Giving the Spydies another chance (also, a little advice please)

[Exile.]

So this will probably be a long post, haha.
Anyways, my history with Spyderco has been recent and poorly received. At the moment I'm looking to have 3 folders (yeah, right. I'm sure once I hit that Ill "need" 12), covering EDC use and more heavt duty applications. When my search began, I bought a Stretch, having always loved the design and ergos in a Spydie. Well, design was great, but poorly made. The lock bar was improperly ground, causing the tab to slip around in the slot. No me gusta.
Returned, and "upgraded" to an Endura 4 Wave. Honestly, loved it. I grew to dislike the Wave (much to the chagrin of my misguided Emerson fan-boy best friend) but I could handle it. Until... about 3 days in I noticed that my thumb had been covering the fact that even slight pressure would cause the lock to begin to separate. Seriously?!
I thought "screw that noise" and took it back, and went with a BM Grip. Cool. Doesn't feel as good, but solid. Then I got a Kershaw Skyline for my birthday. Badass, little light duty but i forget its in my pocket and it finds itself there alot. I'm willing to accept that I got 2 flukes from Spyderco. My friends Delica 4 is flawless.

Well now here we are. I want the one folder I've never had. An honest to goodness, powerful, hard-use knife. Let me be clear, I never, EVER spine whack, throw, or otherwise pointlessly abuse folders. If I'm in a situation where I'm batoning wood with a folder, something has gone seriously wrong because my beat-to-**** KaBar 1211 is with me any time I go into the woods. It never gives up.

That said, I have been chased down a mountain in the worst storm I've ever seen. Mudslides, freezing temperatures, huge hail. If it had not let up halfway down there is a very good chance I may not have made it. In fact just a few days ago a young man unfortunately was killed on the very same trail. While in my haste to pack up and get out of Dodge, My belt knife was improperly secured. It vanished somewhere on that mountain, leaving me with the old, wobbly early-model Benchmade lockback my grandfather left me before his passing. If I had needed to hole up and rely on that tool, I would have been in a world of hurt. So this is a real concern to me, as I am about to return to those mountains.

All that said, My number 1 choices right now are the G10 Millie, Para2, or the Benchmade Adamas.
I'm leaning toward the Millie thought I prefer the compression lock. I know a well made linerlock is more than enough though.
I'm open to other suggestions (don't even get me started on Cold Steel or Emerson. Just don't lol) with these criteria:
GOOD steel. Better than 154CM if possible.
Weight is NOT an issue. Ill be carrying it sometimes daily if I fancy it, but this is not an "EDC" primarily.
Strong, well made lock with ZERO play and a good contingency plan for wear.
Feels amazing in hand.

Wow, thanks for reading all that. Appreciate your thoughts!

-Drew Exile.

[monsterdog]

Look at the Manix 2, the price is right and its really tough.

Aside from that if you want to pay more, from what people say you need to look at the Gayle Bradley and I'll go out on a limb and personally endorse the PPT (extremely solid feeling folder and I'll be extremely surprised if you get a dud one of those).

The military and paramilitary are nice knives, but they are slicers, not for digging/whacking/stabbing/batoning/etc. (no folders are, but if you HAVE to) They are extremely nice and lightweight knives though.

That said, I would always recommend a fixed blade knife for your intended purpose and only have a folder as a backup.

[DeathBySnooSnoo]

Well you are likely to get a lot of Para2 responses, but I am not a fan...I think that the Military is a far better knife, and for what you describe a better choice. BUT I would take a Manix2 XL if I were you. Just from reading what you wrote I think that it is the best choice.

The GB is an awesome knife and you could probably throw anything at it and it would take it (especially since the blade steel is WAY better) but, it' also maybe not quite a "camp" knife.

[Exile.]

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm going for. I don't want a folder that can be used that way, I want one that is tough but cuts. If I have to baton it, I'm at a point where it's that or death, and I'll have resolved to replace the knife. Also I should have mentioned, I'm not looking to pay more than 140 or so.

[Exile.]

I figured. I've never handled either the Millie or Para, and since the selection where I live sucks, I probably wont get to unless I buy one. Honestly though, I ping pong mainly between those 2 every 10 minutes haha.
And I did look at the Manix. Love the lock, but something about the knife just doesn't GRAB me. I'm sure it's great and those who love it are right to. But having it resonate deep with me goes a long way to making me love it.

[Sonny]

Millie, Para2, Gayle Bradley, in that order.
sonny

[tvenuto]

I second the XL. I also am not in love with the regular Manix but something about the XL "grabs me" as you say. It'd be my choice for back-up duty (to a FB) in the woods.

[DeathBySnooSnoo]

And you looked ant the Manix 2 XL? Not the regular one...but the XL.

If you aren't liking the M2XL...well, The GB is about $140. The CF isn't really camping material maybe, but the knife is tough as all ****. M4 will rust if you aren't careful (in a camping type environment)...but coat it well in Tuf-Glide and it will be totally fine for a couple months at least.

You can go with a Millie or a Para...not my first choice. But you could also go real cheap and get a Resilience. 8Cr13MoV will rust too...but it's a $45 knife that is still pretty well built.

[superspyder]

I also would suggest the Manix XL. Its a tough knife and has a good feel. As others have said the Mili and ParaMilitary would work well, but I personally would go for the manix for manix xl simply because of the weight in hand. You said that weight did not matter, but it seemed like you meant that being too heavy wouldnt be a problem. I prefer a knife that has a little more heft to it, especially when I might have to rely heavily on it. But they are all super tough and should work flawlessly for everything you would need.

[Slash]

I also have my eye on adamas. Already own a cf m390 Millie and cts-xhp para 2.
If you want/need something for hard use that you could beat on, I would go with the bm.
If you want lightweight with a hole on the blade then spydie it is.

[Infinite Zero]

Another vote for the Manix XL. It will take whatever you can dish out (within reasonable hard use expectations).

[zhyla]

I won't dispute the sturdiness of the Manix 2 but to me "hard use" means "fixed blade with beefy carbon steel blade". Especially for the situations you're describing, I think you want to carry knives that lack screws, springs, and doohickeys.

[razorsharp]

Manix 2 xl, millie, para and LIONSPY are my picks. Lionspy seems to be the best for what you need. Elmax holds an edge for a long time and is pretty dang tough, it also has the rotolock things that essentially stops it disengaging

[Coulro]

Another recommendation for the Military or Gayle Bradley.

[Blerv]

Frankly I would find a place you can hold a few and inspect tem prior to purchase. What constitutes ergos, blade-play and F&F is quite subjective. That or I would buy half a dozen assuming they won't meet your standards and ship back the five worst.

Spyderco makes one of the best values on the market if your goals are performance and safety over frills. Lately they have fancy models that are rivaling semi-customs. No maker is perfect and people sometimes have a string of unlucky purchases. Sometimes they are just particular. Either way personal inspection is the best thing for these folks.

I prefer to toss the dice and adjust my expectations. A Delica costs the same as 1.5 tanks of gas for me and lasts far longer. Lucky or blind to F&F I haven't been disappointed yet. At least not enough to return a knife.

[Donut]

Manix 2 xl, millie, para and LIONSPY are my picks. Lionspy seems to be the best for what you need. Elmax holds an edge for a long time and is pretty dang tough, it also has the rotolock things that essentially stops it disengaging

I couldn't suggest the Lionspy because there have been a few QC complaints so far. For someone with bad luck on QC, it seems like a bad choice.

[sal]

Hi Exile, Superspyder, Coulro,

Welcome to the Spyderco forum.

Exile,

Thanx for giving us another shot. As Blerv mentioned, for you, handling one first would be best. Where are you?

sal

[eloreno]

I'll throw in another vote for the manix2 XL.

[Exile.]

I think should clarify a little. I'm not looking for something to replace a fixed blade. Im looking for hard use as it applies to a folder. My fixed blade(s) are always with me in the wilderness. I have to admit, the Manix XL is starting to look better, but that GB is really growing on me too.

[eneyman]

Can't go wrong with the Gayle Bradley or Military, **** great values and will serve you well for years and years.