I own a lot of Spyderco knives, and a lot of knives in general, but until recently I didn't own a single model with an Emerson wave opener. It always seemed like something that might be useful for a solider or cop, but when would I ever need to have a knife opened and ready to use that quickly? Then last summer a big dog owned by an irresponsible idiot slipped his leash and tried to murder me in a public park. A knife is not the ideal weapon in such a situation (that's specially formulated animal deterrent pepper spray, which I have) but I figured if I was going to carry a knife anyway, I might as well have one that could be deployed quickly in stressful situations and when my hands were slick with blood...like when a dog tries to kill you at lunchtime in a city park. So after doing a bit of reading and speaking to some experts, I ultimately settled on a knife with a wave opener. I wanted a standard blade profile that could be used in a thumb-forward saber-style grip, not a karambit or heavily curved "talon" blade, which eliminated most of the options from other companies like Cold Steel, and also the Matriarch and Civilian models from Spyderco. However, I was already comfortable handling Spyderco knives, so I settled on the Endura because it was the largest of the wave-opener equipped models with a traditional blade profile. It was also half the price of the cheapest Emerson, which are unquestionably great knives, but that seemed like a bit too large of an investment in a style of knife I'd never used and wasn't sure I'd like. As it's turned out though, I love the wave opener and the Endura overall has been excellent: after a few hours practice, I could reliably deploy it nine out ten times, and after a few weeks that number was ten out of ten; the VG10 blade steel has fair toughness and pretty good edge retention, but it is extremely stain-resistant and it takes a razor-sharp edge, which are the perfect attributes given my intended use of the knife. So too is the hollow-ground, spear-tip blade profile--it really is the sharpest knife I own and cuts, slashes, and stabs with equal utility. I am not, however, a fan of Spyderco's FRN scales or their pocket clips, so I invested in a set of blue denim micarta scales and a titanium deep-carry Lynch NW clip, but I don't consider either of those, or the Wise Men Co. signet ring I also put on, to be vital additions everyone must make to their Enduras. More like personal preferences since the OEM Endura works fine right out of the box. I just prefer to do whatever I can to make the knives I carry regularly, especially ones that might be used under stressful conditions, as comfortable and easy to use as possible. I am quite happy with the new hardware--the scales feel much better in the hand, the ring makes deployment more reliable, and every Spyderco rides better with a Lynch clip--but all together they doubled the cost of the knife, which might not be for everyone. I guess I could have just bought an Emerson CQC for what I've spent on this Endura, but I don't think they make signet ring backspacers for Emersons, and I feel much more confident pulling this knife from my pocket with one finger in the ring. And the micarta scales look cool.