Buck has made knives since 1902 and built its name on the lockback, then put a crossbar lock on a folder for the first time in company history. The Range Series is where that shift landed, and the Pro versions are the ones most buyers should look at first. They pair 154CM steel with glass-filled nylon handles at the lower end of the Range lineup. Two of them sit close enough together that choosing between them takes real thought.
The 791 Range Pro and the 790 Mini Range Pro share a steel, a handle material, a lock, and a factory in Post Falls, Idaho. What separates them is three quarters of an inch of blade, a single ounce, and ten dollars. That’s the entire decision in front of you.
What Buck Changed When It Set the Lockback Aside
Buck’s crossbar lock is the headline here, and it’s the brand’s first in a catalog built on lockbacks. The bar spans the handle, so unlocking works the same from either side and your fingers stay clear of the blade path on the way closed. Buck pairs it with a reversible clip on both models, which makes the whole package ambidextrous rather than half-converted.
The Range Series splits into two tiers. The Elites run MagnaCut steel in anodized aluminum handles at $224.99 for the 791 and $214.99 for the 790. The Pros drop to 154CM in glass-filled nylon with tumble-polished stainless liners, and the price falls by roughly a hundred dollars on either model.
At the lower price you keep the new lock, the USA manufacturing, the drop-point geometry, and Buck’s Forever Warranty. You trade a boutique steel for a proven one and aluminum scales for reinforced nylon. Crossbar folders at this price usually come from brands with far shorter track records, like the D2 crossbar folders we’ve covered recently.
The 791 Range Pro Buys You a Full Working Blade
A 3 3/8 inch (8.6 cm) drop point in 154CM covers nearly everything a folding knife gets asked to do. The extra length means fewer passes through a shipping box, the drop point carries enough belly to slice rather than tear, and 0.09 inch stock is thick enough to survive prying you shouldn’t be doing anyway. At 2.9 ounces it’s the heavier of the two by a full ounce, and that weight is where the working blade comes from.
The satin finish and reversible clip come standard across black, grey, and green. Model number is 0791BKS1-B for the black version, and Buck lists blade engraving starting at $9.
🛒Buck Knives 791 Range Pro
Price: $124.99
Where to Buy: Amazon
The 790 Mini Range Pro Makes Its Case in a Single Ounce
Drop to a 2 5/8 inch (6.7 cm) blade and 1.9 ounces, and the math on daily carry changes completely. An ounce sounds like nothing written down. In gym shorts, in dress slacks, in a jacket pocket alongside a phone, that ounce is the difference between a knife you carry every day and one that stays in a drawer more often than not.
The blade steel doesn’t change. Same 154CM, same 0.09 inch stock, same drop point, same glass-filled nylon over stainless liners. Buck didn’t thin out the specification to hit a smaller size, which is where plenty of compact folders quietly cut corners.
Blade-length rules also favor the smaller knife. Local limits vary by state, county, and sometimes city, and a 2 5/8 inch blade gives you more headroom than a 3 3/8 inch one against whatever cutoff applies where you live. Check your own jurisdiction before you buy either, because we can’t tell you what your local limit is.
Model number is 0790BKS1-B, and it comes in the same three colors. Buck lists it at ten dollars below the 791.
🛒Buck Knives 790 Mini Range Pro
Price: $114.99
Where to Buy: Amazon
Two Numbers Separate Them
Everything else on the spec sheet is identical, which makes this an unusually clean comparison.
| Spec | 791 Range Pro | 790 Mini Range Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Blade length | 3 3/8″ (8.6 cm) | 2 5/8″ (6.7 cm) |
| Blade steel | 154CM | 154CM |
| Blade shape | Drop point, satin | Drop point, satin |
| Blade thickness | 0.09″ | 0.09″ |
| Weight | 2.9 oz | 1.9 oz |
| Handle | Glass-filled nylon, stainless liners | Glass-filled nylon, stainless liners |
| Lock | Crossbar, ambidextrous | Crossbar, ambidextrous |
| Carry | Reversible pocket clip | Reversible pocket clip |
| Origin | USA | USA |
| Price | $124.99 | $114.99 |
Why 154CM Still Earns Its Place at This Price
154CM is a high-carbon stainless that’s been in production knives for decades, and Buck describes it as balancing edge retention, corrosion resistance, and ease of maintenance. That last quality gets undersold constantly. A steel you can bring back to a working edge on a basic stone at your kitchen counter gets sharpened, and a sharpened knife cuts better than a dull super-steel.
Compare that to MagnaCut in the Elites. Buck credits MagnaCut with exceptional edge retention and toughness, and it costs roughly a hundred dollars more per knife on these two models. Harder and more wear-resistant steel also takes longer to bring back on a stone. For a folder that opens packages, cuts zip ties, and trims loose threads, the premium buys performance you won’t consistently reach.
Buck runs the 154CM through its own BOS heat treatment and a performance test on every blade, and both knives carry the Forever Warranty against defects in material and workmanship. If you’re still sorting out which brands to trust here, our rundown of EDC knife brands that earn their reputation goes wider on the names worth your money.
Which One Belongs in Your Pocket
Buy the 791 Range Pro if your knife does work. Job sites, garden twine, cardboard by the pallet, camp chores, anything where blade length translates directly into fewer passes. The extra ounce stops mattering the moment you’re using the thing for something real.
Buy the 790 Mini Range Pro if your knife mostly rides along. It’s cheaper, it gives you more room under local blade-length rules, and at 1.9 ounces it doesn’t negotiate with you about whether it’s coming today.
Same steel, same lock, same warranty, smaller footprint, and that’s the version most people will still have clipped in six months from now. Skip both if you already carry a 154CM folder you like, or if you want MagnaCut, because the Elites are the only Range models Buck offers it in.
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(as of July 26, 2026 09:32 GMT -05:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
