SHOT 2019: SOG Exhibits Big New XR Lock Knife

SOG kept it short and sweet with the new products at SHOT. The company’s Matt Crawford tells us that the relatively contained spread this year was a conscious decision. SOG has been making a lot of interesting advances over the last couple years, and while the they’ve already reaped the benefits in some of this year and last year’s releases, Crawford expects big payoffs on that growth next year. “We’ve had years where we’ve introduced more new products at SHOT,” he says.  “This is really a year of alignment where we get ready to push the envelope in 2020.” However, there was still plenty to interest folks who visited SOG’s booth this year, including the introduction of a brand new flipper knife and a new Frame Lock series that reimagines some old favorites.

SEAL XR
The new SEAL XR folder is the second XR lock flipper from SOG. It follows the Terminus XR and is in a different size class altogether, packing in a 3.9-inch blade with an aggressive clip point profile modeled after the company’s SEAL fixed blade series. Users can open the SEAL XR with a thumb hole if they don’t wish to use the flipper. Although the SEAL XR is not part of SOG’s U.S.-made line, it does come with a blade made of coated S35VN powder metallurgy steel.

While the Terminus XR seemed like a perfect fit for the EDC crowd, the SEAL XR is obviously designed for a different end user. Tasked with engineering a knife that could withstand hard use out in the field, the team at SOG did not shy away from bulking this knife up to that end – the total weight of the SEAL XR is just north of 8 oz. For those looking for more Terminus XR variations, you’ll be happy to hear that it’s getting two new colorations, a cranberry red and an olive green. “Offering knives with handles that are something besides our standard issue black or silver isn’t actually revolutionary,” Crawford continues. “But it’s a bit of a departure for us. The response to the Terminus XR has been really positive, and this added aesthetic touch makes the knife more approachable for a wider swath of knife purchasers.”

The company says to expect the Seal XR on dealers’ shelves by July, with an MSRP of $188.95.

New FL Models
SOG is putting out three new all stainless steel frame lock knives, which constitute what they’re calling the FL series. Two of the FL knives are modeled after classics in the current SOG lineup: there’s a full size Flash and an Aegis, which also gets a flipper tab in this configuration (thus its full name is the Aegis FLK). The third FL knife is evidently an original model, called the Escape. There is a knife in SOG’s lineup called the Escape, but this one looks totally different, with a sheepsfoot blade and a finger grooved handle like that seen on the Zoom model. All three have 8Cr13MoV blades and entry-level price points.

New Multitools
A few new multitools were also on display at the booth. The Sync series, which debuted as multitools that could be folded up and used as belt buckles, are getting bladeless, TSA-friendly variation called the Sync Traveler. Additionally we saw the Snippet, a multitool that has a pair of scissors instead of a plier head when it unfolds.

Knife in Featured image: SOG Seal XR