3 Hard use Tactical Folders compared

Ankerson

Ankerson

Knife and Computer Geek
Joined
Nov 2, 2002
Messages
21,094
What I have done is take 3 Popular hard use Tactical folders and took comparison photos of them. These are from 3 different price points and 3 different Companies, but all are rated and advertised as hard use knives. We also have 3 different weights here, from 8.6oz for the ZT 0301, 6.4oz for the CS Recon 1 to 5.8oz for the Strider SmF. As you can see we have 3 totally different knives in many ways, but all are high quality knives using good materials, G10, AUS8-A for the CS, G10, Ti and S30V for both the Strider and ZT. 2 Frame locks and one with CS's Ultra Lock.



As you can see they are about the same length folded.



Blade shapes are a little different with the ZT and the Strider being Drop Points and the CS having a Clip.


Notice the Thickness of the 3 knives here, very strong construction.


Closeup of the last photo showing the lockup, notice the thick Ti framelocks on the Strider (Left) and the ZT (Middle).


Showing the spine of all 3 knives here, notice how thick and strong the build is on these knives.


Closeup showing blade thickness, the SmF is the thickest with the CS being the thinnest of the 3.


Closeup showing the blade profiles, nice wide strong blades here, great for heavy use.

LIke I said this is just comparison shots, I am not saying one is better than the others etc. Just 3 knives at 3 very different price points compared.
 
I thought you were going to baton them all through some black pipe. :(

Nice pictures though. The thin blade on the CS surprised me a bit.
 
A cutting comparison would be nice, even something like an unscientific cardboard cutting test. Could use different thicknesses of cardboard to give a real life application that people can immediately grasp.
 
Wow! Great comparison shots! I currently carry a ZT 300, but have been looking VERY seriously at Striders SMF line. Thanks!!
 
Nice comparisons Ankerson! :thumbup:

One thing I noticed is the ZT offers 4 way clip positioning, the CS 2 way and the Strider only one option.

Also, since I've never owned a CS Recon, does it have nested liners? It's hard to tell from your pics. No liners at all would seem, to me, that its not as tough as the others.
 
That's quite interesting how much less the strider weighs than the ZT. Could you possibly do in-hand shots of the ZT and SmF?

Sweet comparison photos by the way :thumbup: :cool:
 
Josh K said:
I thought you were going to baton them all through some black pipe. :(

Nice pictures though. The thin blade on the CS surprised me a bit.
Click to expand...

I am not interested in breaking my knives. :D

puukkoman said:
Nice comparison shots. Thanks for posting them!
Click to expand...

Thanks. :)

miro44 said:
Yeah! Very nice pictures of some very nice knives Ankerson:thumbup:
Click to expand...

Thanks. :)

Rescue Mike said:
Wow! Great comparison shots! I currently carry a ZT 300, but have been looking VERY seriously at Striders SMF line. Thanks!!
Click to expand...

No problem, that's one of the reason I posted them all together so people can see the difference. :)

SPXTrader said:
Nice comparisons Ankerson! :thumbup:

One thing I noticed is the ZT offers 4 way clip positioning, the CS 2 way and the Strider only one option.

Also, since I've never owned a CS Recon, does it have nested liners? It's hard to tell from your pics. No liners at all would seem, to me, that its not as tough as the others.
Click to expand...

Yes the CS has Hardened steel liners, that's why it's so heavy at 6.4oz.

knivesandguns said:
That's quite interesting how much less the strider weighs than the ZT. Could you possibly do in-hand shots of the ZT and SmF?

Sweet comparison photos by the way :thumbup: :cool:
Click to expand...

Yes I know, the Strider is the lightest of the 3, and noticeably lighter too.

Ok, I will do and post them. :)
 
stabman said:
A cutting comparison would be nice, even something like an unscientific cardboard cutting test. Could use different thicknesses of cardboard to give a real life application that people can immediately grasp.
Click to expand...

They all slice cardboard about the same to me, can't tell much difference personally as all of them are very sharp so they all just fly through it.
 
Thanks mate, good shots. Although they just further reinforced what I already thought;
I don't get Strider,
CS make some cheesy looking blades, and
Damn I gotta get me one of those ZTs!
They are a beautifully ugly blade.
 
BadBoyBrad!! said:
Thanks mate, good shots. Although they just further reinforced what I already thought;
I don't get Strider,
CS make some cheesy looking blades, and
Damn I gotta get me one of those ZTs!
They are a beautifully ugly blade.
Click to expand...

Here's the 0300 without the blade stripes.
34zh7ut.jpg
 
Ankerson said:
Hey Jill how are you liking that 0300?
Click to expand...

I love it, it's very well made and I like the way it fires.
The Ti handle on one side with that big chuck of lock-bar is very impressive.
I like a knife that looks like it's worth what I paid and it didn't let me down.
 
Why is it these hard use knives are never used hard?:P They see less use than the sak on my keychain lol

No offense, they look great and all but im tired of all these hard use posts and reviews and people wanting hard use this and that and all I see is these pristine knives:P
 
Thalestin said:
Why is it these hard use knives are never used hard?:P They see less use than the sak on my keychain lol

No offense, they look great and all but im tired of all these hard use posts and reviews and people wanting hard use this and that and all I see is these pristine knives:P
Click to expand...

I have probably close to 100 knives. My Dad has a lot more.
If you want use look elsewhere. I just don't use many of my knives. I collect them. If all I wanted was users I'd not have very many. Sorry:o.
 
jill jackson said:
I love it, it's very well made and I like the way it fires.
The Ti handle on one side with that big chuck of lock-bar is very impressive.
I like a knife that looks like it's worth what I paid and it didn't let me down.
Click to expand...

Cool, glad you are happy with it. :)

Thalestin said:
Why is it these hard use knives are never used hard?:P They see less use than the sak on my keychain lol

No offense, they look great and all but im tired of all these hard use posts and reviews and people wanting hard use this and that and all I see is these pristine knives:P
Click to expand...

Well the ZT has been used hard, it just doesn't look like it yet, the blade finish doesn't wear fast, it's very durable.

The Strider is my newest one I have and I haven't used it yet, my SmF RW-1 has been used a lot as has my SmF CC SW.

As you can see here my RW-1 has been used:


The Recon 1 is my new one, I have an old Recon 1 that has been beat on for over 5 years.

As you can see here, this is my old Recon 1 that has been beat on:





In other words I have a lot of knives, some I will never use and some I do use.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top