my personal favorite is the ka bar, but they make a ka bar large bowie, look on amazon they sell for 47.89. here is a link
http://www.amazon.com/Ka-Bar-39868-Bowie-Black-Finish/dp/B001BMXWNI/ref=....
it has a nine inch flat ground blade that is perfect for splitting wood, if it comes down to it. it is excellent. also if you go to youtube.com type in nutnfancy there is a good video review on it. i hope this helps

Ontario is a good company and I have one of their diving knives. I'm not a fan of Ka-Bar but they are also a good company.

For under $100 you have many great choices, and with knives it's often that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So of course personal preference plays a big part in your decision.

I have a problem with the recent trend of youtube reviewers pushing large knives for 'survival' leading the viewer to think you need a 9 to 10 inch blade that's capable of splitting wood. I'm nearly 53 years old and have spent much time in the bush; day hiking, backpacking, and camping out of a canoe. Never have I seen anyone splitting wood with a knife. In my experience there is just no need to use a knife in that manner.

For me a knife is for cutting and stabbing. A shorter blade is great for digging out a splinter, picking your teeth, cutting cord & rope, gutting & skinning game, slicing cooked meat, making a tent stake, etc. A longer blade is good for finishing off a wounded animal and for hacking light brush. In those regards, when hunting, hiking, or canoeing, I generally have both a short knife and a longer knife. The short knife could be a folder or fixed with a blade up to 4 inches. The longer knife is usually 6 to 9 inches. I've found out the hard way that a 4-inch blade is inadequate for stabbing to the heart of a whitetail deer.

For the larger fixed blades, Cold Steel is my favorite company for knives in your price range. They always come from the factory razor sharp. The Bushman is a great carbon steel blade on the low cost side. The SRK and OSI cost more but with AUS 8A blades they are still under $100 on Amazon.

My wife is pleased with her Buck Special but I find the grip to be too smooth for my liking. Otherwise, it's a great all around knife.

Scandanavian knives are a good alternative. Survival expert Cody Lundin uses a Mora #2 that's less than $20. This past year I purchased several Finnish knives, some were Marttiini and others were handmade. The interesting thing about Scandanavian hunters; they seem to think a hunting knife is just fine with a 3.5 to 4 inch blade.

If you plan to cover a lot of ground it's my suggestion to look at lighter knives. The ESEE, Ka-Bar, RAT, and similar are often twice the weight of comparable Cold Steel knives.

I have had the same Buck 119 Special for 45 years, it is just as good now as the day I bought it.