Benchmade Taggedout 15535 — 3.5 inch clip point blade in CPM-154

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Benchmade Taggedout 15535 · Clip Point
3.5″ blade · 0.09″ spine · 2.1 oz · ~1.15″ tall

Spine thickness, same scale

0.09″

Length and spine thickness drawn to true scale from published specs. Outline traced from the maker's side-profile photo.

Benchmade

Benchmade Taggedout 15535

Folding HunterFolding

The Benchmade Taggedout 15535 is a 3.5" clip point folder in CPM-154, flat ground. The handle is Grivory, secured by an AXIS lock. At 2.1 oz it is heavier than 14% of the 140 knives here that publish a weight.

Blade: 3.5″
Weight: 2.1 oz
Steel: CPM-154
Price band: Premium

Best for

A pocketable hunting blade for one animal a season

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Specifications

Manufacturer-published figures, cross-checked against benchmade.com, dlttrading.

Blade length: 3.5″
Spine thickness: 0.09″
Blade shape: Clip Point
Grind: Flat
Steel: CPM-154
Overall length: 8.13″
Closed length: 4.63″
Weight: 2.1 oz
Lock: AXIS
Deployment: Manual
Handle material: Grivory
Country of origin: USA

Why a clip point

The front third of the spine is 'clipped' away in a concave sweep, dropping the point below the spine line and putting it out in front. That makes a finer, more controllable tip than a drop point — better for piercing, slightly weaker under load. The Buck 110 pattern is the archetype.

Every clip point here →

About CPM-154

Powder-made 154CM: same chemistry, finer grain, tougher in practice.

Edge retention

3/5

Toughness

3/5

Corrosion resistance

4/5

Ease of sharpening

3/5

1-5 is a relative ranking drawn from published composition and hardness, not a lab measurement. Higher is better on every axis, and no steel is a 5 across the board — edge retention and toughness pull against each other. All CPM-154 knives

What owners say

Drawn from 300 owner discussions of the Benchmade Taggedout 15535 since 2024. The opinions are theirs. The specifications above come from the maker.

What owners like

Thin, slicey blade. One owner who usually carries it prefers it to a CJRB Prado because the Taggedout feels more nimble and its blade is much thinner, another calls it a slicey one, and another's factory edge has them debating a lower sharpening angle on another knife.
Light for its length: one owner who bought it as a backup for deer season liked the larger profile and how light it is.
Clip point and ergonomics: one owner who carried it for a week as part of a rotation liked the clip point, the low weight and the ergonomics.
Earns daily carry. One owner calls it their favorite knife and has it in the pocket eight days out of ten, and another uses it as their usual carry for food, cardboard and jobs around the house.
Strong aftermarket support: owners have fitted Flytanium titanium, Votix micarta and AWT scales, including one stock 15535 rebuilt on Flytanium titanium.
A bigger Bugout with more belly: one CPM-154 owner describes it as the Bugout's big brother, lighter than a 940 with a fatter belly for slicing.

What owners flag

No thumb stud, only a hole. An owner welded a thumb stud onto their stock 15535 because they hated the lack of one, another kept pressing the Axis bar while trying to flick it open, and two others have added makeshift studs.
Grivory feels cheap to some: one buyer returned theirs over the handle feel, and a long-time 940 owner who bought the CPM-154 version does not like the plastic feel.
Blade play on one owner's CPM-154 knife, which rubbed them the wrong way.
Hard to justify on price for some. A 940 owner who paid just under $300 says it does nothing better than the 940, and an owner who still prefers it to the $100 CJRB Prado says the price gap is not justified.
Stock clip sits awkwardly: one owner says the standard Benchmade clip is too long for the angle of the clip holes and ends up near the edge of the scale.
Big enough that one owner who loves their Taggedout still carries a Bugout more often because of size.

Food, cardboard and jobs around the house are what one owner carries the Taggedout for daily, even though it is sold as a hunting folder, wanting at least 3.5 inches of thin, light blade. Another bought it as a stand-in for deer season and liked the bigger profile and low weight, and a third calls it a favorite that gets pocket time eight days out of ten.

A 3.5 inch CPM-154 clip point on Grivory at 2.1 oz gives it a slicey edge that owners notice, but the stock build draws specific complaints: no thumb stud, a standard clip that sits near the scale edge, Grivory that two owners found cheap, and blade play on one owner's CPM-154 knife. Aftermarket scales from Flytanium, Votix and AWT are common, and one owner fitted G10 scales from the 15536 to a 15535.

Bugout and 940 Osborne are the knives it gets measured against. One owner calls it the Bugout's big brother, one who has both reaches for the smaller Bugout more often, and a long-time 940 owner who paid just under $300 found it did nothing better than the 940, which they prefer for its weight and stronger tip. It suits someone who wants a light, thin 3.5 inch Axis folder for slicing and does not mind a plastic handle or plans to swap it.

Taggedout or Bugout?

One owner calls the Taggedout the Bugout's big brother. One who bought it as a deer-season backup liked the larger profile, while another who loves their Taggedout still carries the Bugout more often because it is smaller.

Can I add a thumb stud?

Not from the factory on this version, but owners have. One welded a stud onto a stock 15535 with epoxy and loves it, and another who kept hitting the Axis bar while flicking it went looking for a clamp-on stud. One owner of an Elmax variant sold at Bass Pro says its thumb studs make opening smooth.

Which aftermarket scales fit?

Owners report Flytanium titanium, Votix micarta and AWT scales, and one owner who tried AWT says they changed the knife for the better. One fitted the G10 scales from the 15536 onto a 15535.

How does it compare with the 940 Osborne?

One owner who carried a 940 for eleven years bought a CPM-154 Taggedout and found it has a slightly longer blade, weighs about 2 oz less and has a fatter belly, but did not think it did anything better. They prefer the 940's weight and stronger tip and found blade play on the Taggedout.

Is it a hunting knife or an everyday carry?

It is sold as a pocketable hunting blade, but the owner posts lean to everyday cutting: one owner's usual carry handles food, cardboard and jobs around the house, and another has it in the pocket eight days out of ten. One owner did buy it for deer season as a backup knife.