Kai zt302

[Josh K]

I recently got a ZT302. Let's talk it over a bit.

Blade
S30V recurve with a tang flipper and the SpeedSafe system. Nice thick blade, with plenty of belly, but not much tip. Tip actually reminds me a bit of the tip on the Spyderco Lava. Blade also has double lug thumbstuds and excellent spine jimping. Pivot screw is a hex bolt, which I don't really like. I know it was designed for easy field adjustment, but really I find it just adds weight and bulk. The blade is also very wide. It's over and inch tall making some tasks harder then others. It's not much of a slicer. All over a nice blade design. It thick and beefy. I wouldn't be worried about it breaking even under considerable abuse.

Handle
Ergos are nice on this knife. It feels wide and rough in the hand compared to my Military, which feels refined and smooth. Love them both, and prefer the military, but on the ZT the handle adds considerable heft and strength to the design of the knife. One slab is pure Ti for the framelock, the other is G-10. There is also a G-10 (I'm assuming) spacer that runs up the back of the knife. Note that the liner on the G-10 side has not been drilled out. The handle also has some nice jimping on the butt. This provides excellent thumb traction when using the knife in a reverse grip.

Lock
The framelock on this knife is nice and thick. It includes the Hinder stop to prevent overtravel. The texture on the lock side is the same texture on the G-10 scale side. Lockup was solid with no play in any direction.

Pro's
Good ergos
Solid lockup
Good clip position (4 way)
Great jimping
Overbuilt

Con's
Knife is very wide in both hand and pocket. Not for people with exceptionally small hands.
Blade could really use a better point.
Blade is short considering the 8.4oz weight.
Clip could be a tad longer and a tad stronger. I bent mine a bit to make it tighter.

I'll post pictures when I can.

 

[b.c.molin]

Your comments have made me reconsider the ZT0300 due to your "really small hands" info; I have medium sized mitt's but find the Kershaw JYDII big enough for me.

Think I will now look at the smaller ZT0200 although I would prefer a framelock.

 

[presz]

The 0200 is almost the same size. The blade is a little longer. But it does weight less than 0300 by almost 1oz. I am saving up for the 0350 it is more EDCable for me. :thumbup: It should be out in April. Here is a link to the very missed old Kershaw forum.
http://216.26.177.84/forums/showthread.php?t=624477

 

[b.c.molin]

Here is a link to the very missed old Kershaw forum.

I was fortunate to be able to make two posts before its sad demise.

It helped me determining whether to buy my JYDII and I am still using it to find out about the other models. :thumbup:

 

[trimcut123]

I feel the 0300 is an amazing knife... I like the black much better than the tiger stripe.. The titanium is actually a dark gray.. Which looks awesome. You can see.. Its a much better design at the same length as the JYD II.. It is easily the strongest framelock I have ever handled.. And at 30 degrees it slices tomatoes and onions easily too... Very versatile knife that can chop down a tree.. The recurve gives it amazing cutting power.
Good review

 

[trimcut123]

 

[b.c.molin]

I very much appreciate the comparison with the JYDII ...thanks trimcut123.:thumbup: