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Microtech Troodon
The Microtech Troodon (say it TROH-o-don) is named for a dinosaur whose name translates to "wounding tooth," which tells you the design brief. Spearheaded by Tony Marfione and launched as Microtech's flagship OTF of 2006, it is the knife the Combat Troodon was scaled up from, which makes the standard Troodon the original recipe: a double-action OTF carrying just over three inches of blade in a package around 7.6 inches long and just under 3 ounces.
The sculpted, tapered handle with its grip grooves gives it one of the surest holds of any compact OTF, and like everything in the Microtech lineup, it is machined in the USA to tolerances that make the action feel telepathic.
Troodon vs Combat Troodon
The Troodon runs about 75 percent the size of the Combat Troodon, and the two split the mission cleanly. The Combat is the 9.5-inch duty knife with the 4-inch blade and the presence to match; the Troodon takes the same silhouette, the same grooved grip, and the same double-edge attitude, then shrinks it to something that rides in slacks without announcing itself. Microtech also builds the smaller frame with an easier-to-fire action, which many carriers end up preferring. Go smaller still and the Mini Troodon picks up where this one leaves off.
Troodon vs UTX-85
This is the great in-house debate at this size. The two knives share almost the same footprint and blade length, but they feel nothing alike. The UTX-85 is the Ultratech formula scaled down, with thicker blade stock and the Gen IV drivetrain, at about 3.1 ounces. The Troodon is the slimmer, lighter knife, with a sculpted tapered handle, thinner blade stock, and a bigger glass breaker at the base. If you want the Ultratech feel in a smaller package, take the 85; if you want the lightest, most slender OTF at this blade length, the Troodon is the pick.
Troodon Blade Styles and Steel
The double-edge spear point is the Troodon's calling card and what usually fills this grid, with single edge and tanto versions rotating through the model's history alongside anodized handle colors that run well past tactical black into purples and turquoise. Blade steel has varied by production run across Bohler M390, Bohler Elmax, and CTS-204P, which you can size up in our comparison of every major knife steel. Among compact OTF knives, the Troodon remains the one that feels most like a big knife that shrank, rather than a small knife trying hard.
