I bought a used cqc7 recently and like the knife very much, however having said that I would prefer my ZT 301, 0200 or Spyderco Military or large Manix (all under $200.00) if push came to shove. The Emerson has a fanatical reputation but I can see and feel the quality and substantial build in the others every time I pick them up. If the cqc7 was the super model I might rank it with the others but the knife would be out of the price range also.