I'm trying to remember if this was my first button lock knife. If it wasn't the first it was darn close. Picked up a used Civivi Altus back in June. I carried it for most of June but then had set it aside for other things.
In December I picked it up again after using it to improve my sharpening skills and it's been in my pocket, for the most part, ever since.
I have to apologize in advance for the low quality of the photos here. After dropping my phone through the ice while ice fishing recently I had to settle for a lesser phone with much lower camera quality.
Maybe if I had not purchased so many knives in 2023 I could afford a better phone? Such talk is madness and we will never think like that again.
The Altus, right out of the box, was a good fit in my hand. Handle length and shape is good and, while it appears a little boxy, doesn't feel that way.
The one issue I had was the pocket clip sat in a weird spot in my palm. So, this seemed like a good excuse to try out one of the replacement titanium clips that Civivi offers and it has made a world of difference.
I can't even notice it's there anymore.
The trade-off with the titanium clip is that it is no longer deep carry. But it's close enough and the way the back of the handle is shaped, it doesn't show up in your pocket in a very noticeable way.
The blade is 2.9" (7.37 cm) Nitro-V steel which, near as I can tell, is very similar to 14C28N. It's been a great steel for the money and takes a nice edge (as far as I my so-so sharpening skills are concerned). I've not had to sharpen it since but have stropped it several times. The flat grind is good but I do wish it had a bit of a hollow grind as food prep is not nearly as fun as with my classic Elementum.
The button lock on this has been fantastic. No issues at all (though again it was used so probably already worked in a bit) with lock-stick or weird deployment. Detent is well tuned as well and the drop-shut and flip open with the button is flawless. It makes a satisfying-sounding click in both directions.
It is not a small knife but it is not a large knife either. Even with the G10 scales and internal milling it somehow feels a bit heavier than similarly sized knives but it sits nicely at 3.11 oz. (88.3 g).
No comparison photos against other knives today, sorry.
Overall: If you like the blade shape and want to experience a good button lock, I recommend it. I've used it for food prep, fire prep (feathersticking pieces of fatwood), opening 40lb bags of bird seed, on plenty of boxes and zip-ties with excellent results. The only real issue with food prep is the same for every flat-ground knife: not as efficient a slicer. The other thing I'd mention is that current prices are at ~$73 US which feels too high. Maybe catch a sale or buy one used if you can.
