Opinel #8 in stainless. It's light enough for pocket carry without a clip. It's inexpensive enough to replace when it's lost. It won't rust as easily as a carbon steel one or a Case in CV. It's awesome.
Case slipjoints are still probably my favorite for gifting, but they generally cost between $50 and $100. I can't advise gifting one to someone for an every day carry knife if they're not already in the habit of looking after their knife on a daily basis. I would say all the same things about most Victorinox SAK's with the exceptions noted below.
The Classic SD is affordable and indeed a classic but with minimal knife utility. I prefer the Rally because the Phillips driver is better than those cute little scissors. The Recruit is where the knife is actually big enough to have some practical cutting power, but for about the same price or even less, the Opinel is a better knife. The Pioneer is the SAK that starts to offer a truly good alternative to the Opinel, but at twice the price. As a multi-tool, it's clearly superior. I'd still probably prefer the Opinel's blade.
