I wish Buck would have a version with a thumbstud and a pocket clip as an alternative. I have seen one modded like that which looked good. I know the knife is a classic, but a version to appeal to modern tastes alongside the classic
version would be good.
Buck has several one hand openers with pocket clips. The Vantage is one such model.
Of course, design-wise they have nothing to do whatsoever with the easily recognized 110/112. If the blade tang stamp on the Vantage said "CRKT" instead of "BUCK", I doubt anybody would notice.
To me, this is the challenge facing Buck. How do they manage and maintain iconic status based on one of the most recognizable knives in the world while expanding their appeal to modern customers. The current approach seems to be to follow CRKTs approach and just make as many unrelated styles as possible.
An alternative would be to trim out the overlap in their line and look for ways to offer variations of the 110/112 family.
As much as I like the Buck Duke, IMO Buck should make a slimline version of the 112, offer it with removable clip and a variety of blade configurations. The 110 should also get a variety of blade styles. They could and should do more with the Ecolite line too IMO. Both the Ecolite 110 and 112 should get thinned and given removable pocket clips and a thumb stud option. In short, incorporate some of the features of the Bantam and Bucklite Max folder and then flush them both down the hopper. Crappy weak knives like the Bantam and Bucklite Max are destroying Bucks image. Both of my Bucklite Maxes failed to last a year of normal use, hence my move to Opinels (which don't bust like Bucks do).
It's a shame. The 110 and 112 are icons. But IMO, Buck is lost in the woods. Shall we talk about how the managed to miss the bushcraft market, despite being handed the play book by Ron Hood? Very sad.
