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The Lightest Bugout Yet Is Just One of Benchmade’s Stunning Upcoming Knives (Exclusive)

The brand gave us a sneak peek at what’s coming in early 2026 and, yes, it is just as sharp and stylish as ever.

Two Benchmade knives with blue handles and sheaths, and two folding knives with green handles on a gray surface.Photo by Jack Seemer for Gear Patrol
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By Steve Mazzucchi

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Updated

In the EDC knife world, few if any brands are as good at iterating upon beloved silhouettes as the Oregon City, Oregon-based shining star known as Benchmade.

While the brand consistently introduces compelling brand-new knives, it has also mastered the art of updating proven winners with design, material, color and size tweaks that delight its devoted fan base.

Three closed folding knives with textured dark green handles and partially visible blades on a rough brown bark surface.
The new Mini Bugout, Shootout and Bugout share handle and hardware colors while packing unique wrinkles.
Benchmade

Such moves, especially regarding hue, highlight the sneak peek they gave GP at some of the knives rolling out in the first half of 2026. 

Without further ado, check out a six-pack of beguiling blades below. Spoiler alert: There’s more than one Bugout in the bunch. 

SOCP Mini Dagger

Tan Benchmade fixed blade knife with a finger ring and matching tan sheath with black clip.Benchmade

The Special Forces hand-to-hand combat-oriented fixed blade pares down to an everyday carry-friendly size and weight (1.81 ounces) complete with a matching belt- or pack-mountable sheath. The integrated 1.66-inch spear-point blade and skeletonized handle with finger ring are made of sturdy, reliable 440C stainless steel in fresh colors: Desert Sand (shown), OD Green and Tungsten Gray.

Price: $100

Launches: January

Bugout (535TN-2601)

Folding knife with tan blade and textured dark green handle, Benchmade logo near blade base.Benchmade

While this new Bugout’s updates are largely color-oriented, it boasts a notable ingredient swap, as its 3.24-inch drop-point blade debuts Elmax steel. Valued for its edge retention, corrosion resistance and toughness, the super steel gets a longevity-boosting tan cerakote treatment that nicely matches the 1.85-ouncer’s other big update: a Taiga Green Grivory handle with burnt copper accents.

Price: $200

Launches: February

Mini Bugout (533TN-2601)

Folding knife with green textured handle and silver blade marked "ELMAX" with black pocket clip.Benchmade

In true Mini fashion, this knife mirrors its big bro in every way except size and price. That means the same Cerakote-finished steel, handle material and hardware hue, but the blade measures 2.82 inches and the overall weight is a feathery 1.5 ounces. Like nearly every other Benchmade folder, it also features the brand’s patented Axis Lock, which helps make single-handed operation a breeze.

Price: $175

Launches: February

Shootout (5371FE-2601)

Folding knife with a stonewashed blade and textured dark green handle with a red thumb slide.Benchmade

The brand’s still newish (fall 2022 debut) double-action out-the-front automatic gets a makeover that echoes the Bugout’s by way of a Taiga Green Grivory handle and burnt copper hardware. But while the 2.75-ounce knife’s 3.49-inch drop-point blade may look similar, it’s made of Z-Wear tool steel — valued for its toughness, hardness and wear resistance — with a PVD Battlewash finish.

Price: $350

Launches: February

Fishcrafter (18030)

Curved fillet knife with a textured blue handle resting on a matching blue sheath with black rivets.Benchmade

Having downsized the Meatcrafter to rousing applause, Benchmade now shrinks down its aquatic counterpart. The 5.97-inch trailing point MagnaCut blade is optimized for precision and control with smaller species such as perch and bluegill, while the textured Santoprene handle guarantees grip even when wet. Like its bigger brothers, this 2.58-ounce fixed blade comes with its own sheath.

Price: $225

Launches: March

Bugout Ultra (534BK)

Black Benchmade folding knife with textured handle and partially serrated blade on white background.Benchmade

Told you there was more than one Bugout. This high-end edition lifts the EDC icon to the next level with a 3.25-inch Magnacut blade skinned in black Cerakote and a matching anodized aluminum handle (textured for grip), plus Taiga Green accents. Boasting an Axis Lock with a torsion spring, the Ultra is also 33 percent thinner than its predecessors, making it the lightest Bugout ever at just 1.72 ounces.

Price: $375

Launches: June

About the Author:

Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.

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