I bought a mini Lawman and mini something else off the forum years ago. They were stiff to unlock, and the coating was bad (though that made it easy to strip). Didnt like them and eventually sold them back on the exchange.
With Spyderco's recent additional price jump, I started looking back at Cold Steel and picked up a Recon 1. $60 used ($80 new) for G10 and XHP seemed good. It is way easier to unlock than my old Cold Steels were, coating is great, and fit and finish too is great. I paid almost double for my Para 3, and while I really like that as well, it's not any better, definitely not worth as much more as it is, and in some ways not as good (steel, less comfortable bevels on the handle). This one wontw be my last CS for sure.
I don't like their videos or advertisements, but I don't buy anything based off a company's advertisements, so they also don't put me off.