Great review Vic. Thanks for all the great work putting this together for us!

Your pics line up very closely to mine and I am slowly putting together the "best of breed" in each size category with intentions of selling off the rest to good homes. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

In the 7" to 8" category there are three knives that really stand out to me and are my "keepers"...

SFNO - This has become my favorite knife lately, think of it is a souped up Camp Tramp (and I love the Tramp). You get all of the great characteristics of the Tramp/SoD but in Infi + get the durability and great feel of micarta + the exposed tang that can be helpful in some situations. If you like the Sarsquatch you really need to play with a SFNO. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Camp Tramp - The perfect survival knife if weight is a consideration. That being said, in a true survival situation I would rather have the exposed tang and don't want squirrels eating my ResC handle. If I had to pick a knife for hiking this is the one. I have to pick this one over my SoD by a whisker because I like SR101 for edge retention and the choil is more comfy for me. I also choke up on my knives so the lack of a thumb ramp is a plus.

Ratweiler - The classic Ratweiler is almost a category breaker. It lives right on the edge between this category and the next category of NMSFNO's, FSH's, and Battle Rats. The Ratweiler is a legend and deserves the praise. The clip point and finger nub on the handle is downright sexy and it chops way beyond it's size.