Benchmade 5370FE Shootout OTF AUTO Knife 3.51″ CPM-CruWear Flat Earth Tanto Blade – Black CF-Elite

The Benchmade 5370FE Shootout OTF is the answer to a complaint that out-the-front automatics have earned for years: most of them are expensive and heavy. This one is neither. It delivers a 3.51 inch CPM-CruWear tanto blade in Flat Earth PVD, riding in a CF-Elite handle, at a weight and price that make it genuinely carryable.

Benchmade placed this knife in the Black Class, its line built around law enforcement and tactical personnel. That is the design brief the whole knife answers to.

What the Benchmade 5370FE Shootout OTF Is Built For

Out-the-front automatics deploy along the axis of the handle, which means the blade fires straight forward instead of swinging out to the side. That motion is a pure gross-motor action, so it works when hands are cold, gloved, wet, or shaking under stress. Nothing about it requires fine finger control.

That property is exactly why the Benchmade 5370FE Shootout OTF is described as the perfect weak-hand backup. A user whose primary hand is occupied, injured, or pinned can still open this knife one handed with a single thumb sweep. For law enforcement, tactical personnel, and anyone who takes a serious view of a backup tool, that matters more than any other feature on the spec sheet.

Key Features

• 3.51 inch CPM-CruWear blade with a Flat Earth PVD coating
• Tanto blade shape for a reinforced tip and a strong forward point
• CF-Elite handles, a carbon fiber filled nylon that increases rigidity
• Molded CF-Elite texture with detail that could not be milled into aluminum
• Integrated carbide glass breaker at the rear of the handle
• Reversible pocket clip for left or right side carry
• Made in the USA as part of the Benchmade Black Class

Materials and Construction in Detail

CPM-CruWear is the headline steel. It is a powder metallurgy tool steel known for holding a working edge and shrugging off impact, which is exactly the balance a hard-use knife needs. The Flat Earth PVD coating on top adds a hard, low-glare surface that resists corrosion and cuts the reflectivity of a bare blade.

CF-Elite is the reason the knife stays light. It is a carbon fiber filled nylon rather than solid metal, and Benchmade uses it here because the added rigidity supports reliable deployment while cutting the mass that makes most out-the-front autos feel like a brick in the pocket. The molded texture is a real advantage over machined aluminum, since molding produces fine grip detail that milling simply cannot reproduce.

The carbide glass breaker at the rear and the reversible clip round out the package. One is an emergency tool that costs nothing to carry, and the other lets left handed users set the knife up properly instead of adapting to a fixed clip position.

Practical Carry, Maintenance, and Compatibility

Set the clip to your dominant side and carry the knife in a dedicated pocket rather than loose among keys and change. Out-the-front mechanisms depend on clean tracks, and pocket grit is the main thing that degrades deployment speed over time.

Maintenance is simple. Blow or brush debris out of the blade channel regularly, keep the mechanism lightly lubricated with a thin oil, and wipe the blade after any contact with moisture or salt. CPM-CruWear resists corrosion well but it is not stainless, so a dry blade and a light film of oil are the right habits.

Sharpening rewards patience. Powder steels take a superb edge but ask for good abrasives, so use quality diamond or ceramic stones and keep the tanto primary edge and tip section as two distinct planes. Pair the knife with a light, a multi-tool, or a range bag from our apparel and gear collection.

Automatic knife ownership and carry are governed by state and local law, so check your jurisdiction before you carry. Stocked full of features and premium materials, the Benchmade 5370FE Shootout OTF packs a serious punch for the money. Ships direct to your door, no FFL required.