I am on similar search and do not know what to get myself, Rat Trap or Benchmade Griptilian. Probably, it will be interesting for you to read why these two knives came up in my selection because I already did my homework on many knives while doing my selection.

Rat Trap. It is in your price range, but I compared it to other knives like Sebenza and Strider.
I think the majority of knife collectors in the world will know Sebenza. It has reputation similar to Swiss watches at the beginning of 20th century ? cannot get better for any money (it is arguable, of course). It is also quite a symbolic knife, I think, which shows you know well knife industry. It has steel which many people will believe is the best stainless steel, which is S30V. However, as I understood from reading this and other knife forums, Sebenza is not as good as Benchmade Doug Ritter for survival/outdoor purposes. This, combined with high price, put me off this knife.
Strider. It is a bit out of your and my budget. It has one of the best warranties, correct me if I am wrong, guys ? if you break it, the manufacturer will replace it. It is made for self-defence/military purposes, therefore a lot of people found it is not that comfortable to do other tasks. And I read several complaints about handle ergonomics.
Rat Trap. I guess I just do not want to see its weaknesses, but I read some people felt ergonomics of the handle was not comfortable. Otherwise it has warranty which, to my understanding, is to the level of Strider. It is quite rare knife, but I think knife collectors do know Swamp Rat as a manufacturer of very tough knives made primarily for non-military consumers. They are not cheap, but cheaper than Sebenza or Strider. This is what I like: made specifically for non-military consumers, so it should be quite fine for hunting/outdoors and other activities, including survival. Steel is good on this knife, it is S30V.

Benchmade Griptilian. I wanted to find the best knife for less or about $100 for field work/survival/office/shooting/travel. The main criteria were ergonomics of handle and comfort to cut tree branches, wood carving, cooking (includes peeling vegetables, I think this task reveals how versatile knife blade is). I was selecting from a huge number of knives. My initial list was probably about 140 knives. After first selection I chose 2-3 Cold Steels (do not remember names), 1-2 Gerbers (do not remember names), 2-3 Columbia Rivers (one was Kasper), Buck Strider, new Leatherman (not tool), Spyderco Native, Benchmade Doug Ritter, Benchmade Pika, Spyderco Delica, Spyderco Endura, Victorinox Trekker, Wenger Ranger, Camillus Sierra and VTech (Chinese copy of Sebenza). I narrowed my choice further and ended up with choice between Benchmade Doug Ritter or Benchmade Griptilian. From information I gathered, I concluded there was no difference in performance of these knives (even blade shape did not play much difference), but Doug Ritter had better steel (S30V). Since I do not care about steel, the decisive factor price. Griptilian was twice cheaper (steel 440C, one of the best 440 steels).

I would probably love to have Rat Trap as a present, but Griptilian to buy for work - Rat Trap is more to show off, while Griptilian is workhorse. But this is my opinion only though (I guess I need to decide what I want and this will solve my problem, I think I want a present <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />).

No serration on blade ? plains is better for most common cuttings (food and tree branches).