I think the size may have something to do with Holdout's demise. Holdout II and III happens to miss the sweet spot IMO. II is slightly too large at 9" overall(4" blade) and III is slightly too small at 6.8" overall(less than 3" blade). Many people are looking for Para 2/Manix/Griptilian/Sebenza/Lawman size knife that's around 8-8.25" overall with 3.5" blade. Many successful models as mentioned before happen to land on this goldilock zone and I believe a Holdout 2.5 with 3.5" blade and 8" overall size would hit the sweet spot very well.
I think there's a gap in CS's offering in this size range, the only real contender is the Lawman. Code 4/Ultimate Hunter/AD10/AD15 are all close, but they are slightly too large/heavy and miss the goldilock zone. Look at the latest SOG XR offering, specifically the tactical XR line. They just released 3 models - Pentagon XR, Vision XR and Tac XR. It's no coincident that all of them are around 8-8.4" long with around 3.5" blade, weighing 4-5oz. Despite the competitions in this space, many people wants to buy knife they are familiar with. If people are used to carrying Para 2 or Griptilian, they's a higher chance that they'll buy something with similar size & range.
To put it in analogy, imagine more people are looking for Glock 19, but Cold Steel only produces Glock 26(Holdout III) and Glock 34(Holdout II). You see this across the industry, most companies want to produce something that compete in the common size range. Auto industry for example - Ford has F150, Chevy has Silverado 1500, Dodge has Ram 1500. You don't go after Dodge RAM 1500 with Ford Ranger or F250.
The other reason is probably the marketing. The holdouts are being marketed as a dagger given its heritage. Had it been marketed as a utility/EDC knife like the Griptilian and the Para 2, it may have been received better and be treated as their viable alternatives.
First time I ve been back to this thread since my last post.
I agree that the Hold out 2 didn't t hit the 3.5 inch blade sweet spot. But it did compete with the Recon 1 and large Voyager, among many 4 inch folders CS offers in terms of size. These other 4 inch blades have stayed around. And it is light for its size, to be as strong as it seems to be.
But , as I think about it more after reading your post, I ve come up with some problems .
First, the marketing may have deterred some buyers. Marketed as a dagger or defense weapon,I wasn't t put off, though I only buy knives for work. The Hold out 2 was a good work knife for me. But Cold Steel markets a number of their folders as self defense items that have been around a long time.
Second, the ergonomics of the Holdout 2 are not too good. Often times I d pull the knife at work, open it with one hand and while using it, if I didn't t keep looking at the knife , I d get the back edge of the blade mixed up with the front edge. I found that without lookin at that knife while using it, that the grip on the handle didn't t allow me to keep the knife oriented. I don t think I ve ever had that problem with another folder.
Third, the Triad lock on my both of my Hold out 2 s was hard to disengage and close with one hand. I would do it, but often had to think about it. Maybe the lock was too far from the thumb studs.
I guess what I liked about my Holdout 2 was how thin and light it was for how strong is. And that blade was one of the best slicers I d ever found in a 4 inch knife. Kind of like my Military, maybe better.
As for the Holdout 3, that competes with the mini Griptilian and the Delica. Maybe the PM3. Definitely a better hard use work knife than the Delica or mini Griptilian, both of which I like. Can t compare the PM3, which I ve never held.
Oh well. I m having to make do with my Ultimate Hunter, my Recon 1, my American Lawman, my large Voyager, and lately my Code 4 for my big work knives. I do wish the Code 4 would be offered with g10 scales, unlined.
