Personally I dislike cold steel. For me, it comes down to the fact that all the models I've tried, require an obnoxious amount of force to open the blades. Mainly due to their triad lock. Which is superb-but I prefer something I can open with one hand without flicking my wrist. As for crkt, I've handled an m16 and I just feel like their quality is down. They have innovative designs, but they use low quality steel and their ergos just aren't there for me. For me, I'm mostly a Spyderco person. You can get $30 blades or $300 blades and be happy either way. I also like kershaw.
But in the end it's always up to you! Good luck choosing