after a few weeks of daily use. The spring broke. Terrible customer service. Lost all faith in it. Went with the Infidel, and three years later it’s still as good as the day I got it.
I had a brand-new ultratech and right out of the box the slide button rattled terribly. and it misfired constantly. got rid of it and bought a lightning elite and it's never failed me. certainly not worth 300 dollars!!! all hype
Damn lol I bought 3 4 months ago never miss fired at all I'm grateful that I got good ones I can say I cut my mf fingers open fucking with microtech ultratechs😂😂😂 both single edge and double edge both fucked me up with no pressure applied to the blades
So much hate on YT for these knives. I love mine, pimped it out with red screws even. The action is actually usable, unlike my UT which is a thumb breaker.
I got mine through my command. All my guys love it, but I mean, who doesn't love a free knife. Also he's right when he says military grade doesn't always mean good quality, best military grade thing I could recommend is duct tape to fix all the other military grade shit that breaks
The Benchmade Infidel OTF is the gold standard that all other OTFs try to beat. Even people who are just casual interest knife people know the Infidel when they see it. Most of the other brands/models out there are nothing more than couch fidget gadgets.
Infidel is much easier to open and close than any of the Microtech OTFs, maybe the latest Troodon3 can match. Another advantage of Infidel is that the spring inside is compression spring, rather than extension spring in Microtech. It means the spring in Infidel will never be broken. The only bad is the D2 steel, very easy to rust.
The fact that they want >$400 for an Infidel, yet the blade finish is so meh, (nowhere near as good as DLC), and still chisel ground, (along with all the other design weaknesses), kinda blows my mind. If they can’t improve the design without upsetting existing contracts, fine. The retail price should be lowered considerably, (at least ~$150 lower). In a world where the Dirac Delta exists, there is literally no reason to buy an Infidel; when it comes to a knife you actually want to carry/use. Benchmade: ya can buy better, but ya can’t pay more. 😁 Of course, I know you bought this one for collection purposes, but that still had to sting, at least a little.
@@edged_mindset Ok. For ~$275, I might buy it too. I’d do so mostly because I could probably trade it to a Butterfly collector for >$275 in value. 😉 They’re also kind of iconic, and come with a good warranty, (which you very well might need), so can make a decent addition to a collection. At ~$275, buying an Infidel is not an obnoxious proposition…but it definitely is at >$400.
@@jimmyt5241 Sadly, that doesn’t surprise me. The Shootout is now ~$60 more expensive, and they’re using inferior materials. Friggin “grivory” on a ~$340 OTF?! Benchmade has lost their damn minds.
Just got mine. Brand new, right out of the box, it malfunctioned on the 6th fire. I'm disappointed. Since then I've fired it several times without issue but I sure wouldn't rely on something like this in a high pressure situation. Perhaps there's a break in period???
The steel primarily. D2 is old steel not used much in modern knives anymore (except for budget knives). The mechanism is over complex and not as reliable.is it could be. This knife came out decades ago and has had zero updates
@XIUXIU1313 I understand that. But if it were S90V instead, there would literally be zero improvement in what the knife is intended to do. It is a combat knife. I don't think a soldier has ever thought "crap, if this had been S90V..." Plus, Benchmade actually let's you dissasemble it and doesn't assume we are mechanical idiots like Microtech does. It takes all of 30 seconds to get this opened and access to everything. It's like complaining a Glock 19 is outdated. BTW, I still love your videos 😉
I have one but I'm not a big fan. Love that it has the dagger blade with 2 sharp edges instead of a swedge. But the reliability is a BIG problem. Any dirt or even pocket lint will cause failure to deploy. For the 408 bucks I spent. That's enough for me to not carry it. I carry a kershaw launch 7. Great edc and if I chip the tip I can re define the blade. Not on this.
In EU Croatia is 500€,and Microtech Ultratech is 400€, Combat Troadon is olmost 600€ and from 2018 in stock in Croatia they are over priced. I have Microtech Ultratech and I love it but it's figet spiner (dust,mud, fail) they are cool knifes,for conversations
I found the ultra tech just did not reliably go in and out quite as well as the infidel and just the grippiness of the infidel is like a major part like when you're actually using it as a tool it works really well
First and foremost, this knife has an NSN. All knives with an NSN are government contracted and changing the standard first will always negate the contract. And since they have an NSN, they sell thousands of these per year to the government. They're designed to work and they're designed to have a user friendly steel for the environment they're in. The Infidel was mostly issued to the middle east. When I served, the malfunction rate was 0% in all my years. Still worked with a pound of sand in it. And all you needed to clean it was run Brakleen and WD40 through it. And the D2 could have been honed with a rock. Same goes with the AFO and Stryker models, being as outdated as they were, they served a purpose and they're hard contracted and they worked amazing. Microtech gets a grain of sand in it and it locks up and stops working. And the best part about being sold to the government and the government spending millions of dollars per year on them is they don't *NEED* to sell it to the civilian market. Their yearly profit because of these contracts get close to 100 million per year where as spyderco and microtech, the user proclaimed "Better companies" are vastly less yearly profit despite being so "much better". And to give an idea about how much the consumer market really doesn't affect them at all in terms of profits is Gerber, which makes hundreds of millions in profits due to military contracts despite being worst according to the consumer market. They are military companies first and foremost and they'll entertain the consumer market from time to time with products and honestly could care less if you buy it or not, they know they sell a product hand over fist to the military, they don't mind their product sitting on the shelf for a little longer. Do other companies like Spyderco have NSN's? Yes and No, the only actual NSN on a spyderco is the (was) the Pacific Salt. They have an GSA However to offer rebates. Benchamde knocked them out with the Triages for actually contracts. Spyderco has made "collabs" with military officials but it was never contracted because the officers moved on before a contract could be established. Like the Autonomy, or the Jumpmaster. Which is why they're updated from time to time because it's the companies choice to built on it. But nothing has a hard government contract on them.
They could drop the price to like $150-$200 which is about where it sits value wise. The blade play is ridiculous. The materials used are ridiculous for the price in 2024. I am sitting here with my infidel, scarab 2 and Livewire and the scarab 2 and livewire both clear the infidel.
I have bought Infidel and Utratech exactly at the same time and I were using them exactly the same way - mostly EDC. Utratech after one year broke and Infdel misfired maybe once and only becouse I have literally were trying to force the misfire. I see that I am not only one here to have problems with Microtechs. And btw triger and stifness of spring on Utratech is just pain in the a.. if You try to EDC this knife.
IF IT AINT BROKE DONT FIX IT...THIS WILL BE MY 1ST OTF EDC THAT I GET...IVE BEEN DOING HOURS OF RESEARCH ON OTF BLADES AND SO FAR ALL ROADS LEAD BACK TO THIS BENCHMADE INFIDEL...AND I WILL BE ORDERING 1 IN A FEW DAYS..IM JUST GONNA DO MY FINAL RESEARCH AND THEN MAKE MY DECISION
Um no the military doesn’t issue OTF knives. Active military n police first responders get 30% off. You can get one off wish or Ali g for $30. With D2 steel cnc scales ect. Or you can buy a bench made for $500 that’s just a little higher quality. Sad but true.
the copies are actually better. for 90% off which is what the original should be selling for. benchmade milking 500$ for this piece of metal is robbery. you are paying for the name. its just a mass produced trinket that costs them 5$ to make............ of course they readily replace them when they break; they can do so 50 times and still make a profit on any sale.
I bought a mircrotech, and it broke after a few weeks of daily use. The spring broke. Terrible customer service. Lost all faith in it. Went with the Infidel, and three years later it’s still as good as the day I got it.
I had a brand-new ultratech and right out of the box the slide button rattled terribly.
and it misfired constantly. got rid of it and bought a lightning elite and it's never failed me. certainly not worth 300 dollars!!!
all hype
Damn lol I bought 3 4 months ago never miss fired at all I'm grateful that I got good ones I can say I cut my mf fingers open fucking with microtech ultratechs😂😂😂 both single edge and double edge both fucked me up with no pressure applied to the blades
The video says: they haven't updated it because of military contracts. But it's cool, easy to use, and has a great warranty.
So much hate on YT for these knives. I love mine, pimped it out with red screws even. The action is actually usable, unlike my UT which is a thumb breaker.
I got mine through my command. All my guys love it, but I mean, who doesn't love a free knife. Also he's right when he says military grade doesn't always mean good quality, best military grade thing I could recommend is duct tape to fix all the other military grade shit that breaks
I like the look of the infidel especially where the deployment switch is located. And the name is just badass.
Totally agree. The design is amazing. I wish they would revamp and improve it
never seen one up close so I can't tell what are those holes in front of the slide button doesn't dirt and just get in there???
The Benchmade Infidel OTF is the gold standard that all other OTFs try to beat. Even people who are just casual interest knife people know the Infidel when they see it. Most of the other brands/models out there are nothing more than couch fidget gadgets.
Infidel is much easier to open and close than any of the Microtech OTFs, maybe the latest Troodon3 can match. Another advantage of Infidel is that the spring inside is compression spring, rather than extension spring in Microtech. It means the spring in Infidel will never be broken. The only bad is the D2 steel, very easy to rust.
If it ain't broke don't fix it
The fact that they want >$400 for an Infidel, yet the blade finish is so meh, (nowhere near as good as DLC), and still chisel ground, (along with all the other design weaknesses), kinda blows my mind.
If they can’t improve the design without upsetting existing contracts, fine. The retail price should be lowered considerably, (at least ~$150 lower).
In a world where the Dirac Delta exists, there is literally no reason to buy an Infidel; when it comes to a knife you actually want to carry/use.
Benchmade: ya can buy better, but ya can’t pay more. 😁
Of course, I know you bought this one for collection purposes, but that still had to sting, at least a little.
Oh for sure. only bought because it was on sale for 275 new. Would be very pay a penny more
@@edged_mindset Ok. For ~$275, I might buy it too. I’d do so mostly because I could probably trade it to a Butterfly collector for >$275 in value. 😉
They’re also kind of iconic, and come with a good warranty, (which you very well might need), so can make a decent addition to a collection. At ~$275, buying an Infidel is not an obnoxious proposition…but it definitely is at >$400.
It’s going up 550$ now
@@jimmyt5241 Sadly, that doesn’t surprise me. The Shootout is now ~$60 more expensive, and they’re using inferior materials. Friggin “grivory” on a ~$340 OTF?! Benchmade has lost their damn minds.
I think they should’ve done the front with the ridges on the back as well would made it grip better
Just got mine. Brand new, right out of the box, it malfunctioned on the 6th fire. I'm disappointed. Since then I've fired it several times without issue but I sure wouldn't rely on something like this in a high pressure situation. Perhaps there's a break in period???
Some things are good the way they are and why change the original? Original will always be better!
Looks.like the infodelmis going away
I'm confused as to the "outdated" comment. The purpose of the knife is to deploy, then stab. What modern breakthroughs would improve it?
The steel primarily. D2 is old steel not used much in modern knives anymore (except for budget knives). The mechanism is over complex and not as reliable.is it could be. This knife came out decades ago and has had zero updates
@XIUXIU1313 I understand that. But if it were S90V instead, there would literally be zero improvement in what the knife is intended to do. It is a combat knife. I don't think a soldier has ever thought "crap, if this had been S90V..."
Plus, Benchmade actually let's you dissasemble it and doesn't assume we are mechanical idiots like Microtech does. It takes all of 30 seconds to get this opened and access to everything.
It's like complaining a Glock 19 is outdated.
BTW, I still love your videos 😉
I love my infidelity. Very little blade play
Watch out. Be careful your wife doesn’t hear you saying that 😂
I tried to stay faithful personally
I have one but I'm not a big fan. Love that it has the dagger blade with 2 sharp edges instead of a swedge. But the reliability is a BIG problem. Any dirt or even pocket lint will cause failure to deploy. For the 408 bucks I spent. That's enough for me to not carry it. I carry a kershaw launch 7. Great edc and if I chip the tip I can re define the blade. Not on this.
In EU Croatia is 500€,and Microtech Ultratech is 400€, Combat Troadon is olmost 600€ and from 2018 in stock in Croatia they are over priced. I have Microtech Ultratech and I love it but it's figet spiner (dust,mud, fail) they are cool knifes,for conversations
Love Benchmade, but went for the ultratech.very happy with it.
I found the ultra tech just did not reliably go in and out quite as well as the infidel and just the grippiness of the infidel is like a major part like when you're actually using it as a tool it works really well
First and foremost, this knife has an NSN. All knives with an NSN are government contracted and changing the standard first will always negate the contract. And since they have an NSN, they sell thousands of these per year to the government. They're designed to work and they're designed to have a user friendly steel for the environment they're in. The Infidel was mostly issued to the middle east. When I served, the malfunction rate was 0% in all my years. Still worked with a pound of sand in it. And all you needed to clean it was run Brakleen and WD40 through it. And the D2 could have been honed with a rock. Same goes with the AFO and Stryker models, being as outdated as they were, they served a purpose and they're hard contracted and they worked amazing. Microtech gets a grain of sand in it and it locks up and stops working.
And the best part about being sold to the government and the government spending millions of dollars per year on them is they don't *NEED* to sell it to the civilian market. Their yearly profit because of these contracts get close to 100 million per year where as spyderco and microtech, the user proclaimed "Better companies" are vastly less yearly profit despite being so "much better". And to give an idea about how much the consumer market really doesn't affect them at all in terms of profits is Gerber, which makes hundreds of millions in profits due to military contracts despite being worst according to the consumer market. They are military companies first and foremost and they'll entertain the consumer market from time to time with products and honestly could care less if you buy it or not, they know they sell a product hand over fist to the military, they don't mind their product sitting on the shelf for a little longer. Do other companies like Spyderco have NSN's? Yes and No, the only actual NSN on a spyderco is the (was) the Pacific Salt. They have an GSA However to offer rebates. Benchamde knocked them out with the Triages for actually contracts. Spyderco has made "collabs" with military officials but it was never contracted because the officers moved on before a contract could be established. Like the Autonomy, or the Jumpmaster. Which is why they're updated from time to time because it's the companies choice to built on it. But nothing has a hard government contract on them.
Great info!
Like a Glock. Not much changes. Platform that is dependable with a "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality
Is the release slider button leaving scratches in the gully? ☹️
yessur
@@edged_mindset Terrible design from Benchmade, especially for the RRP
I went with the fixed blade version. Couldn't justify 400+
👊
Doesn't need to change whatsoever the thing will stand the test of time just like it is don't need to mess with something that's already perfect!!!!!!
Fair enough!
just picked up a used on for $200 and love it
Me too, 225 bucks , no box tho
They could drop the price to like $150-$200 which is about where it sits value wise. The blade play is ridiculous. The materials used are ridiculous for the price in 2024. I am sitting here with my infidel, scarab 2 and Livewire and the scarab 2 and livewire both clear the infidel.
I have bought Infidel and Utratech exactly at the same time and I were using them exactly the same way - mostly EDC. Utratech after one year broke and Infdel misfired maybe once and only becouse I have literally were trying to force the misfire. I see that I am not only one here to have problems with Microtechs. And btw triger and stifness of spring on Utratech is just pain in the a.. if You try to EDC this knife.
Thanks for the perspective! 👊
Is it true that Benchmade has discontinued making it??? 🔪
Yes. It is on their discontinued list. They should be dissapearing from retailers here soon
@@BravoZuluDM www.bladehq.com/cat--Benchmade-Discontinued--2469
perhaps microtech ultratech is the best
I think a great video would be are Strider'S still relevant or not, in today's world...
they aren’t.
LOL
The military contracts are the reason these are never updated.
bingo
I'm going to have to get one its just in the price range theres some cool microtechs lol
Totally agree. I wouldn't pay more than 300 for a LNIB one of these.
Please tell me you know someone that makes pocket clips for a cold steel counterpoint 1. If they had extra pocket clips screws, that'd be nice too.
I don't sorry
microtech dirac comes to mind
IF IT AINT BROKE DONT FIX IT...THIS WILL BE MY 1ST OTF EDC THAT I GET...IVE BEEN DOING HOURS OF RESEARCH ON OTF BLADES AND SO FAR ALL ROADS LEAD BACK TO THIS BENCHMADE INFIDEL...AND I WILL BE ORDERING 1 IN A FEW DAYS..IM JUST GONNA DO MY FINAL RESEARCH AND THEN MAKE MY DECISION
STOP YELLING
I’m old school. I like old school. 😉
👊
So, you’re saying this is the 1911 of Benchmade? Lol😂 jk
Um no the military doesn’t issue OTF knives. Active military n police first responders get 30% off. You can get one off wish or Ali g for $30. With D2 steel cnc scales ect. Or you can buy a bench made for $500 that’s just a little higher quality. Sad but true.
the copies are actually better. for 90% off which is what the original should be selling for. benchmade milking 500$ for this piece of metal is robbery. you are paying for the name. its just a mass produced trinket that costs them 5$ to make............ of course they readily replace them when they break; they can do so 50 times and still make a profit on any sale.