AllOutdoor 1 Year Review: Benchmade Hidden Canyon Hunter Fixed Blade

While many of us glamourize the pursuit of our hunt, probably the most vital and important part is after we have harvested our given game. To be good stewards of the game animals we pursue, we should utilize as much as we can from them. Whether that is their feathers, pelt, meat/venison, and even some organs like heart and liver. To properly field dress our game not only takes the intelligence of knowing where to correctly execute cuts, but also a blade that can handle the job from start-to-finish. I am pretty particular in the knives I choose to keep and use while hunting because they are not fireplace mantle pieces; they get used. On a given year, I go hunting for black bear, turkey, grouse, whitetail deer, and fishing for a bunch of different freshwater species. This past year I got to put one of Benchmade’s fixed blade hunting knives through a gamut of Minnesota hunting tests. That knife was their Hidden Canyon Hunter (15017) fixed blade. I deployed this knife to pelt, field dress, and process a trophy black bear last September… it assisted me in cleaning the largest whitetail deer I have ever harvested last November… I foraged and cleaned Pheasant Back mushrooms with the Hidden Canyon Hunter this spring… and even this spring’s Eastern turkey I harvested weeks ago. The Benchmade Hidden Canyon Hunter has seen a lot of use this past year which we are going to share with you here today. Let’s dive in!

Benchmade Coverage on AllOutdoor

Specifications – Benchmade Hidden Canyon Hunter Fixed Blade Knife

By all metrics, the Hidden Canyon Hunter knife from Benchmade is a very little knife. With a nimble 2.79″ blade and an overall length under 7″, this fixed blade might not turn a bunch of heads by the campfire, but it surely puts in work. As mentioned, we have had this knife in our possession for over a year and it has helped clean and process a bevy of wild game animals (and even a mushroom or two). The full list of specifications and features for the Hidden Canyon Hunter can be read below as presented by Benchmade:

Blade Length: 2.79″ | 7.09 cm
Blade Thickness: 0.12″ | 3.048 mm
Open Length: 6.42″ | 16.31 cm
Handle Thickness: 0.55″ | 13.97 mm
Weight: 2.81 Oz | 79.66 g
Sheath Weight: 2.01 Oz | 57.1 g

The simple Drop-Point blade shape is perfect for the amount of caping and pelting I intended to do with this knife. Whether I was caping a whitetail deer with the animal cold and stiff, or working on a freshly-harvested turkey that was warm and pliable, this knife could carve through tough fat deposits, tendons, ligaments, and meat as needed. I also appreciated the satin finish of the blade because I would often be cleaning game at night under a flashlight/spotlight, and the low-glare finish of the satin meant I never had a glare off the blade coming back at me.

Blade Edge: Plain
Blade Finish/Color: Satin
Blade Steel: CPM-S30V (58-60 HRC)
Blade Style/Shape: Drop-Point
Handle Material: Stabilized Wood
Lanyard Hole: Yes
MOLLE Compatible: No
Sheath Type: Leather
Use: Hunting, Outdoor

Another element I have come to love about the Hidden Canyon Hunter is the 2 different areas of jimping on the backside of the blade. Then, if I ever needed to “lean into” a cut I was making, I could give the knife more force without worry of my hands slipping. From smaller, surgical cuts with the very point of the Drop Point blade to larger sweeping motions on a pelt, the jimping texture and multiple locations was valuable in the Hidden Canyon Hunter’s design.

Intentionally built for the pursuit of a passion; the new 15017 Hidden Canyon Hunter is a small-framed hunt fixed-blade designed for precision cutting tasks. Despite it’s compact profile, this knife provides ample real estate throughout the handle and cutting edge, making it just as effective on big game as it is on smaller species. Improvements to the jimping location and ergonomics will make the last cut feel just as effortless as the first.

Field Use – Benchmade Hidden Canyon Hunter Fixed Blade Knife

One of the first game animals I put this blade to was the black bear I harvested last September. The hunt went well in that I placed out a bait (legal in MN), I had good traffic to my bait from wild bears, and on opening day I harvested a 200+ Lb black bear. Where I hunt for black bears is roughly 6 hours from where I live. So, while I was ecstatic, excited, and grateful I simultaneously needed to haul butt getting my black bear field dressed and into the back of my pickup.

All that being said, I sadly did not document any photos of the knife in-action on my black bear. I can report that the jimping on the backside was really valuable because I was alone – a 1-man team – and my hands were covered in warm fatty deposits or blood. I cut open my black bear, removed the end trails, had to negotiate through a lot of soon-to-be-winter fat, and the coarse hair of the bear can also dull a knife quickly. Throughout the entire process, the Hidden Canyon Hunter worked like a champ.

The next wild game to meet the edge of this Benchmade was my Minnesota whitetail buck. I was blessed to have seen and harvested the biggest whitetail deer I have ever gotten last fall, and the Hidden Canyon Hunter was a part of the cleaning process for that. When I cleaned my black bear last September – from the time it was on the ground until I fully de-boned it at home in the garage – it was a hot 75°F day. Conversely, when I harvested my whitetail buck it was a “cool” 20°F that morning. So, this knife got a bit of hot and cold exposure experience under its belt.

For my whitetail buck, the moment I knew I made a humane, decisive hit I crawled down from my treestand to begin field dressing it. I dragged the buck to underneath my deerstand and then removed the end trails. This allowed my deer to “cool” a bit before I would bring it home to be hung and fully-processed later. Plus, I harvested this buck early in the morning and I wanted to continue hunting/sitting until lunch. The Hidden Canyon Hunter made quick work of field dressing this buck and I was even able to split the tough cartilaginous pelvic bone so the end trails could be more easily drained/removed. An impressive feat for a little blade.

Later that evening, I brought my buck home and began to remove cuts of meat and debone everything. With the buck now stiff and cold from our balmy 20°F, it was a new task to process everything with this little edge. The Benchmade still held a strong edge since my black bear hunt months earlier (I never sharpened this blade once in the year we have been reviewing it). I carved up the hind quarters, front quarters, backstraps, and rib meat no problem.

To carve its way through a hefty black bear and whitetail buck – without needing to be sharpened – left me impressed by the Hidden Canyon Hunter. The S30V blade material did well for this blade and it has “kept its edge” for a year plus now. No “folding” of the edge has ever occurred from splitting pelvic bones to deboning bears to chopping mushrooms. This knife has displayed some utility and then some.

I found the wood grip coupled with the leather sheath to be very attractive, and it has held up well in the time we have been using the knife. None of the stitching of the sheath has come undone and the grip has never loosened throughout all of its use. Also, while I never attached paracord or another rope material to this knife, I respect that Benchmade put a lanyard hole on the rear of the grip.

While I have continually said this is a small knife, I can assure you that it is not too small. I always had sufficient grip to command this knife however I needed it to respond. Even while doing more delicate cutting – like that of working on my spring Eastern turkey and all of its bothersome feathers – I could wield and point the Hidden Canyon Hunter’s edge exactly as I needed it. This knife has officially earned a spot in my hunting pack.

Final Thoughts – Benchmade Hidden Canyon Hunter Fixed Blade Knife

So, what are my final thoughts on the Benchmade Hidden Canyon Hunter fixed blade knife after a full year of use processing wild game?… This knife might look very unassuming, but it has been a tremendously reliable tool for us. From meaty mushrooms to turkey to bear to deer, I am confident that this knife could cut through anything you ask it to as any reasonable hunter would expect and hope for. The jimping is well-placed, we have never needed to sharpen this blade in a year plus of use, it is an attractive knife, and it doesn’t take up a lot of room in a hunting pack. For anyone that is searching for a near do-all knife for hunting, we can highly recommend the Benchmade Hidden Canyon Hunter. At an MSRP of $200, this knife is absolutely worth the asking price.

In closing, I want to say thank you to Benchmade for allowing AllOutdoor and myself the opportunity to try out their Benchmade Hidden Canyon Hunter fixed blade knife. That is greatly appreciated. Also, we would like to know what all of you guys and gals think? Do you believe that the Benchmade Hidden Canyon Hunter fixed blade knife is something worth spending your money? Would you take it hunting with you, hiking, or camping? As always, let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.

Adam Scepaniak