Tekto Gear Romeo folding pocketknife review

REVIEW – Ever since I was a kid, I’ve enjoyed and carried a pocketknife with me. And over the years, they have come in handy more often than not. Now it’s been decades and many miles since I used my original Cub Scout’s knife but still have not lost the need to be prepared. So my EDC gear, vehicles, desk, etc. always includes a nice pocketknife just in case… So, when Julie asked if I’d like to checkout the Tekto Romeo flipper I jumped at the chance. 

I’ve reviewed several Tekto Gear knives over the past few years. The Amber and TAKT are both pretty hefty OTF (out the front) automatic knives (aka stilettos). The Romeo is a completely different animal…let’s take a look. 

What is it?

The Romeo is a minimalistic flip folding pocketknife made from polished carbon fiber, blued titanium, and M390 stainless steel.

Hardware specs

Blade Length: 3.46″ (88mm)
Handle Length: 4.00″ (102mm)
Blade Width: 0.43″ (11mm)
Blade Material: M390 (super steel)
Blade Hardness: 60-61 HRC
Handle: Carbon Fiber
Clip: Titanium Alloy
Gross Weight: 0.20lb

Design and features

The Romeo is part of Tekto Gear’s Folding Collection being “the dark and upgraded version of the Juliett“. The Romeo’s simple, clean design and matte black katana shaped blade are eye catching. Its slim handle, excellent build and material quality, and lightweight design feel wonderful in the hand. 

The handle is made from polished carbon fiber with a titanium alloy clip, back-spacer, and screws. The handle measures 4 inches, with an overall length of 7.75 inches when the blade is extended.

The handle is very well finished/polished and as I mentioned above, feels great to hold. The handle is 0.43 inches thick and 0.51 inches wide. Really not much bigger than a nice pen. 

The flip deployment of the blade is nearly effortless and silky smooth.

Impressively so with no extra flip or motion of the wrist as similar pocketknives sometimes need. The Romeo does not have a closed lock that keeps the blade from accidentally opening. Though, as you can see in this video, this is unlikely under normal circumstances, the blade seats firmly within the handle and doesn’t deploy without manually activating the flip mechanism.

The precision frame-lock secures the blade into the open position with zero blade movement and little chance of the blade accidentally closing. To close the blade, simply press the frame lock aside and the blade smoothly rotates back into the closed position. 

The Romeo features an Austrian M390 stainless (super) steel blade. At 3.46″ (88mm) inches, the blade is a good (and legal almost anywhere) length but nicely shaped and wickedly pointy. According to Tekto Gear, their M390 “super steel” has a 60-61 HRC hardness rating, engineered to hold its edge and sharpness. 

Here is a closeup of the matte blued titanium alloy clip and bolt that IMO works very well with the handle’s dark carbon fiber pattern and matte black blade. The belt clip is stiff and does a good job of keeping the knife securely in your pocket or EDC bag.

The Romeo is surprisingly light, weighing in at just over an ounce. 

Now I have two types of pocketknives: those that can do ‘real’ work around our place and those that look pretty and are made out of fancy materials that I keep in my EDC bag and glove compartment of my car…with the two never/rarely crossing lanes. My point is, the Romeo, while very well made, definitely falls into the ‘not going to beat the crap out of’ category of tools/gear. I’ll save that for my 10 year old, much (ab)used $50 Kershaw 😉 .

What I like

• Very well made from high-quality materials
• Excellent engineering
• Lightweight, minimalistic design
• Smooth, effortless blade deployment
• Zero wiggle/blade movement when deployed
• Wonderful addition to anyone’s EDC gear

What needs to be improved

• None

Final thoughts

Bottom line: OK, I’m surprised how much I like this knife. I’ve been using this flipper as a fidget spinner ever since I received it. The Tekto Romeo folder pocketknife is a wonderful addition to anyone’s EDC gear. Its build and material quality are excellent and a joy to hold. The Romeo is precision engineered with a great blackened, stealthy design that I love. I’d recommend this pocketknife to anyone or as a stocking stuffer/holiday gift for gadget geeks or those difficult to shop for. 

Price: $119.99
Where to buy: The Romeo is available directly from Tekto.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Tekto.