SOG Knives has built a great reputation from the knives they produce and the SEAL Pup Elite is no different. In fact, this might be the knife that has pushed them to stand out even more. Before we dive too deep into the knife, let me tell you about the SOG Knives company which stands for Studies and Observations Group. SOG Knives was started by Spencer and Gloria Frazer who built the company on the original SOG Knife used by the SOG division of the Counterinsurgency Support Office during the Vietnam war.
As such, the SOG SEAL Pup Elite knife has been around now for a bit but I only picked up one about a year ago. Don’t get it confused though, this is not a replica of the original SOG knife, this is a completely different deal.. and it’s awesome. Since buying it, I’ve used this knife during training and while camping and hiking. While camping I’ve split tons of logs with this knife and making tinder from logs was super easy. The features on this knife are very thought out and useful, whether using it for camping, hiking, utility use or for military use as it was intended.
For features I’ll start out with the knife itself:
- Blade length of 4.85 inches. Excellent for utility purposes and just as good for fighting. Some argue on the length of the blade for fighting, but I think this blade is fine.
- Overall length of 9.5 inches. This seems to be a great length. Good for it’s intended purpose, but not too long to be bulky.
- Weight 5.4 oz.
- Partially serrated blade. I love the partial serrations for use in cutting rope and cord. This saves on the blades edge.
- AUS8 Steel blade. AUS8 is a medium-carbon, high chromium stainless steel, which offers a good balance of toughness, edge sharpness and corrosion resistance. I’ve had this knife in the water and wet environments a lot and it’s still had no rust buildup, keeping in line with it’s SEAL name!!
- Black TiNi tiger striping.
- Blade spine rasp for notching, filing, and thumb placement. This is a great feature for striking a flint as well!!
- Injection molded, glass reinforced Zytel handle feels great in the hand. The perfect size with deep finger grooves. The handle is scored for a sure grip in all conditions. Lanyard hole.
Nylon Sheath (Included):
- Ballistic nylon construction.
- MOLLE attachment system. This system can also be used to attach it to the belt. The loops for the MOLLE system are a little tight on this sheath. The snap tends to get caught up on the loops especially when removing the sheath. If you remove the knife from the sheath when attaching and removing the sheath it helps a little with this.
- Kydex inner to protect the sheath from the blade.
- Strap holding the knife in the sheath has a snap and also velcro to help in case the snap doesn’t catch.
- Cord holes in bottom of sheath for tying around the leg or as additional mounting option.
- Front pocket is great for a multi tool, firesteel, extra magazine, etc.
I love this sheath because it offers great versatility. It allows you several mounting options and also the ability to hold extra tools in the front pouch.
Kydex Sheath (additional option):
- This sheath has a cool attachment system. It attaches to the belt with a sliding belt loop. To open the belt loop you squeeze 2 tabs at the bottom and half of the loops slides up. To put it on your belt just slide the sliding portion under your belt until it clicks. The only thing I don’t like is that it digs into your side when worn under an untucked shirt.
- The sheath has a notch cut out of the blade portion for cutting cord without taking the knife out of the sheath. This is so when using it in a maritime environment on a boat such as a RHIB (rigid hull inflatable boat) the knife won’t puncture the RHIB if cutting cord. It also makes it safer to cut cord and webbing.
- Drain hole in the bottom.
- One issue is that if you don’t put the knife in in the right manner the shape of the blade can cause it to get caught up on the Kydex. Not a huge issue, but something to be aware of.
Overall, this is an excellent knife. As I said before, I’ve used this knife for over a year and I’ve not babied it, and it’s still in excellent condition. I had never used SOG brand knives in the past and had no clue of the high quality of their knives. I can see this as an excellent hard use knife, for military or otherwise. The only thing I would change would be to make the back of the belt loop portion of the kydex sheath a little less abrasive on the skin. Otherwise, everything on this knife is perfect! 8.5/10.
