ZT or Spyderco?

Spend $150 and grab a Spyderco Gayle Bradley.
Cpm-m4 steel, superb fit n finish, and carbon fiber scales.

Here is Gayle sharing some insight behind his design.
[youtube]Qk0IxU-fuW4[/youtube]
 
I'm a Spyderco Fan Girl for sure.
But you can't go wrong with a good ZT.
The ZT 0550 is a bit thick for me but an awesome blade all the way around. Tough as nails.
If the ZT 0566 is a bit small, you can get the big brother(ZT 0560/1) for a good price here on the forums or as a blem from Kershaw Guy. I currently carry the more fancy ZT 0560(ZT 0560cbcf) and love it.

The Spyderco Para 2 is another tough knife. I've EDC'd them on several occasions for a while and never had any issues with the 4 that I've owned.

Benchmade does make some nice tough knives as well. The Contego is an awesome knife and extremely tough.

More ZT's to check out:
ZT 0350
ZT 0200
ZT 030x - You can find them for good prices here on the forum as well. Or you can get a Blem from Kershaw Guy and get a good deal.

Spyderco's to check out:
Spyderco Manix 2 or Manix 2 XL
Spyderco Gayle Bradley
Spyderco Military
Spyderco Tuff - if you can go this high in price.

Benchmade:
810 Contego
275 ADAMAS - Even though you said you don't want one of these just yet.
915 Triage - The sheepsfoot blade would be perfect for EDC and hard use, the tip isn't super pointy but will penetrate anything you cut just fine.

Have you checked out some Kershaw's?
They aren't ZT's but they have a few tough options and are a good bit cheaper.
Kershaw Knives to look at:
Kershaw Rake
Kershaw JYD II
Kershaw Blur s30v

Good luck hunting down the right knife.
 
I own ZTs and Spydercos. I love my 300 and 561 and think they are well built, heavy knives. I have handled a 550 and it is on my buy list at some point.

The Spyderco PM2 is also well built and you get a lot of knife in a light package. The PM2 is a great slicer and I wouldn't consider it a delicate blade at all.

Out of those two however, I think the PM2 is a better knife and I don't believe under normal use, the PM2 will be any less tough than the 550.
 
BladeChick777 said:
I'm a Spyderco Fan Girl for sure.
But you can't go wrong with a good ZT.
The ZT 0550 is a bit thick for me but an awesome blade all the way around. Tough as nails.
If the ZT 0566 is a bit small, you can get the big brother(ZT 0560/1) for a good price here on the forums or as a blem from Kershaw Guy. I currently carry the more fancy ZT 0560(ZT 0560cbcf) and love it.

The Spyderco Para 2 is another tough knife. I've EDC'd them on several occasions for a while and never had any issues with the 4 that I've owned.

Benchmade does make some nice tough knives as well. The Contego is an awesome knife and extremely tough.

More ZT's to check out:
ZT 0350
ZT 0200
ZT 030x - You can find them for good prices here on the forum as well. Or you can get a Blem from Kershaw Guy and get a good deal.

Spyderco's to check out:
Spyderco Manix 2 or Manix 2 XL
Spyderco Gayle Bradley
Spyderco Military
Spyderco Tuff - if you can go this high in price.

Benchmade:
810 Contego
275 ADAMAS - Even though you said you don't want one of these just yet.
915 Triage - The sheepsfoot blade would be perfect for EDC and hard use, the tip isn't super pointy but will penetrate anything you cut just fine.

Have you checked out some Kershaw's?
They aren't ZT's but they have a few tough options and are a good bit cheaper.
Kershaw Knives to look at:
Kershaw Rake
Kershaw JYD II
Kershaw Blur s30v

Good luck hunting down the right knife.
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:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Some good choices and advice posted by Bladechick
 
Jeru said:
Please allow me to disagree. I would say the compression lock is stronger.
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I actually would agree, but last time I said the compression was stronger than the Axis war broke out.

But really, either lock will be more than enough for any task.

PM2s hardly lose any resale value when selling LNIB; if you don't like it, you can probably sell it. (You need a $30 Gold membership to sell on BF, though.)
 
Last weekend I was trying to decide between the ZT 0550BLK and the ParaMilitary2 and ended up ordering both.




I like both but now that I've spent some time with them I do prefer the Para2 over the 0550. I will keep both but the Para2 lives in my pocket now.
 
I just picked up the 566, have had a PM2 for about a year. I have abused my PM2, and it's held up admirably. I like the compression lock, but for me, it's the finger choil and the ability to choke up on it that I like most (same with the Manix2). It's a great EDC, lightweight and durable (no problems with the tip). That being said, you get more cutting edge with the 566 and it disappears in pocket better than the PM2. I also like flippers, mostly because I don't favor one hand over the other. G10 is comparable on both, the ZT is heavier, but both have great ergos. Personally, I'd go with the Manix 2 XL over either one, especially if you like a more substantial knife. Good ergos, great blade shape/size, good weight, lock is good for either lefties or righties, and you have that oversized Spyder hole.
 
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Another vote for the Spyderco Manix 2. It is the knife that changed my opinion on Syderco knives. Superb fit & finish, very smooth action, grippy but not too grippy g10, and FFG S30V blade that's an excellent slicer while maintaining good tip strength. That said, I can't imagine the abuse it would take to break any of your contenders and I use my knives heavily.
 
0550 all the way. I freakin love it I have the first gen and got the blackwash as soon as I could and a scale is on the way.
All I can say is you won't be disappointed. I have the 0560, it's freakin awesome as well, but a bit more size and a flipper can't top the 550 IMO.

Many complain about the stock scale. I don't mind it one bit but since I've got two and was DAMN NEAR about to get another I got a scale instead lol.
 
I would say ZT based on their customer support alone. I recently bought a brand new Spyderco online and it came with an noticeably uneven grind. I called and spoke to their customer service and they treated me like I was just being picky and was wasting their time. They wouldn't send me a shipping label(which I wouldn't even have asked for if it wasn't a brand new blade). Basically told me that even though I just bought one of their brand new knives, I needed to pay again to make it right. The lady I spoke with wasn't very friendly about the whole deal either. I just fixed it myself and will never do business with them again.

Also, if you mess up a spyderco blade your knife is done. If you do the same with a ZT you pay $30 and have a brand new blade. Choice seems easy to me. Hell I own multiple Spydercos now(including a PM2) and they're awesome, but I can't justify really using them when I know I'll be left out in the cold if anything was to happen to one. Especially when there are so many other options out there from companies that stand behind their product. Now I'm selling/trading off all my spydercos and will give my money to a company that doesn't treat their customers like they're being a pest.

I just got my first and only ZT yesterday. It's a 0560 and it is a TANK. Im very impressed. It's a heavy knife but that doesn't bother me at all. This thing feels like it would take a tremendous amount of abuse before having an issue. After stropping the edge will whittle hairs(the pm2 does the same so I suppose that's a moot point). I would love to edc my pm2 but I use my blades and don't wanna be out if it breaks. I bought one of spyderco's el cheapo chicom models to carry so if it breaks I won't be out as much. I don't have to worry about that anymore with the 0560.
 
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that doesn't sound much like the Spyderco cs I dealt with, in fact, if I was making this decision I wouldn't even concerm myself with either company's customer service
 
I love my Paramilitary 2, but my vote goes to the Zt 0566. Absolutely love this knife!!!!!!!!!!!! Built like a tank.
 
creature7 said:
I would say ZT based on their customer support alone. I recently bought a brand new Spyderco online and it came with an noticeably uneven grind. I called and spoke to their customer service and they treated me like I was just being picky and was wasting their time. They wouldn't send me a shipping label(which I wouldn't even have asked for if it wasn't a brand new blade). Basically told me that even though I just bought one of their brand new knives, I needed to pay again to make it right. The lady I spoke with wasn't very friendly about the whole deal either. I just fixed it myself and will never do business with them again.

Also, if you mess up a spyderco blade your knife is done. If you do the same with a ZT you pay $30 and have a brand new blade. Choice seems easy to me. Hell I own multiple Spydercos now(including a PM2) and they're awesome, but I can't justify really using them when I know I'll be left out in the cold if anything was to happen to one. Especially when there are so many other options out there from companies that stand behind their product. Now I'm selling/trading off all my spydercos and will give my money to a company that doesn't treat their customers like they're being a pest.

I just got my first and only ZT yesterday. It's a 0560 and it is a TANK. Im very impressed. It's a heavy knife but that doesn't bother me at all. This thing feels like it would take a tremendous amount of abuse before having an issue. After stropping the edge will whittle hairs(the pm2 does the same so I suppose that's a moot point). I would love to edc my pm2 but I use my blades and don't wanna be out if it breaks. I bought one of spyderco's el cheapo chicom models to carry so if it breaks I won't be out as much. I don't have to worry about that anymore with the 0560.
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If your using your PM 2 for cutting tasks you have no worries, if your using it as a pry bar or a screw driver,...you have the wrong tool for the job. I use the heck out of my PM2s and have never worried I might break it. But then, I only cut things with mine.
 
I have a 560, a 566 and. PM2. I'd say the PM2 is a great knife, but the 566 is a little tank and in my mind would hold up under stress better. It's also a little heavy, though, but not so much I would not carry it all day, especially in jeans.

The 560 weight .5 oz more, but due to it's larger size (increased mass) the extra weight is distributed so well it actually feels lighter than the 560.

If I were going to a deserted island, it'd be 560 first, 566 second, PM2 third.

If I planned on normal duty, the lesser weight/mass of the PM2 would be most appealing.

Only one thing to do, and you know you want to, also.

Buy all three. Sorted! :eagerness:
 
If you can only have one, I would go with the 550! Just can not get any better built for the money!
 
Craigslist Killer said:
I just picked up the 566, have had a PM2 for about a year. I have abused my PM2, and it's held up admirably. I like the compression lock, but for me, it's the finger choil and the ability to choke up on it that I like most (same with the Manix2). It's a great EDC, lightweight and durable (no problems with the tip). That being said, you get more cutting edge with the 566 and it disappears in pocket better than the PM2. I also like flippers, mostly because I don't favor one hand over the other. G10 is comparable on both, the ZT is heavier, but both have great ergos. Personally, I'd go with the Manix 2 XL over either one, especially if you like a more substantial knife. Good ergos, great blade shape/size, good weight, lock is good for either lefties or righties, and you have that oversized Spyder hole.
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Welcome to Bladeforums!

Great first post! :thumbup:
 
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