Well, this is a tough one. In reality neither would be my choice and I'll get to what that would be in a moment. First what I like and don't about each.
I love the classic look of the BlackJack. The A2 I have from Bark River is great. Holds an Edge a bit longer than 1095. In my experience it was tough to keep the exposed tang on the handle of my Bravo 2 from speckling with rust. I had to sand it off every once and a while. Got tired of that so I forced a patina on the tang and it is now very rust resistant. I have a Bravo 1 in A2 with a forced patina and have no issues with rust. I don't like the fact that the BlackJack is not a true full length/width tang. It is probably fine but for a true hard use knife I like a full length/width exposed tang. For a hard use knife I am not a fan of stacked leather. I want Micarta, g10, FRN, or even Kraton, basically something impervious to the elements. The sheath is an issue for me as well. I would want Kydex or molded plastic so I would need to add that cost to the cost of the knife ($60-$70). Again, think impervious to the elements.
The Tops has the full width/length exposed tang. This is a big deal to me in a hard use knife. The handle is a durable micarta. Blade shape looks good but I do not like the serrations. The blade is coated so rust will be no worry but only on the blade edge. If you are using it, the rust won't stay long or damage the blade. The sheath looks okay, but again, I would need to replace it with a kydex one as many of those nylon sheaths aren't fitted to the knife that well. So that would add cost to the knife for me.
If you made me choose between the two, it would be the TOPs because in a hard work knife I need full width/length exposed tang, and better handle material. I have not held either knife so I cannot say anything to the in hand use or ergonomics. I am just going off what I see on paper and in pictures. Another thing is the cross guard on both might get in the way for woods work opposed to tactical/utility stuff. Both have it though so it is a wash.
Both knives are no doubt very good. That said neither is what I would have considered for the roll you describe. I would look at something from the Becker line or from Esee. In my Med-large knife roll I currently have an Esee 6 or a Bravo 2 in use. I would consider both better than the knives you have listed and for the reasons I said above. Do note that I did need to have a custom Kydex sheath made for the Bravo 2. I bought it used off the exchange so the cost of the sheath was somewhat off set. If I had it all to do over again when picking a knife in the 6"-7" range I would look for something in 3v. It is at the cutting edge of carbon steels right now (IMO and with pun intended). Bark River offers most of their knives in that material so maybe look there. Survive! is also a company that does a lot of 3v.
All this said, I just got my grail fixed blade. A Busse TGLB! Good luck on your search. I hope any of what I said here was helpful.
