I have a Hold Out III, plain edge, in AUS-8. I like it a lot.
It is thin, light, and strong. I can carry it in a pocket along with a lot of other crap and don't notice that it's there, really. I like it enough I may get a Hold Out II in CTS-XHP; I have another knife with this steel, and I like it a lot, too: it sharpens easily and holds shaving/working edges longer than AUS-8, and quite likely longer than ATS-34 (though my only example thereof is a chisel-ground one I don't care for and haven't bothered to use much lately).
The G10 on the Hold Out III is well textured on the sides as well as the edges, just ahead of the finger/thumb-stud notch. Since the handle itself is narrower at the rear than the front, a tight grip simply wedges it in all the more and certainly seems to makes slipping forward and cutting yourself unlikely (despite lack of a guard), and all the more unlikely with either proper care or a tight grip. To know how the wedge-like nature of the grip may work out for you, you'll just have to pick one up and mess around with it to see.
That said, I've handled it soaking wet in rain and mud. I've handled it slippery with the innards of sliced tomatoes and other assorted fruits and veggies, as well as sliced meats and in soapy dishwater. I have yet to cut off my fingers because it has no guard because I realize it's a knife. It's sharp. I keep my fingers away from the pointy end and the slicey edge.
So, for light weight, thinness, and utter utility, high marks. And high marks, too, for the triad lock. It's a genuine improvement over the standard lockback.
