Civivi’s Slick, Affordable New Flipper Has No Business Looking This Good

Boasting a generous blade and a design by the renowned Ostap Hel, this EDC knife has all the makings of a budget-friendly banger.

Civivi

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By Steve Mazzucchi

Published October 2, 2025

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Updated October 2, 2025

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How do you score a pocket knife for life for less than a Benjamin?

You want a manufacturer you can trust, an established designer and durable materials.

Hand holding a folding knife with a black blade and green textured handle. — Tip to tail, the Navo is a beaut, especially with a black stonewashed blade and green canvas micarta handle.

If it happens to look fantastic too, that’s a wonderful bit of value added.

Ticking all those boxes and more, I bring you the latest from Civivi, the stylish and smooth-operating Navo.

Sharp design

Let’s start with the manufacturer. Under the umbrella of We Knife, Civivi sits between the eponymous flagship brand and the extremely budget-conscious Sencut.

What it tends to offer is the best of both worlds, meaning quality and style approaching the former and pricing much closer to the latter.

Folding knife with a black blade and textured dark green handle on a black textured surface. — Holing out part of the handle lends tactical vibes while also helping keep the weight under 3 ounces.

All of that’s on display with the Navo, backed up by a design from the great Ostap Hel, who has proven his mettle penning excellent blades for everyone from Bestech to Kansept to Real Steel.

Hel has a long-running relationship with the We Knife family of brands, highlighted by previous hits such as one of my personal favorites, the truly unhideable Hid.

Making the cut

Now, while you are not necessarily going to score the best materials ever in a knife that costs less than $100, that doesn’t mean you can’t get something that’s both tough and reliable.

With the Navo, that translates to a robust 3.25-inch drop-point blade made of Nitro-V.

Hands holding a green-handled folding knife cutting through green braided rope. — Nitro-V is not the highest-end steel, but it should prove plenty capable for everyday slicing and chopping.

Developed by New Jersey Steel Baron in partnership with Buderus Steel, this affordable steel boasts high corrosion resistance, toughness and edge retention, attributes that lend themselves to longevity.

The handle scales, meanwhile, are made of canvas micarta, contoured and textured to optimize grip.

Folded dark green textured pocket knife with black clip on wet black stone surface. — The rear flipper makes deployment easy, while the reversible clip makes pocket carry a snap.

This high-pressure laminate composite material is renowned for its durability, making it a popular choice for knife handles.

(It is worth noting here that the knife comes in four variants, including alternatives with G10 and Guibourtia wood handles, as well as one with a Damascus steel blade.)

The total package measures nearly 8 inches when the blade is out, yet it still weighs in at a fairly light 2.89 ounces.

Four folding knives with different handle colors—wood, green, white, and black—laid out on a gray surface. — Four variants start at $74 for the black-handled one and go up to $90 for the Damascus steel-bladed one.

The blade deploys swiftly thanks to a snappy rear flipper and a smooth caged ceramic ball bearing.

Holding it firmly in place — and yet easy to sheathe with one hand — is a sturdy stainless steel liner lock, while a reversible tip-up clip secures it in your pocket. After all, you don’t want to be losing a knife for life anytime soon.

Availability and pricing

The Civivi Navo is available now in four variants starting at $74. The green-handled version here, C25015A-2, costs $76.50.

Folding knife with black blade and textured dark green handle featuring three cut-out slots.

Civivi Navo

Starts at $74

About the Author:

Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.

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