The scales on the Field Knife weigh 1.7 oz in micarta, 2.4 in G10.
Personally I like micarta better than G10.
G10 is often aesthetically better looking. It shrinks less, it warps less. It's more stable and you can achieve a better fit and finish with G10.
Micarta is lighter, plenty strong enough and in my opinion has a better feel to it. And even though it isn't quite as stiff and strong as G10, it actually wears much better. The glass in G10 makes it stiff and strong, but does not translate into better abrasion resistance.
G10 costs more, largely because the glass makes it abrasive to work with so my tooling consumption is much higher. But, in my opinion, micarta is probably the better material for the application despite being less expensive. So, when I design a knife it is designed with micarta in mind.
The difference can be pretty subtle. Both materials are very good or I wouldn't use them. So I offer a choice and there is nothing wrong with preferring G10.
To me, the Shiv is a brilliantly balanced knife. In it, the difference between the two materials is obvious to me. In other applications it's less noticeable.
