Sorry about making this a 2 part post, but responsibility (i.e., wife) called before I finished. <br><br>Mariner, who was posting approximately simultaneously with me earlier, makes an interesting point re the better quality of pre-1990 Coleman. My products are all of that earlier vintage.<br>I have noticed what seems to be a shift towards flimsier construction. Nevertheless it remains wonderfully easy to repair their older products. <br><br>Have you ever noticed how limited a variety of repair / replacement parts/supplies are available in Podunk, the biggest city (population several thousand) near your remote campsite. Remoteness is great when planning for that real camping feel / really big buck / whatever. But it just doesn't seem quite the same in middle of a mechanical breakdown / failure when you urgently need to repair, replace, or resupply. Then, it's a great feeling to know that you stand a good chance of finding nearby what you need so urgently.<br><br>A few years ago, we were on a hunting trip a very long drive from home. My alternator failed when I was 49 curvy, narrow, mountainous miles from the nearest garage. Fortunately the Ford truck's battery was good, & we made it into a very small town. I smiled when I saw the Ford dealer's sign. It had the replacement part in stock & we were back on the road in 2 hours. We lost only 1/2 day of hunting time. Maybe a Humvee, Mog, whatever makes a better or more durable offroad vehicle, but how do you get what you need to repair one when it breaks down in the middle of nowhere. <br><br>Our experience with Gerber & Buck knives has been good. They easily fall within your $100 budget. They hold edges well & easily stand up to normal chores in hunting, camping, fishing, & preparing food. We have not used them for splitting firewood, chopping, prying or similar tasks. Other tools are better designed for those purposes. The knives designed for military purposes such as the Ka-Bar look more robust. On the other hand, I do wonder how good an edge they will take & hold. They would probably make better choppers/splitters, but a common hatchet will still easily surpass them. And an E-tool is far better for digging. Large, heavy blades are harder to use for cleaning game. <br><br>By the way, this is merely my opinion based on my experience. I definitely do not intend to disparage knives with large blades -- or start another knife debate : ^ } . If you want a knife to chop & split wood, pry open car doors, dig foxholes or whatever, they might be very good for those purposes while still functioning as a knife. It's just that those are not the purposes for which I want a good knife. And if I do have those needs, somehow I would expect another tool to better meet them (say an ax, or even a homemade digging stick).<br><br>YMMV.<br><br>John<br><br>