I bought one to replace the standard carbon steel version that I lost. The carbon steel version is great, very good for the price, but I wanted to try something different. The steel on the new one is 440A, so the fact that it has a coating seems kind of strange considering this steel doesn't need much protection from the elements. For some reason I thought it didn't have a coating when I bought it online, so just be aware of that.
Some other differences is that the NG has a lanyard hole on the pommel, and a more robust crossguard. Generally the knife as a whole seems like it can take much more of a beating than the USMC. The tradeoff is that the USMC will take a sharper edge and generally hold it better.
The NG's sheath is also much more "tactical". It has a lot more carry options and the knife kind of locks into place when you push it in.
If I had the choice I'd go back to the USMC version though. There's not much difference between the two, but I prefer carbon steel.
