Visiting US, need Target/Wal-Mart advice

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Manix07

Joined
Jan 5, 2007
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135
I'll be driving down to Seattle at the end of the month, and as a Canadian am excited to see what a Wal-Mart that stocks Spyderco and Kershaw actually looks like. I do love my country, but it seems that I usually get screwed over in most of my hobbies up here.

What would you guys say are the best deals offered at either Target or Walmart for knives and even flashlights? Even better, if someone knows of a decent knife shop in Seattle that would be really appreciated.
 
Picked up my S30V Native for $41. They also carry the 3AA LED minimags and the D-cell LED mags. Haven't used either though. I would say stay away from the $6 nite-ize led upgrade for the most part.
 
Target generally has a crappy knife selection, but decent flashlight selection, the Inova X series line (X0, X1, X5, X03) is probably the best bet there, the Dorcy Super 1 Watt 1 CR123a light is decent as well

wally world is the exact opposite, decent knife selection, crappy flashlight selection, the Spyderco Native is a good deal, they also carry Buck and Kershaw, as well as Leatherman multitools, the only passable lights at wally world are the MagLED's, and the Brinkmann Maxfire LX
 
MacTech said:
Target generally has a crappy knife selection, but decent flashlight selection, the Inova X series line (X0, X1, X5, X03) is probably the best bet there, the Dorcy Super 1 Watt 1 CR123a light is decent as well

wally world is the exact opposite, decent knife selection, crappy flashlight selection, the Spyderco Native is a good deal, they also carry Buck and Kershaw, as well as Leatherman multitools, the only passable lights at wally world are the MagLED's, and the Brinkmann Maxfire LX
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Add the "Dorcy Metal Gear 1 Watt Luxeon" light to that list, available at most walmarts. I got one, and I'd rather have this then a Surefire G2. (Of course, I am a LED fan, but I am unbiased. :D )

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/dorcy_metalgear.htm
 
Thanks for the info guys. I wonder how many of us here also hold accounts at Candlepowerforums lol
 
Manix07 said:
I'll be driving down to Seattle at the end of the month, and as a Canadian am excited to see what a Wal-Mart that stocks Spyderco and Kershaw actually looks like. I do love my country, but it seems that I usually get screwed over in most of my hobbies up here.

What would you guys say are the best deals offered at either Target or Walmart for knives and even flashlights? Even better, if someone knows of a decent knife shop in Seattle that would be really appreciated.
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Not all Target and Walmart store locations stock a good selection of those items. I think maybe it depends on the customer base where they are located. In central Ohio, 4 Targets I have visited have completely different mixes of Victorinox, Leatherman, Gerber, generic Chinese, and that's about it. My nearest Wally doesn't stock Spyderco Natives.

Probably best to phone before you shop.
 
Buck268 said:
Picked up my S30V Native for $41. They also carry the 3AA LED minimags and the D-cell LED mags. Haven't used either though. I would say stay away from the $6 nite-ize led upgrade for the most part.
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:confused: What's wrong with the Nite-ize led upgrade? They seem to work well on my mini-maglites.
 
znapschatz said:
:confused: What's wrong with the Nite-ize led upgrade? They seem to work well on my mini-maglites.
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Same experience here and I use one on the job everyday, 24/7. No failure of any kind, much brighter than stock and super extended battery life, what's not to like.
 
It does work great- up close. I found it far to short-ranged for much if any outdoor work. Hoping this MJLED will be better.
 
the only servicible "knives" you'll fnd in a wally world in socal are in the kitchen section...have any of you seen that ozark trails knife they sell there? I would rather have the shark knife!
 
I like Target. But other than SAKs and multi-tools, you're not going to find a good selection of knives.
 
A good rule of thumb when it comes to visiting stores in the US is... go look at a super wal-mart store and take note of its physical size. Just about any chain retail type store in the US that is around that size contains about one truckload of quality merchandise, and the rest is junk.

It's actually handier to go to smaller stores that can't afford to buy mass quantities of junk - then you don't have to sift through it. I will generally pay more for the same product to avoid going to wal mart, because in my experience, Wal Mart manages to acquire crappy stuff even from reputable suppliers. I used to work on an offshore drilling rig, and therefore went through about two dozen pair of white cotton gloves with the black grippy dots on them - per month. My experience was that all white grippy dot gloves are roughly the same quality no matter what you pay for them, except for the ones you buy at wal-mart. they are worse than all others except for the exact same glove bought from Sam's Wholesale. They are truly the bottom of the barrel.
 
If you are going to Seattle, you should really make your way down to Federal Way. It is only about another 20 minute drive from seattle South Bond on I-5. They have a SUPER walmart here. If you are looking for flashlights and things in that nature, I would suggest to go to sportco which is like a 15 minute drive from Federal Way (Southbond I-5) again. They have a great selection of knives/Flashlights/Survival/Outdoor gear stuff there. They are pretty comparable to prices you pay online! If you have any questions about it, ask away.
 
FlyingMuskrat said:
Make sure you go to a Super Wal-mart. I don't think that the smaller Wal-marts stock the Native.
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I found out from Kristi that the Native is only in Wal-marts that do a high-volume of knife sales. Sometimes, it's not even in the display case. You have to ask if they have it.
 
Here in So Cal, Wallies that carry the Native usually have Buck 110's, 119's, short Nighthawks, and foreign slippies and liner locks, as well as the Kershaw Vapor, Storm, and Chive.
 
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