The ball baring based knives are extremely easy to open one handed, and in fact, exactly as easy as any other non lockback based knife. The action is super smooth and easy, though not QUITE as free as the very finely tuned axis lock knife (you can get it JUST right to not really have lateral play but it swings freely with the axis pulled). I could argue it's EASIER to open one handed due to its oversized spyderhole, but that's a matter of preference.
When you get experienced with knives, you should be perfectly able to open the knife without touching the blade at all, and you should be able to open it faster than even OTF autos once you develop that skill. This is the case with most non lockbacks of any normal size. I have it fast enough at this point to where the blade appears open when I want it to. Keep practicing.
The ball bearing lock is easy to disengage, but not as easy as the axis lock. The d`allara's is the best of the bunch--but you're going to have to use this knife for awhile and adjust. It'll never be as easy as the axis lock, but with practice, you can close it with just one finger--I can now do it with just my thumb and flick it closed. People with gloves will have to try it and figure it out on their own, because, well, I don't open knives when I'm wearing gloves. So I can't say.
The ball bearing lock furthermore has structural advantages over the axis lock. The dual coil springs should outlive the omega ones, and, unlike the axis lock, might actually keep the blade locked when one of them fails, which we have confirmed cases of this not happening with axis locks. It should be much less inhibited by dirt and debris, as confirmed by our good friend Ming, which he has photos of his testing over in my review.
All that said, I still prefer the axis lock. There's no real disagreement here--the axis lock is always easier to open and close, every time, period.
But to think it's a one sided fight all things considered is definitely not the case.
Someone mentioned that the griptillian does not have steel liners, but in fact it has partial steel liners, and the minigrip (like the d`allara) has full steel liners. I have a minigrip in d2 and a d`allara, and that's the correct combination.
Tomorrow, if you guys will remind me, I'll do glove and wet tests and see how I fare.
Oh, and the clip argument is totally debateable, but I prefer wire clips for several reasons. They provide a better feel when holding the knife, they can't get all scratched up in the first week you own it (like all Benchmade clips I've used do, but Spyderco black stays on much better) and they're less visually obvious. All my opinion, obviously.
So what I'm getting at here is buy a D`allara drop point AND a minigrip. Cover all your bases.
