ZT300 or ESEE HEST/F ?

A

agoutihead

Joined
May 5, 2007
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Ok I'm looking at picking up a high end (or what I would consider high end knife based on my budget) as hopefully an EDC knife & something that will last forever & I can pass on down to my kid.

I've narrowed it down to the ZT300 or the ESEE HEST/F because both have all the materials I'm looking for, Ti frame, G10 handles & a great high end SS, S30V & D2. Both also seem to be within the same price range.

I would prefer S30V over D2, but I would be very pleased with D4 in the end.

Which one would you chose?

As much as I love it, the ONLY reason I would lean away from the ZT300 is because I think its going to be a lot bigger than I want to EDC where the HEST/F seems it would be a more "comfortable" size.

Anyone know what those two notches on the blade of the HEST/F are? One looks to be a bottle opener maybe? (though dont know if its a feature I'll use) and I'm not sure what the other notch is?
 
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agoutihead said:
Anyone know what those two notches on the blade of the HEST/F are? One looks to be a bottle opener maybe? (though dont know if its a feature I'll use) and I'm not sure what the other notch is?
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The notch on the back is a bottle opener. not sure what the other notch you're referring to is.
 
the other one is probably the wire cutter, if its on the side of the edge...

you can get the zt300 now, the hest you have to wait until around christmas, but thats not guaranteed.

the zt is a know quantity, the hest most likely will be great, but it is still not "known"

having said that, i am on the waiting list for the hest and haven't bought the zt300, for two reasons, i dont love recurves and more importantly i dont like AO.
 
L.J.Tibbs said:
The notch on the back is a bottle opener. not sure what the other notch you're referring to is.
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Look at the belly of the blade towards the handle, there is some other kind of notch...

How does a bottle opener fit into a survival folder? lol
 
agoutihead said:
How does a bottle opener fit into a survival folder? lol
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This is off their website:

Thumb grip/bottle opener/ pot lifter blade notch

So I guess it makes more sense than just a bottle opener as a pot lifter etc

And I think this is in reference to the other notch:

Special Wire stripper jimping and lashing points

?

Hmm not familiar with those tricks, but hopefully I'll learn to utilize the knife to its fullest - if I do in fact chose the HEST/F over the ZT300

That is a badass SS multitool they are selling with it...

http://www.dpxgear.com/
 
What about adding in the ZT550 for consideration.. and the obvious answer is to get them all...

My vote = ZT550 or Hest folder.. and that is a coin flip till someone has either in hand..
 
the ZT 300 IS big and heavy, most ZT knives are. they also have the 550(and limited run 551) coming out in a bit.

I think the HEST folder is an amazing value, but likely is going to be hard to find for a bit. Also I think the bottle opener is very fitting on a survival knife....if you were stranded alone in the middle of nowhere, wouldn't you want a beer? And before you say 'my beer has twist off caps', there are no good beers with twist off caps. :D
 
myowngod said:
What about adding in the ZT550 for consideration.. and the obvious answer is to get them all...

My vote = ZT550 or Hest folder.. and that is a coin flip till someone has either in hand..
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Surprisingly I prefer the blade of the 300, a lot of people dont like the recurve for some reason, but I do.

I dont know, I like the 550, but not as much as the HEST/F I dont think.
 
Broad Arrow said:
there's the ZT0350. same profile but smaller package. or maybe you can wait for the upcoming ZT0551 :)
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The 350 doesnt have a Ti lockframe though right?

I want that as a feature for sure.

And I'm a hard liquor man, dont fancy the beer. :)

Is there going to be much difference in the ZT550 & ZT551?

I guess if the 300 is as big & heavy as it looks & everyone says, I will probably drop it from the list. Although I love the tigerstripe lol

So its going to be a HEST/F unless this 551 really blows me away.

I would probably wait till they come out with a black G10 HEST/F vs the green. And I probably wont make it in for the special run they are doing first with black handles as I wouldnt want to spend more right now just for a special run.
 
100eyes said:
the ZT 300 IS big and heavy, most ZT knives are. they also have the 550(and limited run 551) coming out in a bit.

I think the HEST folder is an amazing value, but likely is going to be hard to find for a bit. Also I think the bottle opener is very fitting on a survival knife....if you were stranded alone in the middle of nowhere, wouldn't you want a beer? And before you say 'my beer has twist off caps', there are no good beers with twist off caps. :D
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I would assume the you will bring a cooler also? Stranded in the middle of nowhere seems like a faraway place. Don't want the beer to get warm ;)
 
agoutihead said:
I think I almost like the ZT300 better, but it just looks so big...
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I carry my ZT 0301(same knife, different colors) to work everyday without any problems. It's clipped to my pocket of course, but doesn't hinder me much in grabbing my 710-1 in the same pocket, my keys, or my cellphone. With jeans it'll be a different story, as the knife will get in the way of you reaching in your pocket. Though I guess if there's nothing else important in your right pocket that you need to get in and out regularly it shouldn't be a problem.

As for the HEST folder, I don't see a reason to get it unless you regularly NEED that bottle opener and wire cutter, but I don't see why you wouldn't have the standard multi-tool for that task.

I would also suggest getting the ZT 0551 pre-order, as recurves aren't for everyone, and the 0551 addresses that nicely.
 
Noctis3880 said:
I carry my ZT 0301(same knife, different colors) to work everyday without any problems. It's clipped to my pocket of course, but doesn't hinder me much in grabbing my 710-1 in the same pocket, my keys, or my cellphone. With jeans it'll be a different story, as the knife will get in the way of you reaching in your pocket. Though I guess if there's nothing else important in your right pocket that you need to get in and out regularly it shouldn't be a problem.

As for the HEST folder, I don't see a reason to get it unless you regularly NEED that bottle opener and wire cutter, but I don't see why you wouldn't have the standard multi-tool for that task.

I would also suggest getting the ZT 0551 pre-order, as recurves aren't for everyone, and the 0551 addresses that nicely.
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The bottle opener & wire stripper are not features I look for in a knife, the HEST/F is just really an amazing looking knife to me. Love the look of the blade, handles etc. The HEST/F is actaully way more appealing than the 550.

Whats the difference between the 550 & 551?

I wish they could do a true to spec mini 300/301... I love the recurve.
 
Go for a used 0300, if you don't like it, you can always sell it on the exchange for around what you payed for it.
 
Have I been the only one who thinks the HEST folder's bottle opener might act as a wave of sorts? Even if not it would be fairly easy to mod to do so, right?

And I say buy both, that's what I'm doing.
 
I'm pretty sure the "bottle opener" will act as a wave...a feature I personally adore.
 
agoutihead said:
The bottle opener & wire stripper are not features I look for in a knife, the HEST/F is just really an amazing looking knife to me. Love the look of the blade, handles etc. The HEST/F is actaully way more appealing than the 550.

Whats the difference between the 550 & 551?

I wish they could do a true to spec mini 300/301... I love the recurve.
Click to expand...

G10 Pattern and Steel from what I can tell but the bad news is all the pre-order lists have filled up on the 551 and the back up list are looking pretty full as well from what I can see. The 550 also wont be out till 2011 is what the word on the street is
 
ibute21 said:
Have I been the only one who thinks the HEST folder's bottle opener might act as a wave of sorts? Even if not it would be fairly easy to mod to do so, right?
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I'm with you there. Looks to me like it could wave with no mods.
 
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