Benchmade's SlipRidge Hunter Goes Full MagnaCut for $300
Benchmade built its name on everyday carry, but the Oregon maker has quietly kept a broader catalog running for years, from culinary blades to water-oriented tools. The SlipRidge is the newest addition to the hunting side of that lineup, and it arrives right as prime hunting season gets underway, starting at $300.
The center of the design is a full-bellied modified clip point measuring 3.5 inches — roughly a quarter-inch longer than the Bugout's blade — in CPM MagnaCut with a satin finish. Every edge is honed through Benchmade's SelectEdge ultra-fine sharpening process, which is a meaningful detail. MagnaCut is the steel that finally solved the stainless-versus-toughness tradeoff by pushing the chromium and vanadium balance into territory that holds an edge without turning brittle, and it has become the benchmark for premium production knives since its introduction.
Deployment comes via the patented Axis Lock crossbar mechanism with an ambidextrous thumb stud, so one-handed opening and closing stay smooth in cold weather with gloves on. A deep-carry clip keeps the knife low in a pocket. Buyers get two complete builds: a Rust Orange G10 version at 4.2 ounces and a Dark Brown Stabilized Wood version at 3.7 ounces, with replacement scales in micarta and carbon fiber offered separately for anyone who wants to change the look or shed weight.
Set it against the alternatives and the SlipRidge's real competition is not other production hunters but the fixed blades most hunters actually use. A 3.5-inch folder cannot match a 4.5-inch fixed blade for dressing game, and $300 buys a serious fixed hunter from Benchmade itself or from a specialist like Montana Knife Company. What the folder offers is a knife that goes in a pocket and does leather work, rope slicing, and box breaking without complaint — a precision folder that happens to be overqualified for pedestrian tasks.
Hunting season timing means the G10 version will be the harder one to find in stock. If you want a MagnaCut folder at a lower price point for general carry, the Kizer and WE Knife lines regularly deliver it for well under $200.