Spyderco Paramilitary 2 vs. Endura

I was going through my collection and had the Paramilitary 2 and Endura sitting next to each other. I never realized how similar in size they were until now. I'd like to do this comparison post to show how similar they actually are.

As you can see in the last two photos, the handle lengths are about the same size. This really surprised me considering how much bigger the Endura's blade is. The Endura has FRN, while the PM2 has the G10. Both are acceptable handle materials, but in knives this big, the FRN keeps the Endura very light. The Endura is a large knife that carries like a mid-sized knife. What really hurts the PM2's weight is the liners and G10. The PM2 is so much heavier despite it being a smaller knife. The ergos of the PM2 suck, because the edges of the scales are squared off. The Endura's ergos are definitely a lot more comfortable for me. I do like that both knives come in lot of different color options and variations. If I had to pick the Endura or PM2 based on the handle, I'd go with the Endura for the light weight and better ergos.

Here are the blades side by side. The Endura's overall blade length is 3.75" with a cutting edge of 3.44". The PM2's overall blade length is 3.44" with a cutting edge of 3". I much prefer the blade shape of the Endura over the PM2. The PM2 has the choil, which obviously takes away from the cutting edge. The PM2 has the better steel, CPM S110V, over the Endura's VG-10. However, VG-10 is a totally fine steel for most EDC tasks. Spyderco always has knives with weird blade-to-handle ratios. That's one of the reasons I didn't like the PM2. The blade-to-handle ratio on the Endura is closer to normal. I think it's weird that the PM2 has the same size handle, but a considerably shorter blade than the Endura. If I had to pick the PM2 or Endura blade, I'd pick the Endura's blade.

Lock wise, the PM2 wins without a doubt. The compression lock will always beat the Endura's lockback in terms of strength. 

Both knives use the same hourglass clip. The knives carry well, but the Endura carries better because of its lighter weight. 

All in all, if I had to pick between the PM2 and the Endura, I'd hands down choose the Endura. It's a lighter and better knife in my opinion. Plus, the Endura is about half the price of the Paramilitary 2. If you're looking for a good EDC knife, I'd go with the Endura. The Paramilitary 2 is overhyped in every way. Hope you enjoyed the comparison. Thanks for looking!