Gerber EZ-Outs have been in my pocket for as long as I can remember. I've been through several different blade designs, my favorite being the sheepsfoot serrated with the yellow handles. My current is the standard half-serrated clip-point on the black handles, and I've surprisingly had this knife for two years without having lost it yet (the real reason I only carry $30 knives.)
I draw my knife dozens of time per day, so I don't care how pretty or cool it is. Diamond hones are worth every penny, too. Keep a good knife honed, and you'll never have to sharpen it.
The first time I lost my favorite one I was working on a rope-access job and was too cocky to tie my knife to my belt. Yep. I dropped it, and watched it bounce five times off the side of Roosevelt Dam on the Gila River in AZ before plunging into the low lake side.
This doesn't count the multi-tool I always carry, too. The first (and still favorite) was a blackened Gerber from 1992, purchased from the base store while in the Navy. I lost it when in a camera bag that was stolen out of a friend's car in 1999. Then, it was a Leatherman Super-Tool which I eventually left on the fender of my homemade welding work trailer as I drive away from a jobsite. Next was a Leatherman Wave that I still have and still like, even though I am finally back to carrying a newer black Gerber that a dear friend gave me. Not as good as my original, but has better memories.
Before 9-11, I remember going through security at an airport with the Gerber on my hip. Security rather rudely (and ignorantly) asked me if there was a knife in there. If you are familiar with the design of the Gerber, you'll appreciate how I snapped it open and said: "There's one in there somewhere." I got a dirty look and they let me pass.
After 9-11, I was flying on official business from another dam in Montana. (I worked for the US Bureau of Reclamation at the time.) I had accidentally left my Leatherman Super-Tool in my carry-on when I packed. I was going through security at the small airport in Billings, MT. Not only did I not get arrested, but the nice lady actually ran my knife to the baggage handlers to get it put into my checked baggage for me. Tangent: aside from a very few official flights for business, I have not flown commercially since the crack-down on procedures, and probably will never do so again. I don't need to be anywhere urgently enough to be treated the way citizens are treated these days.