I carry an FX350 on hiking and camping trips, primarily because of the flat grind and also because it works well with gloves on due to the aggressive grip texture, jimping and overall size. I like the clip too. While 9Cr17MoV might not be anything to write home about, it is a decent steel and quite sufficient for my purposes. I suppose some would say the FX350 has a tactical look to it, but to me it's suited well to my outdoor cutting needs. I've had a couple of other Coast knives, and have given one or two as gifts, but none that were particularly memorable.
Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if at least some Coast knives are made alongside the Schrade and Smith & Wesson knives, although I suppose visual similarities don't mean much. But as to your question about why they're not more popular, I think it's a marketing issue as much as anything. Although I do see some Coast products in stores like Menards and Home Depot, they're never advertised anywhere that I've seen, thus probably just being "hardware store knives" to most people.
