REASONS TO BUY
Immaculate materials
Assisted opening
Fully symmetrical performance
REASONS TO AVOID
Large in your pocket
Expensive
Benchmade Barrage 580 Review
The full size version of our Editors' Choice is less portable with minimal but real gains in usability. If you know you need a full size pocket knife, the Barrage 580 is a great choice
Credit: Benchmade
RELATED: Best Pocket Knives of 2024
Our Verdict
We only test excellent equipment. The Benchmade Barrage 580 is near the top of the list of pocket knives we chose to test “hands on.” Nonetheless, a few products edge further ahead. In terms of performance, materials, and durability, the Benchmade Barrage 580 is virtually unmatched. It is in portability that this full-size knife suffers. It is heavier and bulkier than many of the knives we prefer. When one of the options is exactly the same except for size, it is a logical choice. The Editors' Choice Award winner functions exactly like the Barrage in a smaller form. If you know that the Mini, though, is too small, you can extrapolate all we like about the Mini to the full size Barrage reviewed here. If you can afford the cash and the pocket space, you won't go wrong with the Benchmade Barrage 580. The performance is clean and great. The materials are long-lasting and solid. Benchmade's service is unprecedented.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Benchmade Barrage is a venerable product. We've long tested and loved the Benchmade Mini Barrage. In now comparing them both directly, we stand by our Editors Choice award to the Mini. The Mini is just the right size. The unqualified Barrage is very well made and designed but is just too darn big in most situations. The Mini is the sweet spot for almost all of our test team. Regardless of hand size, the Mini handle allows the application of all the force and precision you might need. If you require a larger knife, though, the Barrage 580 will not disappoint.
Performance Comparison
The Benchmade Barrage is well made and full sized. For the right user, it is exactly what you need and want.
Credit: Rosie De Lise
Blade and Edge Integrity
Benchmade makes excellent blades. Of the mass producers, their blades are among the most highly regarded. We have years of experience with the 154 CM steel they use. The blade of the Editors' Choice is a down-sized version of that on this full-size Barrage.
Whittling counts as a heavy use of a pocket knife. The big blade and handle of the Barrage hold up real well.
Credit: Rosie De Lise
Ergonomics
We all dig the full-size, rounded handle of the Benchmade Barrage 580. Even users with relatively small hands found it to work well. Further, the Benchmade knives we test are among the only ones that are fully symmetrical. Open, close, lock, and pocket clip from either side. Some come close to being perfectly symmetrical, except that the locking mechanism is only on one side. We find ourselves appreciating the fully symmetrical function of the Benchmade Barrage and other Benchmade knives we've tested.
Recently tested pocket knives. The Barrage is the largest, sitting there on the furthest right.
Credit: Rosie De Lise
Portability
Portability is a function of size, weight, and carry options. Every pocket knife can be carried loose in your pocket. The next most popular and useful carry option is the pocket clip. A simple spring steel clip holds your knife up out of the other contents of your pocket. The Barrage has a great low profile pocket clip. In terms of size and weight, the Barrage 580 is on the large end of the spectrum. In length and thickness, only a couple of knives are larger. In terms of weight, though, the Barrage is not as obtrusive. A few models are heavier, but many are right around the same mass as the Benchmade Barrage 580.
The pocket clip of the Barrage is secure and oriented such that pulling it out and deploying the blade can happen nearly all at once.
Credit: Rosie De Lise
Construction Quality
Like with their blades, the overall construction of Benchmade knives is immaculate. All hinges are tight but smooth running. The locks work cleanly (direct comparisons of our well-used Editors' Choice winner and the newer, unqualified Benchmade 580 indicate that the blade lock mechanism likely breaks in to be even smoother) and smoothly. There is a bit of a learning curve with any knife that has a mechanism that locks the blade closed. Pretty much all assisted opening knives have a mechanism to lock the blade closed. The Benchmade Barrage is no exception.
The sturdy, thick, modern blade shape of the Barrage is up for rugged use and heavy forces.
Credit: Rosie De Lise
Other Features
This is a simple pocket knife. There are no other features to comment on.
The full-size Barrage 580 (left) next to the Editors' Choice Benchmade Mini Barrage. This size difference crosses a critical threshold. The Mini feels much more compact in your pocket.
Credit: Rosie De Lise
Value
This is an expensive product. Its price is more in line with compact electronics than with other hand tools. Quality and service back up the cost, but the initial investment is steep. If you can consistently keep track of a piece of small, expensive equipment (like your cell phone…), the performance and durability of a Benchmade knife is likely a worthy investment. If you misplace your drug store sunglasses weekly, look to a cheaper pocket knife for better value.
Even while cutting stubborn rubber hose, the Barrage has all the strength, sharpness, and comfort you need.
Credit: Rosie De Lise
Conclusion
Full-size pocket knives are a hefty addition to your pocket or pack. If you have tried smaller knives and found them lacking, consider the full size Benchmade Barrage. If you prioritize portability or don't know your preferences, a smaller knife is likely a better option. We know that our scoring rubric is doing its job when the scores it generates are in line with our test team's anecdotal preferences. We put the Benchmade Barrage 580 through the paces and then met up to assign scores. When we did that, we found that it exactly matches the Mini Barrage in every category except portability. This is exactly how it should be, as the Mini is simply a smaller version of the Barrage 580. All the materials and function are the same between these two.
—
Jediah Porter
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