In your opinion, who competes with ZT?

To me, Benchmade and Zero Tolerance are pretty close(in price and quality of work). Both companies have awesome customer service/warranties, both cater to the higher end of production knives, and yes I know Benchmade gets some crap, but they can and do put out some great knives.

In my books Spyderco beats them for the variety of knives they produce(in price, appearance, and designed uses). KAI(not only ZT) and Spyderco are similar, though.
 
IMO ZT sets the benchmark for flippers. They've pretty much got the detent/action concept figured out.

Benchmade and Spyderco are competitors for dollars spent on the market, though their offerings are generally in different categories. Quality flipper = ZT. Axis lock/thumb stud = BM. Spyder hole... etc.

For flippers, their most direct competition is probably WE (as noted above).

As for cost, I think all brands should be 20% below MAP. That being said, ZT is actually priced reasonably considering materials, F/F, warranty, etc. Yes, you can get into quality knives with Spyderco below $100 (Native LW/Manix LW). But when you get into similar materials it's a different story.

The 0920 and (soon) 0055 are priced below all but the budget WE offerings and have sick machining inside and out.

My only generalized wishes for ZT are that they were thinner behind the edge an a bit lighter--but if they continue their trend of weight loss through internal milling they will keep getting my money.
 
sharp_edge said:
I might be in the minority here, but in the ti or ti/cf flipper world and taking everything into consideration (note: warranty included), I say nobody competes with ZT. Reate used to be but not now. Kizer f&f is generally inferior to ZT. WE I dont know much but looks to me more bling than usefulness. Spyderco is known for being good cutters but again not much about flippers. Benchmade has a few good products but you ve got to be more careful in selecting them. I still think Hindeter and CRK are better but so come the steeper prices.
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I agree. It just took me longer to say it in my post--LOL!
 
shinyedges said:
I see a lot o WE I'm curious how their support after a sale is?
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They have USA warranty rep's. Vlad was one before and i think he moved on and Zelric might be the new warranty rep? i forget, but they always have one that im aware of. never did warranty work tho.
 
4mer_FMF said:
IMO ZT sets the benchmark for flippers. They've pretty much got the detent/action concept figured out.

Benchmade and Spyderco are competitors for dollars spent on the market, though their offerings are generally in different categories. Quality flipper = ZT. Axis lock/thumb stud = BM. Spyder hole... etc.

For flippers, their most direct competition is probably WE (as noted above).

As for cost, I think all brands should be 20% below MAP. That being said, ZT is actually priced reasonably considering materials, F/F, warranty, etc. Yes, you can get into quality knives with Spyderco below $100 (Native LW/Manix LW). But when you get into similar materials it's a different story.

The 0920 and (soon) 0055 are priced below all but the budget WE offerings and have sick machining inside and out.

My only generalized wishes for ZT are that they were thinner behind the edge an a bit lighter--but if they continue their trend of weight loss through internal milling they will keep getting my money.
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The budget offerings from WE are $100... It would be impossible for ZT to make money on the 0920 and 0055 if they were below what they're selling and going to sell for.
 
A lot of good recommendations, I'll add Guardian Tactical to the list. Price is going to be a bit more, but the quality is on part with ZT.
 
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A bunch of good suggestions out there. One thing to consider about WE is they don't enforce MAP. If you look around you can save some significant money on WE knives. WE in many ways compares favorably with ZT. WE F/F is a bit ahead of ZT as is flipping action, but ZT has better service and support.

If we put ZT into the category of Ti/CF/G10 Flippers, they don't have a lot of direct competition.

Taichung Spydercos are similar in F/F but they just don't make any flippers that are that great.

Kizer has a ton of flippers and, although cheaper, are a bit behind ZT in terms of quality F/F. Lately in particular it seems Kizer has struggled with off the line product quality.

Benchmade can make a great knife, but their flippers are no where near a ZT. The Axis lock is beautiful and service and support is on par with ZT however.

Reate, Rike and some of the other popular imports are just too expensive. They have superior fit, finish and action to a ZT, but you definitely pay for it. They're not really in the same league.

One company that hasn't been mentioned yet is Freeman Outdoor Gear. The Freeman 451 BLF is every bit the flipper as the best ZT with similar fit and finish. In some ways I give Freeman the edge with their small shop feel and the personal service. I love my 451BLF. If you like a good flipper, check one out!
 
I'd probably say their main competitor is Kizer, if you consider their market segment to be flippers in the $150-$250 range. They have a ton in common - focus on titanium framelocks, heavy reliance on collaboration knives, etc.

Spyderco and Benchmade are in a similar price range, but are better known for their Spydiehole openers and thumbstud/Axis lock knives, respectively. Sure, they're all knives, but I think for most people who aren't collectors, they'll have a preferred deployment method and will pick a brand based on that.

We Knives overlaps ZT/Kizer's higher end. Generally, though, I think their offerings are focused more on art/style, whereas I think ZT and Kizer focus more on utility.

Reate and Rike, as well as CKF and others, are targeting a different segment, I think - they have higher priced offerings and lower quantities. I doubt anyone who just wants "a good knife" would pick up a Reate or a Rike, over the many other options available. Rather, I think it's mostly collectors picking them up.
 
I haven't owned several of those mentioned have only handled some briefly at a shop or gunshow. I do own Spydercos , Benchmades, that I would consider them to compete with ZT in that area of the market ... And I'll be the first to admit I tend to be very loyal to companies that fit my style and needs ... and I know everyone has their own style and needs in a knife ... so hard to give one simple answer.
But for me in the price point where the average ZT lives ... no one comes close in varity of knives ...in materials used ... and in functionality ... then theres warrenty .... and again I can't speak for some others but KAI has always been on top of anything I needed but what tells me more is that I own over 30 ZTs and have never needed service for repair only for a spare parts usually because of me playing with mods ... so in other price points or other types of knives there are maybe better choices but for folders in the price point and comparable materials ZT is hard to beat ... Im about as loyal to my fixed blade preferences but have more varity in fixed then folders.
Now if you step up in price point and or materials that changes some.
 
With Zero Tolerance, you get huge bang for your buck with respect to quality of materials and fit and finish, but in my opinion most of their designs aren't nearly as good when it comes to actual cutting purposes compared with a company like Spyderco.
 
I'm gunna have to say theirnbiggest direct competition is probably WE and Reate. Lionsteel competes on some models at some levels. Kizer is more and more getting in a position to compete.

(Side note so there is Rike knives and Ruike knives O.o)
 
I have to join the legion of support for Spyderco. They offer a wide variety with what I feel is a better dollar to value ratio. Add in the number of Sprint run options and the insane amount of 3rd party mods for about every model, you can get some unique pieces bought and modded for a total compared to a ZT base price.
 
The Taichung Spydercos are not as nicely made as the ZTs of equivalent price. Spyderco's value proposition is really found in the sub $200 range.
 
HowAmI said:
We Knives, Reate, Rike tries but eh.
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Yeah. I think rike does some really awesome finishes and the quality of the machining is decent. Its the odd angular designs that really throw me. I like curvy elegant lines. Think mid ninties to late 00's ferraris. They do more of the lamborghini way of doing things. Which is imho just to cram as many opposing angular facets into a design as humanly possible. Thats the only thing i think chinese knife companies really have yet to master and that is flow within the design. WE does a good job. And reate came out strong with the horizon and has learned a lot from the custom collabs, especially Todd Begg. But rike to me just seems a little too close to the cheaper chinese knives in terms of style. When you have premium materials, finishes and fit and finish an ultra busy look to me just cheapens what could be a true winner.
 
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