Which one do you prefer, the Lil Native or the Chaparral, and why?
The Chaparral has a bit longer blade.
The knives are almost exactly the same length.
The blade stock is thicker on the LN and the overall knife is thicker. The Chaparral might slice better, but the LN is more comfortable in some ways due to being thicker.
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But a hard-use Lil’ folder is probably unnecessary whereas an easily-manipulated (because small and thin) super-slicy one is essentially an X-acto folder.
So, a Chap.
-Marc (pocketing an S110V Native5 today)
“When science changes its opinion, it didn’t lie to you. It learned more.”
The handle fits my hand, whereas it’s a little short on the LN, and the LN blade stock is unnecessarily thick for its size. I find the comp lock a little hard to manipulate on such as small handle, as well.
I’m hoping the Metropolitan slipjoint will closely follow the Chap’s ergos!
Chaparral. Thinner, slicier, and while not necessarily as stout as the lil native - it is deceptively capable for its size/appearance. I prefer the smaller, slimmer chaparral as it simply fits better for loose pocket carry - and the chap just looks better doing so - with many varied scale choices..
The lw chaparral is actually lighter than the backlock lil native which is lighter than the comp lock lil native. Most of the other chaps actually weigh more than the lil natives - both lock types. This hidden weight may be one reason why the chap can perform so well. I also prefer the tight backlock on the chaparral vs lil native backlock, at least the ones I have. The chap is a sleeper when it comes to use. It looks like a gentleman’s knife, but is way more capable than just opening mail.
Oh, and I definitely prefer the tighter backlock open/close bias of the chaparral to the lil native backlock. Could just be the ones I have, but the lil native backlock is not quite as tight on bias to close as I would prefer, especially loose in the pocket.
Lil Native, with compression lock. The Chaparral sits in a size spot that I just don't carry much. I'm either going to go tiny (Lil Native) or jump up to something like a Sage.
Because desolate places allow us to breathe. And most people don't even know they're out of breath.
Chap is probably the only one I don't have from the smaller backlocks, but would choose it over Lil' Native.
Having Dragonfly 2, Urban, Robin 2, Pingo and Lil' Native in my collection, I found LN by far the worst to hold in hand, mostly due to lack of jimping.
It's also really blocky (not even a cutout on the spydiehole when opening), has DF2 sized hole which I found small even for my M/L sized hands and without a deep carry clip, half of the knife is out of pocket.
Sadly, the best executed Spyderco I have up to date, and had to put it in the drawer fairly quickly, after trying to love it for a week.
Now I'm contemplating between titanium, CF/G10 and FRN Chap.
Lil Native is the winner for me. For my hands it just feels more comfortable than the sleek Chaparral. I really wanted to like the Chap and had the OG and also the LW but I couldn't jive with the ergonomics.
Two great knives. I prefer the chap overall by a decent margin over the comp lock Lil native and a narrower margin over the Lil native back lock.
The chap's sliceyness just edges out the superior ergos and clip (for my preferences) of the Lil native back lock. The regular Lil native has no advantages over the back lock for me (I don't prefer small comp locks or wire clips).
I also like that the chap has various scale options as standard production. Sun and Moon, wood, CF laminate, raffir Noble, etc. Far preferable to the Lil native "you can get it in whatever color you want as long as it's black" ethos. And I don't generally have the time/patience to try to track down sprints/exclusives.
Both! My chap LW and LN comp lock both have fantastic fit and finish. The blades are obviously different beasts. Hard to explain why in a succinct manner, but these each see about the same amount of pocket time at home (split three ways along with a UKPK). If I had length restrictions on a non-office work knife, it would be the lil native every day…it’s a sturdy and comfortable little bugger when the job requires more muscle
Not fully entitled to weigh in, cause I never even just held a Lil Native.
But I love my Chap FRN and by all specs I´d clearly prefer it over the Lil Native.
The Chap is pretty unique even in Spydercos lineup. For me almost a role model for how a really small folder should be (The old song: Reasonable thin bladestock, thin carry, but very good ergos, best backlock I ever experienced, extremely sturdy build, but still rather light).
The Lil Native looks cool, no doubt, but is just not what I want in a small folder. Actually heavier than the Chap FRN, the Chaps cutting edge is more than 15% longer, (and almost as long as the Native 5s), and the Lil Native has a much too thick bladestock for its size for my liking.
For me the contender for the Chap in the very small knife arena would be the DFly, but not the Lil Native.
Top three going by pocket-time (update March 24):
- EDC: Endura thin red line ffg combo edge (VG10); Wayne Goddard PE (4V), Endela SE (VG10)
-Mountains/outdoors: Pac.Salt 1 SE (H1), Salt 2 SE (LC200N), and also Wayne Goddard PE (4V)
Gonna throw this out there... I'm one of those strange people that doesn't like jimping. The lack of jimping on the Lil Native is quite nice, to me.
Jimping is not missed in the Lil Native! I don’t mind jimping on larger knives but on smaller knives I think it’s less necessary and I love that it’s not included on the Lil Native.
I don’t mind jimping on larger knives but on smaller knives I think it’s less necessary and I love that it’s not included on the Lil Native.
