Thoughts on the ZT 0550?

paulwf150

paulwf150

Joined
Oct 30, 2013
Messages
25
Thinking about buying one for EDC general purpose knife. I am still kinda new the the higher end knives so, is there any other I should look at before buying this one? I do have a few Benchmades and love all of them just looking for my first higher end frame lock. Try to stay in the same price range. $150-$180. Thanks
 
I love mine. Big, heavy (which I like) for a pocket knife, but absolutely well made and reliable. If you can buy in the range you indicate, do so. I own Benchmades as well, love them too.

Break in of the 550 will take a little while but it will smooth out on opening and be very fast when you get your technique down.
 
Its awesome

As mentioned above, it is heavy, and thick. But it exudes pure quality with the beefy titanium lockbar. Mine is very smooth and can be thumb flicked easily. It is a good deal for a titanium framelock, any Ti framelock in the $150 range from a great company like ZT is a bargain in my book. Just be sure you want a large beefy knife before you buy. Its not overly long, and will fit well in the hand, it just a little thick, but the Gen 2 with the deep carry clip could remedy that. I have a Gen 1 so I don't know the difference.
 
You will definitely need to look at the 566. Its a little smaller knife with a flipper that is in the sweet spot of EDC knives. 3.25" blade, thinnner with thumb studs and works better de-assisted.
Theres some vids of it on youtube you should look at.
 
The 0550 is an awesome knife man for me it's the perfect carry size. It's a bit hefty and thick, but it carries very well. It's one of the smoothest knives with washers out there.
 
I have the 0551 which is similar to the 0550 but with an Elmax blade. It was a limited run, but again essentially similar. It's a great knife, and I don't mind the thickness in my pocket at all. Have you also considered an 0560 or 0561? It is a bit longer but thinner, and is a flipper.
 
My Thoughts HERE
In short, Excellent knife! one of my favorites of an ever growing collection.
 
Love my 0550BLK. Got it in a trade a few months ago and it hasn't really left my pocket since. Love the deep carry clip that comes on the gen 2's. But the knife definitely has a break-in period as mentioned above. I was a little worried when I first got it, but now it's incredibly smooth and fast.
 
I have looked at the 0560 but I'm not a big fan of the flippers as of now. Maybe that will change later though. And the 0560 is a little more than I have to spend at the moment.
 
Its a big wide knife when closed, perfect in the hand open. Very smooth and holds a good edge, the 566 is actually very close in size closed and open just not as heavily built. Neither are small knives. Kershawguy has the blems for 135 bucks or 145 for 1gens. Great guy to do business with.

Here are a couple of pics with the 550 and 566 with a benchmade and a dpx hest for size comparison.
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starting at the top is the 566, 550, zt350, benchmade, dpx hest
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993744_10202783395292426_950524949_n.jpg


1395918_10202783395572433_1262385606_n.jpg
 
Yes the 566 is very nice. Also look at the zt 801, I like these both better than the 550
 
Its a great knife!!!!! Id also look at the 0801 and 0566 if I was you. But the 0550 is one of my top 3 favorites of all time
 
Ive owned an 0550/ 0300 and 0350. I prefer and am going to stick with the 0561 flipper. The first two seemed less refined. And both felt like I had a big mac in my pocket when carrying them around. And the design just was not there. The 0350 was simply not tough enough. And I could not stand the assisted opening in the 300 series knives.

Id say go for the 0560/1 series or the mini.
That is only speaking for the ZT line IMO.
Brusher
 
I will give you thoughts on the 550 in a clear, concise, and accurate manner. Awesome. Nothing more needed to say.

Buy one. I would suggest going used (make sure it isn't a blem though) to save a few bucks if you will use it. Even if you somehow are insane and don't like it, the 550 is a hot ticket item for selling and trading.
 
paulwf150 said:
I have looked at the 0560 but I'm not a big fan of the flippers as of now. Maybe that will change later though. And the 0560 is a little more than I have to spend at the moment.
Click to expand...

They pop up on the exchange every so often within your price range or perhaps just a tad over.

I prefer the ergos of the 560/1 than the 550, and I have smallish hands. Go figure.
 
Big hands here too and the 550 is my go to, all the time, can't be beat knife. I love the darn thing. Of all the knives I have tried, tested, bought, sold and traded it's far and away the best.

ZT550s_x3.jpg
 
Well I think I am going to go ahead and get the 0550 now, and if I like it I will probably get a 0560/1 later. i can order a new 0550 for $165 on BladeHQ. Held a Gen 1 0550 my local store had but they wanted $240 for it, it felt real nice and seemed like it rode good in the pocket.
 
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