Small Fixed Blade
On the one hand, I agree that the Buck 102 will be as useful as (possibly more than) the Buck 119.
Ironically, the 119 (as sold at Wal*Mart) costs less than the 102. Go figure.
Interestingly, when I'm at large, I use my larger knives for food prep more than anything else. The longer blade is well suited to kitchen duty, while keeping the messy bits off the knife hand.
With that in mind, I've started carrying a Rapala folding fillet knife for messy camp/on-the-road kitchen work. Slim, flexible, sharp, easy to clean, safe to carry. And cheap. More recently, now that Rapala has started having that knife made in China, I've started buying mine from sources that can guarantee the blade is the Swedish one (see Ragnar's Forge for the EKA 1000, which is the same knife).
I will also agree that the handle on the Buck 119 can be a little slippery when wet. I don't think that has to be a show stopper, though.
I'm not all that inventive, but I'll bet I could work out a way to improve the friction on that handle.