Zt 301 or Zt 550

S

shamus73

Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Messages
164
I've owned a 301 and admit while a little bulky, just hands down bulletproof.
But i wanted to know from some users, as i have never owned a 550, as to which one you would carry as an EDC.
The 550 seems to have a nice user shape and weight.
 
I've carried my 301s many times. Haven't handled a 550 yet, but it looks like.
 
There is not better time to catch 550's for a better price than now. I suggest you give it a try, it is built very well like your 301. Certainly an ideal heavy duty edc.
 
550 got straight cutting edge, i suppose because of this 0500 is more useful as a working horse.
But both knives got heavy pivot bolt and a huge Ti frame - both build like a tank.
 
I love both knives, I can carry either without an issue. But the 0550 wins it for me because its a manual.
 
I think the 550 is a good knife. I handled a 301 once and I just think its just too big for edc. The 550 is more managable and rides more comfortably in the pocket. The only thing I don't care for in the 550 is the thumbstud opener. It can take a little bit of force to deploy till you get it broke in a bit.
 
I have a 303, a gen 2 550, and as of last week a gen 2 550blk (props, kershawguy!!). The 303 is a freakin' beast, but I'm pretty enamored with both 550s. The detent, IMO, is just right on both 550s so that the blades FLY out with a light flick from the back of my thumbnail faster than the A/O flipper action on the 303. Haven't had much chance to give any of them hard use yet, but they sure are fun to play with in the mean time! :thumbup:
 
the 550/551 is more carry friendly, and you can get the newer version with the deep carry pocket clip.
 
AdioSS said:
I've carried my 301s many times. Haven't handled a 550 yet, but it looks like.
Click to expand...

i have owned a 300, and a 301. i really liked both of them. i have no need to be carrying a knife that large for edc but i enjoy it for some reason. I got a 0551/0550 (im not sure) in a trade with a green scale and wow, i personally enjoy manual opening knifes rather than assisted, and the 0550 was still built like a tank with solid 1/8 inch thick slabs of ti and g10. i carried and enjoyed the 0550 alot. and i enjoyed the blade shape a little more because it didnt have a recurve so i didnt want to throw it out the window when i tried to sharpen it. and the 0550 has a slightly finer tip. it is by no means a fine tip but it certainly peirced better than the 0300. and at todays market price you cant go wrong.

--side note the 0550 is also a hinderer design which is always an amazing design in my opinion


and the 0300 wont be leaving market anytime soon so you can always try out the 0550 for a while and trade up to the 0300 if you decide you liked it more.
 
Love the handling of the 0301 (probably one of my favorite handling knives), but it's just too big for me to EDC. It still gets carried and used on occasion, but it's just too much to be one of my regular EDC blades. The 0550 carries a bit better. I've been carrying mine in my back pocket for the last couple of weeks (it's a bit too bulky to fit in my front pocket alongside the other stuff in there, like keys and wallet). It certainly doesn't disappear in the pocket, like a Leek or Skyline, but it's not especially obtrusive either. Jury's still out as to whether the 0550 stays in the regular EDC rotation. I like the design and handling of it, but it is still a larger, bulkier knife. In general, I like my EDC blade to as minimally noticeable as possible during carry.
 
Handled both a 0550 and 0301 on the passaround a while back. Both were outstanding quality, but, for me, the 0550 was just a better fit, as an EDC. The 0301 was just to wide for my pockets.
 
I had a 301 and IMO it was too large for EDC. No doubt it's a bulletproof knife but too large. The 550 would be a better choice for that role.
 
The 0550 is probably "easier" to carry. I just started to carry my 0550BLK, I love it but man it needs a flipper! The 0301 is the beast, I carry it most of the time and its my favorite EDC because I can just use it for everything and its fun to carry. The 0550 is a more sophisticated blade.
 
BobSig said:
The 0550 is probably "easier" to carry. I just started to carry my 0550BLK, I love it but man it needs a flipper! The 0301 is the beast, I carry it most of the time and its my favorite EDC because I can just use it for everything and its fun to carry. The 0550 is a more sophisticated blade.
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Respectfully, how come you think it needs a flipper?
 
I'm not answering for BobSig, but I too think having a flipper would have been fantastic on the 0550. It took a little bit getting used to opening the 0550. If you apply any pressure to the lockbar, it is practically impossible to open the knife (even two-handed, pulling very firmly on the blade). I had to adjust my grip somewhat to get the knife open (lowering my middle finger to rest on the pocket clip and raising my index finger to the non-locking portion of the slab by the pivot screw). It's not a difficult issue to overcome (took me a couple of days to get used to the new grip), and the knife opens amazingly smooth once you get the hang of it. Anyway, a flipper would have made this a non-issue at all, since I'd be using my index finger to deploy the flipper (and that was the one resting on the lockbar and preventing the knife from opening in the first place).
 
^^^ I'm with you flarp and totally agree with what you said...

I have a 301, 300 and have had a 0551 and 0550. I just couldn't get over how hard both the 055X's were to open via the thumbstuds and traded both so my vote is for the 030X series.
 
That's funny to me. I had an 0560 for a brief while and HATED it for the same reasons you mentioned not liking your 0550s. The detent was SO strong (I know, this topic has been beat to death) on the 0560 that I had to hold it at a really awkward angle to avoid ANY pressure on the lockbar when using the flipper, forget trying to use the thumbstud.
Both of my 0550s have very weak detents, and I can flick them open really easily with the thumbstud in a pretty comfortable grip.
Are your 0550 detents just a lot stronger than mine, or something?
 
I don't dislike the 0550. Quite the opposite. I like it very much. It stumped me initially trying to figure out how to get the blade open (I've had and used a number of framelocks, but none that completely seized up with just light pressure on the lockbar), but after figuring out the trick, it hasn't been an issue. After a couple of days of EDC'ing it, I didn't even have to give it a second thought when pulling the knife out and opening it. I have one of the limited edition 0550BLK knives.
 
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