Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Material
Cons: None
Feather-light Premium Money Clip Knife
SOGs answer to a Benchmade Bugout, but with a gentleman's carry touch. For me, this knife fits the niche of an ultralight carry. If I'm going to the gym or hitting the sidewalks for a run, this knife is perfect to clip to the waistband. With it's super thin profile and lightweight construction, it disappears until I need it. Even clipped to the pocket of light athletic wear, the weight is basically unnoticeable. It also shines in it's function as a money clip. It easily handles a few cards and bills while barely increasing in weight, and when you pull it out in the grocery store to pay for things the CF handles and gold trim don't immediately scream "KNIFE" and so nobody bats an eye. For minimalists seeking a functional EDC that can double as a money clip, this really shines as well. Onto specific knife feedback: There is minimal blade play, and considering the construction the lockup is surprisingly solid. The CF handles are delightfully stiff and sturdy while being featherweight, and overall the construction feels solid and premium. The S35VN steel sharpens well and holds a decent edge. I like to sharpen it on diamond plates to ~280 grit, then I strop on leather with green compound to get a relatively durable, hair popping razors edge. If I had to be super critical, I'd say that the heat treat feels a little softer than other S35VN blades and so the edge retention is a little lower as well. The XR lock is a good interpretation of the AXIS lockbar concept, and here it provides a smooth flipping action with a positive blade lock. Things to be aware of: Teflon washers are the bearing interface here. Given the ultralight nature of the tool I don't see this as an issue and the action is bearing-smooth due to the light blade weight. But I understand that some feel like plastic washers on a $100+ knife is... a problem. No issues with user performance though. Major flaws: I've noticed a glaring flaw with a few XR lock knives I've bought, and the Ultra XR unfortunately shares this flaw. It's the reason I took the one star away. The darn blade can smash into the rear standoff when you flick the knife closed! On the models with plastic backspacers it simply digs into the plastic, but with the Ultra featuring metal standoffs, the blade contact puts chips into the blade belly which take a decent amount of grinding to remove. Additionally, if the blade centering is even slightly off, the blade can smack into the clip and clip screws as well, putting chips into the blade tip. It's something that can be fixed on the user end, but user service voids SOG's warranty so.... At the end of the day, this knife fills a niche that few other knives fill: a premium steel, ultralight, minimalist EDC. While it suffers a serious flaw, it's hard to find other knives which serve the specific usergroup that the Ultra does.
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