Like I said Rich, I still like my emersons, but as far as how they feel in the hand and the ease of opening and closing, I think Spyderco is the better of the two. Now IF I knew I was going somewhere that the use of a knife might be quite high, I would go with at least one Emerson as the primary. And it would be because of the wave feature that yields I think a much faster presentation. I MIGHT even carry two emersons and one Spyderco. Probably one of me Emerson CQC 15s, not sure if it would be the Full size or the Mini. Even the mini brings a 3.5 inch blade to bear.