How does Zero Tolerance Compare to Hinderer........

Most people will likely agree the ZT has better action. Also it seems to have better repeatability with each example being built nearly identical to the last. That is likely due to ZT being owned by KAI which is a huge company vs Hinderers being assembled by a small scale shop. I’ve never handled a gen 6 Hinderer but there was alot of varience in people’s opinions on how well the older gens of xm18 flipped. Also ZT has other knives built somewhat to the xm18 pattern. Other than the 562 there is the 560/561(which is really based on the xm24), 550 and 566.

Where the Hinder really shines is the materials. First of all the hardware (screws and suxh) seem to be of a better quality on the Hinderer, just my opinion. (Not to say that the ZT hardware is bad, it is very good ) The other major thing is the Hinderers have a titanium liner under the composite scale whereas the 562 has a stainless steel liner that I have seen rust between the scale and liner.

Overall I prefer the Hinderer but they are both excellent knives. The ZT is an outstanding value.
 
BigKurtHaze said:
Is the right answer cutting the roof off of a car? Who's got time to walk back to the fire truck to get the jaws of life?
:D
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I try to be a rational voice here, but I’ve worked 32 of the past 48 hours or some $#!+ getting through annual inventory, so my brain is cooked from exhaustion and enough coffee to triple the value of Starbucks stock. When I read your post, a little voice in my head went, “CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!!”

Time to release the Kraken (0550)
 
RBid said:
I try to be a rational voice here, but I’ve worked 32 of the past 48 hours or some $#!+ getting through annual inventory, so my brain is cooked from exhaustion and enough coffee to triple the value of Starbucks stock. When I read your post, a little voice in my head went, “CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!!”

Time to release the Kraken (0550)
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I eagerly anticipate the video!
:)
 
RBid said:
What are some specific examples of work that a Hinderer would handle, and a ZT would not?
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I only have one. I have an early release of the 562. While I was deburring a piece of 4” plastic pipe, I saw the pivot area flex. It concerned me enough to stop using my 562 for a work knife. I’ve since replaced the CF scale with a Ti scale and haven’t used it much since then. I never experienced that with one of the two Hinderer’s I have. Ive got a buddy that is a volunteer firefighter, he broke a Gerber on a recliner that reignited on a call he was on. That’s what reminded me of this thread.
I don’t know what the thickness of the ZT0562 is, but the XM I have is a little over .5, the weight of both knives are close to the same. I think the blade thickness on the Hinderer is a little more than the ZT.
Wish I had more to share, but I try to use my knives for what their made for.
 
Ajack60 said:
I only have one. I have an early release of the 562. While I was deburring a piece of 4” plastic pipe, I saw the pivot area flex. It concerned me enough to stop using my 562 for a work knife. I’ve since replaced the CF scale with a Ti scale and haven’t used it much since then. I never experienced that with one of the two Hinderer’s I have. Ive got a buddy that is a volunteer firefighter, he broke a Gerber on a recliner that reignited on a call he was on. That’s what reminded me of this thread.
I don’t know what the thickness of the ZT0562 is, but the XM I have is a little over .5, the weight of both knives are close to the same. I think the blade thickness on the Hinderer is a little more than the ZT.
Wish I had more to share, but I try to use my knives for what their made for.
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Since the spirit of the thread seems to really focus on 0562 vs XM-18, 0550 references wouldn’t feel genuine. Setting that knife aside, I’m willing to give this example a nod for being a possible pass. It’s a very tricky thing to find applications where the difference in folder failure and folder success is pivot diameter or something like .04” of frame thickness, and the number of people using a folder for those tasks is not as big as the number of people who explain opting into a Hinderer because of that perceived difference in capability.
 
Never owned a Hinderer so I can’t speak for it but I would personally never trust a ZT knife for “hard use”. They’ve prioritized flipping action over safety IMO.

ZT knives are huge and give the appearance of being sturdy. But the frame locks in my experience are not safe. I have $3 knives from wal mart that I would trust not to fail before I’d trust my ZT 0393.
 
firefighterguy said:
I would personally never trust a ZT knife for “hard use”. They’ve prioritized flipping action over safety IMO.

But the frame locks in my experience are not safe. I have $3 knives from wal mart that I would trust not to fail before I’d trust my ZT 0393.
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Have you ever tested or used your particular ZT to failure? If not, pretty bold statement, if so, please share with the class.
 
Jailhack said:
Have you ever tested or used your particular ZT to failure? If not, pretty bold statement, if so, please share with the class.
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Yes, I’ve tested it to failure many times. I even sent videos to ZT of the failure. I would just say it’s a lemon but ZT has sent it back each time saying it’s passed qc inspections even from the production manager.

I don’t want to turn this into a thread about my knives tho. Just wanted to give the op some input on the “hard use” mantra of ZT
 
firefighterguy said:
Yes, I’ve tested it to failure many times. I even sent videos to ZT of the failure. I would just say it’s a lemon but ZT has sent it back each time saying it’s passed qc inspections even from the production manager.

I don’t want to turn this into a thread about my knives tho. Just wanted to give the op some input on the “hard use” mantra of ZT
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I would love to see that video. Have you posted it on BF or on the interweb? Link?

Thanks
 
firefighterguy said:
Never owned a Hinderer so I can’t speak for it but I would personally never trust a ZT knife for “hard use”. They’ve prioritized flipping action over safety IMO.

ZT knives are huge and give the appearance of being sturdy. But the frame locks in my experience are not safe. I have $3 knives from wal mart that I would trust not to fail before I’d trust my ZT 0393.
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Jailhack said:
Have you ever tested or used your particular ZT to failure? If not, pretty bold statement, if so, please share with the class.
Click to expand...

firefighterguy said:
Yes, I’ve tested it to failure many times. I even sent videos to ZT of the failure. I would just say it’s a lemon but ZT has sent it back each time saying it’s passed qc inspections even from the production manager.

I don’t want to turn this into a thread about my knives tho. Just wanted to give the op some input on the “hard use” mantra of ZT
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Jailhack said:
I would love to see that video. Have you posted it on BF or on the interweb? Link?

Thanks
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There’s already a current thread that goes deep into this topic. Would be nice to keep this one separate IMO.
 
It is inevitable the topic of lock slip due to spine whacking/tapping will be brought up when comparing Hinderer and ZT. I do agree a link to that thread shall be sufficient.
 
sharp_edge said:
It is inevitable the topic of lock slip due to spine whacking/tapping will be brought up when comparing Hinderer and ZT. I do agree a link to that thread shall be sufficient.
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Very predictable. In my relatively short time on this forum, it appears there are certain "trends" with different companies/problems that blow up and it is all people can talk about for awhile until the next outrage topic.
 
ScooterG said:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/zero-tolerance-liner-lock-closures.1602175/
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Thank you.

sharp_edge said:
It is inevitable the topic of lock slip due to spine whacking/tapping will be brought up when comparing Hinderer and ZT. I do agree a link to that thread shall be sufficient.
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Gideons said:
Very predictable. In my relatively short time on this forum, it appears there are certain "trends" with different companies/problems that blow up and it is all people can talk about for awhile until the next outrage topic.
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I hear where you are coming from, but remember, I am old school, and "spine whacking" is not how knives were tested. Hard use, is how they were tested.

My reason for asking about the test link was because I am simply interested in seeing just how the poster made his knife fail.

My ZT 0562 is solid as a rock. Granted, I have just received it and not abused it yet, but if the knife holds u as well as the overall quality, it's a great knife for the money. Time will tell.
 
Jailhack said:
Thank you.

I hear where you are coming from, but remember, I am old school, and "spine whacking" is not how knives were tested. Hard use, is how they were tested.

My reason for asking about the test link was because I am simply interested in seeing just how the poster made his knife fail.

My ZT 0562 is solid as a rock. Granted, I have just received it and not abused it yet, but if the knife holds u as well as the overall quality, it's a great knife for the money. Time will tell.
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I'm pretty cautious when it comes to lock failure and sliding forward on a knife (I was once cut badly sliding forward onto a knife) both reasons is why I personally prefer flippers. In reference to that ZT thread, there are so many human factors/variables and scientific factors/explanations that it isn't really something a singular comment can do justice. However, it is an issue that is quite overblown.

I've owned 10 or 12 ZT Hinderer's(over two dozen ZT total) and 4 XM-18 3.5'. The 0562 does have amazing ergonomics, but I do prefer the ergonomics of the XM-18. In my personal experience, I just found the ZT 0562 pretty good at everything, but not the best at anything which is why I sold it. If I wanted a good EDC knife I always carried my domino over it, or if I wanted to do some more harder work I would use my ZT 0301 or XM-18 3.5". The XM-18 is definitely a tougher, more capable knife that I think is a step up in build quality overall and IMHO especially in the hardware department. Now, with the Hinderer gen 6 XM-18 the flipper action is no longer a question. The only question is about the extra price? After selling my ZT 0562's I did eventually sell my XM-18's in favour of my ZT 0301's.
 
I own 20 ZTs including 4 ZT/Hinderer variants - 0550, 0560, 0562 and 0566CF. The pricing and design/style/size options just appeal to me. I also own about 30 CRKTs and about 50 Kershaws (including most of their Hinderer variants), as well as a variety of other knives made by Benchmade, Microtech and others.

All of the ZT/Hinderers function differently but well enough for me and I have no interest in selling any of them. The 0550 is the slowest and least ergonomic for me to deploy. The 0560 has some lock stick but that can be avoided by simply fully disengaging the liner lock before attempting to close the blade (no sharpie marking needed); it is also just a bit too large to carry IMO. The 0562 has no operational issues and is the best size for EDC IMO. I like the snappier opening of the 0566 w/spring assist but I prefer larger knives and the 0566 just seems too small to me. So, my favorite is the 0562.

I don't own a "real" Hinderer and haven't even held one yet. Will probably buy a XM-18 "slicer" comparable to the 0562 eventually for comparison purposes but am in no rush to do so, especially after reading the comments in the thread.
 
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