How to Use Trade Up Contracts in CS2

Updated for the October 2025 change that lets you trade five Covert skins for a knife or gloves. Valve extended Trade Up Contracts so players can exchange five Covert items and receive either a knife or a pair of gloves from one of the collections you used. StatTrak inputs produce a StatTrak knife. Regular inputs produce a regular knife or regular gloves.

You can also do upgrades straight from Daddyskins by going to our upgrade feature and upgrade your skins for knives or gloves!👆

Table of Contents

Trade Up basics in CS2

The system picks the output collection from the collections of the items you submit. If all items are from the same collection you guarantee that collection. If you mix collections the chance splits evenly across them. Example ten items from two collections gives a fifty fifty split.

Float matters. Your output float is derived from the average input float and the float range of the possible result. This controls the condition you get and therefore value.

Step by step

Use this when recording or embedding on the DaddySkins blog. Keep it short and practical.

Step	What to do	Why it matters
1	Decide your target outcome knife or gloves and which collection it comes from	Targeting one collection removes randomness between collections and focuses value.
2	Buy or gather five Covert skins from that same collection StatTrak if you want a StatTrak knife	Five coverts now trade into a knife or gloves. StatTrak only with StatTrak.
3	Check floats for each input then calculate the average float you are submitting	Output wear is driven by the input average and the output float range.
4	Open CS2 inventory then open Trade Up Contract then insert the five coverts and confirm	New contract flow supports five coverts to knife or gloves.
5	Evaluate the result and log price and float so you can repeat only the positive expected value paths	Prices move quickly after the update so track results.

Odds and float in plain language

If the five inputs are all from one collection your output comes from that collection only. Inside that collection each eligible gold item has the same chance.
If you mix collections the chance for each collection is equal to the fraction of inputs from that collection. For example three from Collection A and two from Collection B gives a sixty to forty split between those collections.
Output float equals the average input float scaled into the output item float range. Lower average in gives lower wear out which can add a lot of value.

Best Covert sets to target for knives

These lines map the Covert skins you feed into the contract to the knife families you can receive. Using five from the same line focuses your outcome. Use this as a quick starter list then price check in market before buying.

Target knife family	Covert inputs that can roll this knife family
Butterfly	M4A1 S Cyrex or P90 Asiimov alone can guarantee Butterfly when all five are from that source. Other valid coverts include AK 47 Bloodsport and USP S Neo Noir among others from the listed cases.
Karambit	Wide list such as AWP Asiimov AWP Lightning Strike Glock 18 Wasteland Rebel AK 47 Neon Revolution AK 47 Fire Serpent and more.
M9 Bayonet and Flip	Same families as Karambit list such as AWP Asiimov SSG 08 Blood in the Water FAMAS Roll Cage and others.
Classic Knife	CS20 case coverts only AWP Wildfire or FAMAS Commemoration.
Falchion	AWP Hyper Beast with AK 47 Aquamarine Revenge as a pairing can guarantee Falchion. Others include AK 47 Nightwish MP9 Starlight Protector and more from the same case families.
Stiletto Navaja Talon Ursus	Prisma Prisma 2 Danger Zone and Horizon families with coverts like Glock 18 Bullet Queen M4A1 S Player Two M4A4 The Emperor and Desert Eagle Code Red.
Skeleton Survival Paracord Nomad	Fracture Shattered Web and Fever case families with coverts like AWP Printstream Desert Eagle Printstream AK 47 Legion of Anubis MAC 10 Stalker and FAMAS Bad Trip.

Why this list
Valve confirmed the five Covert to knife or gloves change in the October 23 release notes. Third party guides then mapped which Covert lines roll into which knives so you can buy precisely for a target. Always confirm current prices because the update caused extreme volatility across knives and gloves.

Best Covert sets to target for gloves

When you use five regular Covert items you can receive a regular knife or regular gloves from one of the collections you fed into the contract. Select glove case coverts to bias toward glove collections.

Check out Daddyskins and our Gloves case which gives you good odds!🧤

Target gloves set	Covert inputs to use
Sport Specialist and Driver families from glove cases	Pick Covert coverts tied to glove cases in the collection you want then use five from that same collection to remove cross collection randomness. This narrows your glove roll to the glove case you chose.

Tip for gloves. Glove valuation is very float sensitive. Low wear results are much more valuable. That makes float planning even more important for glove focused trade ups.

Quick float checklist for better results

Use this three line checklist before you click sign on the contract

Check each input float then compute the average.
Look up the output float range of the items you can roll and decide the worst case condition you would accept.
If the math does not reach your desired wear range replace the highest float input and recalc.

Sample paths to practice the mechanic

These small tables show how to set up focused paths. Replace with whatever is cheapest that day while keeping the collection goal intact.

Goal	Inputs example	What you might roll
Butterfly path	Five M4A1 S Cyrex from Operation Breakout collection	Butterfly family only if all five are from the qualifying source noted in the guide list
Classic knife path	Five AWP Wildfire from CS20 case	Classic Knife family only
Skeleton family path	Five AWP Printstream from a qualifying case in the Skeleton group	Skeleton Survival Paracord or Nomad depending on the family for that case group

Important rules and cautions

Souvenir items cannot be used in any Trade Up.
StatTrak cannot mix with regular items. Your result copies the StatTrak state.
Prices and profit change minute to minute after the update so do not copy a path without a fresh price check. News outlets reported heavy swings and marketplace chaos after the patch.