Overview & First Impressions
The Pelican XL B0018 arrived this week as the scaled up sibling of Tenable's pocket workhorse, and the four launch variants read like a materials sampler. Every version runs a Nitro-V blade with a liner lock, while the handles step from G10 through G-mascus and micarta to a carbon fiber panel laced with copper foil. For shoppers browsing folding knives who want one steel decision instead of five, this family makes the choice unusually easy: pick the handle, and the blade is already sorted.
Materials & Construction
Nitro-V is the quiet star here. It is a nitrogen enhanced version of the AEB-L pattern with added vanadium carbides, giving it fine, even grain that takes a very sharp edge and resists chipping when you cut into something hard by accident. It sharpens on a basic ceramic rod in minutes, which matters more daily than any spec-sheet toughness number. Tenable knives stonewashes the blade so machining marks and first month scuffs disappear into the finish, and the cutting geometry stays thin behind the edge.
Design & Details
The XL suffix is honest: the handle gained length and a fuller palm swell compared with the standard Pelican, and the copper foil carbon fiber A4 is the showpiece, warm toned under any light. The G-mascus A2 lays a marbled G10 laminate into the same Ergonomics, while the micarta A3 darkens attractively with use. Clip placement is deep and recessed, the spine is chamfered rather than raw, and the lock release sits far enough forward to avoid accidental disengagement during a hard grip.
Real-World Use
Day to day the XL behaves like a gently oversized office and camp knife: tape, cord, fruit, zip ties, the occasional keystock scrape. The Nitro-V edge held through two weeks of parcel duty in our bench notes before needing a touch up, and the liner lock engagement arrived at roughly half travel with no blade play. As EDC knives for medium hands it lands in a sweet spot where the blade is long enough for real kitchen work yet the carry weight stays invisible in trousers.
Ownership Notes
Care is deliberately boring. Nitro-V forgives a forgotten weekend, but rinse and dry after citrus or salt exposure anyway, and drop a single drop of oil into the pivot monthly. Carbon fiber handles prefer a damp cloth; micarta can be scrubbed with soap and a toothbrush when pocket lint builds. If the lock ever develops early travel, the liner bend is adjustable with a single Torx screw rather than a bench session, which is more than most budget folders can claim.
Who Is This For?
Buy the Pelican XL if your current folder disappears in a large palm and you want the same weight class with real blade length. It is an easy recommendation for kitchen-adjacent carry, for hikers who process food, and for anyone deciding between handle materials rather than blade steels. Collectors will want the copper foil A4; practical buyers should grab the G10 A1 and spend the difference on a good sharpener. Stock levels and variant photos for every handle option are current at EdcMall, which makes choosing between them painless.
Final Verdict
Tenable took a formula that already worked and simply made it bigger without making it clumsy. The B0018 family offers one coherent steel story, four genuinely distinct handles, and a lock that engaged correctly on every sample we cycled. Nothing here is experimental, and that is the point: this is the folder you recommend to a friend when they ask for something dependable with a little character.
