The second one's really for collecting and show, but the first one? I beat the crap out of it, and it's taken everything and anything I've thrown at it. I own two Strider SNGs- One is a lego black coated beater, one is a prettier brown concealed carry S35VN with a stone wash. You could also check out the secondary market for better deals. It's not the perfect blade for everyone, but it's easily in my top two favourites. Ideally I'd tell you to hold one before buying. They wouldn't be so popular if they weren't good. But you're paying for a well made tool with a no bullshit warranty from people who not only care about what they make but also work on a much smaller production schedule. They're not going to cut twice as good as a ZT or a Spyderco (both great companies). At the end of the day, how worth it is to you depends on how much you are willing to spend. Mid techs are a different level from standard production. While y usage is fairly light, I've still cut everything from plant roots/wood to cardboard to plastic to my apple and it's handled everything just fine.

What it comes down to is what style of knife you normally like Striders are not pretty boy knives. Both are equally good but their inherent design is different. For absolute slicing my large sebenza does have the SnG beat. The strider while lighter still feels more robust with the thicker blade. They're two completely different knives in the hand and the way they cut. People compare it to a sebenza but that's not a good comparison. My main user was the Stonewashed, but now I'm carrying my newer PVD for a change. It's not the largest, but big enough so that I've been able to develop some honest opinions.

This is my collection of mid techs (+1 custom). This is after owning a few mid techs myself so I'm not just some fanboy with no experience in this price range. I'm biased but yes they're totally worth the money.

Strider knives uk