Unless you are buying one of these to throw in your trunk after opening a package or whatever (even then i would not get one of these), i would:
Skip any Smith&Wesson, especially at that pricepoint. They are not the same Smith&Wesson that make guns etc. The brand has been aquired (well actually just using their name) by Taylor Brands, which is not really known for quality products (a typical how-to-make-as-much-money-possible-without-spending-to-much company).
Gerber has some great ones i believe (the fixed Strongarm for example), but i would skip this brand too in this pricerange.
With these options, the CRKT or Buck would be most trustworthy, but i will still recommend spending 10-20 bucks more and get something like a Spyderco Tenacious, Buck Spitfire, Civivi Baklash/Elementum/etc or anything in that range, which aren’t the best, but a whole lot better then anything you suggested.
What do you think of the SOG Flash AT? My SOG multitool has been solid for many years.
I don’t have any experience with SOG, but when it comes to specs, it seems very decent! D2 is a great steel in that pricerange.
I carried both the paraframe and mini paraframe for years while I was in scouts about 15 years ago. The steel was disappointing, needing to be sharpened frequently and sharpening wore down the knife quickly.
I use Kershaw these days, and highly recommend them for budget blades.
I’d also recommend scrapping all those options and look at Civivi, Kershaw, Spyderco’s budget line, or Kizer. Civivi and Kizer are Chinese-made knives that punch above their weight class, especially compared to the brands you mention. I’d also recommend using BladeHQ’s awesome search features to really figure out what you want. Then try to find it cheaper elsewhere.
I imagine those Paraframe knives would end up getting tangled up with your keys or whatever else in your pocket frequently. I have an issue with that just with my Skeletool sometimes and it doesn’t have nearly as many holes in it. Of the ones you listed I would go with the Sumo because I like a thicker handle than the Buck or CRKT have and I’ve never owned a S&W knife to know if they’re decent or not.
In my opinion you should save up and buy a benchmade. Even the cheapest benchmade will last longer than these.
My go to recommendation is the Griptilian but the bugout is nice too.
I am trying to spend the rest of a gift card on something useful, and I am not willing to sacrifice my new crocs in favor of a Benchmade! 😁
Fair point. In that case I’d go for the Buck.
