I kind of take this one personally since Contender #6 is a knock off of a tool designed by a guy I consider to be a good friend, and who has been very supportive of MTO over the years, Mr. Ray Kirk of Raker Knives and Steel. I’ll do my best to keep my personal feelings out of this though, and be as objective as I can when comparing Contender #6 to the Raker Ring Tool and/or its mass produced version, the CRKT KERT.
Contender #6 arrived with a length of plumber chain so it could be worn as a necklace, while the original and CRKT versions come with a split ring for hanging it from your keys. The chain doesn’t make as much sense, and if you try wearing it like that you are likely to cut the buttons off of your shirt at some point. Don’t ask me how I know this.
It’s obvious that the company that produced Contender #6 didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about what they were putting out, and probably opted for the chain as it was likely cheaper than a split ring. Also, the CRKT version comes with a tiny rubber sleeve that covers the blade, but that has also been omitted for Contender #6. Since it usually falls off and gets lost rather quickly, I’m not certain I can consider it a fault.
What pains me is that there doesn’t seem to be any appreciable difference in quality of manufacture between Contender #6 and the CRKT KERT. The edges are clean and the blade is sharp. I have to wonder if the same company that is mass producing them for CRKT is involved in this somehow, or if the company that is copying the design just managed to actually succeed at one finally.
Contender #6 was one of the more expensive tools in the $2 Challenge, ringing in (no pun intended) at $1.98. Given how useful the KERT and Ring Tool are, and how good a representation Contender #6 is, I have to say this one is well worth the $2 spent on it. However, at an MSRP of $8.99 and a street price of somewhere in between, I would personally opt for the CRKT version instead.
Def