SOG has really stepped up their game recently. Starting back in about 2019, they took their knives from good to great. They’ve become slicker, faster, stronger, fancier, higher quality… basically everything you can think of to describe a knife.
Part of stepping up their game involved revitalizing some of their old designs–such as the Trident, Aegis, and of course, the Flash, which is what we’re looking at here.
So, has SOG really stepped up their game? How good is this new Flash AT? Let’s dive in and find out.
Specs
First off, let’s check out the specs of the Flash AT:
| Overall Length: | 8.29 inches |
| Closed Length: | 4.67 inches |
| Blade Length: | 3.45 inches |
| Blade Thickness: | 0.12 inches |
| Blade Steel: | Cryo D2 |
| Handle Material: | GRN |
| Weight: | 4.49 oz |
| Finish: | Titanium Nitride |
Keep in mind that the things like the handle material, finish, and the blade steel could change depending on things like special edition runs, changes they make to the knife in the future, etc. The colors will also definitely change just depending on the model. Also, some models come partially-serrated and others have straight edges.
Overall, though, those are the specs for the Flash AT. Let’s look at some of the specs of the old Flash II to see how they compare:
| Overall Length: | 8 inches |
| Closed Length: | 4.5 inches |
| Blade Length: | 3.5 inches |
| Blade Steel: | AUS-8 |
| Weight: | 3.1 oz |
| Handle Material: | Glass-Reinforced Nylon |
So, the size is about the same, but the new Flash AT has taken on quite a bit better materials. And, it has more (and better) features, which we’ll get into in a bit.
Overall, off specs alone, the Flash AT is a good middle to middle-upper tier knife.
Design & Functionality
Now we’re hopping into the fun stuff: The design and functionality of the knife.
The Flash AT has a thumb stud assisted opening, a deep carry pocket clip, a spine-mounted safety lock, SOG’s AT-XR lock, and can be used ambidextrously. In terms of the blade, it can come either partially-serrated or straight-edged and the colors can be different depending on the exact model.
So far, SOG has a couple different color variations of the Flash AT, each able to come with either a straight edge or partially-serrated. They’ve got blackout (partially-serrated and straight-edged), civic cyan (partially-serrated and straight-edged), garnet red (partially-serrated and straight-edged), and urban grey (partially-serrated and straight-edged). All the variations have been linked to SOG’s website.
In terms of what the knife is supposed to be used for, it’s meant to be used as an everyday carry. The knife’s decently large size also helps it to be used in just about any situation you’d need a knife for, and the features do so, too.
The assisted thumb stud opening helps you to deploy the blade one-handed, which helps if you’ve got your other hand holding something. Closing it one-handed is a little trickier, but it’s still possible.
The spine-mounted safety lock helps if you want to keep the knife in your pocket in situations where it could open accidentally. Those situations could be things like if you fall asleep with your knife in your pocket or go on a bumpy ride of some kind. It adds some extra peace of mind.
The deep carry pocket clip also helps to hide the knife in your pocket so you can take it just about anywhere without it being too noticeable.
And the ambidextrous capabilities are kind of like the icing on the cake. Use it left- or right-handed, it doesn’t matter: It’s easy to use with either hand.
Overall, the Flash AT is designed super well for EDC. An argument could even be made that it’s perfect for EDC (though I would say that depends on the person and situation).
Real-World Use
We can speak theory all we want, but how does this thing hold up in the real world? Let’s check this knife out.
The Blade
First off, the blade… the most important part of a knife.
The blade (depending on which version you get) comes either with a straight edge or a partially-serrated one. It comes in a drop point style and cryo D2–which is a nice, middle-tiered knife steel.
Out of the box, mine wasn’t too sharp. It certainly wasn’t bad–especially for the average tasks you’ll be using it for–but if you want it to pop hairs off your arm, you’ll likely need to sharpen it a bit. At least, that was the case for me.
In terms of how the blade has held up from me using it as a daily carry… I can’t say I’ve noticed much of a difference. I decided to jump straight into using it as an EDC (no sharpening or touch-ups) and, for the most part, it’s stayed about as sharp as it came out of the box.
I must admit, I don’t use it for super crazy tasks like batoning and cutting down trees, cutting metal, or anything of that nature. I use it more for the things you’re likely to run into on a daily basis, such as cutting open boxes (and tearing them down), cutting zip ties, opening feed bags–you know, mild tasks that get done when you live in the country. But, for those tasks, the Flash AT has held up darn near perfectly.
An issue I was slightly worried about with the Flash AT was corrosion. D2 is pretty infamous for its lackluster ability to handle wet conditions. It will sometimes rust even just from a humid environment.
However, I haven’t noticed any rust or corrosion on my knife blade–and I live in a pretty humid area. I think the titanium nitride coating really helps to aid the corrosion resistance of the blade.
Overall, the blade is solid. I’d rate the blade about 8-9/10 for my purposes. The only reason it doesn’t get a 10 is because it wasn’t hair-shaving sharp out of the box.
The Handle
The handle could quite possibly be my favorite part of this whole knife… It may even be my favorite handle of all time on any knife.
Okay, that may be pushing it just a bit, but it’s a super comfortable handle as far as folding knives go. I have no problem holding this thing for a couple hours while I cut away at stuff. Your mileage may vary, of course, but for my hands, the Flash AT works awesomely.
Let’s look a little bit closer at the handle, though.
First off, I want to look at the contour of the handle. When it’s open, there’s a little groove that your index finger can slip right into, giving you extra control and grip. I really like those contours in the handle because I think it makes it super easy to control the knife–and my fingers don’t get super mushed together in an attempt to hold the knife.
The little diagonal grooves on the handle also add some extra grip (which, I think, is often expected nowadays). Somewhat of an obvious feature, but good to mention anyway.
The jimping is also something I really like. Technically, the jimping is on the back of the blade, but I consider it part of the handle.
Anyway, there are some knives that don’t have any jimping, and others that don’t have enough to make much of a difference, but the Flash AT has a pretty sizable amount of jimping. I like to hold my knives with my thumb sitting pretty far up on the spine of the blade, and the jimping is great for that.
And, the extra grippings added to the “controls” of the knife make it really easy to grip. The AT-XR lock has a stairway pattern that allows you to really easily slide it up and down. The spine-mounted safety lock also has gripping: It’s got jimping that allows you to easily flip the safety from on to off, and vice versa.
Speaking of the spine-mounted safety lock, you’d think it would be annoying when you’re holding the knife. After all, it’s right in the middle of the handle. It seems like it would dig into your hand, but it doesn’t–at least, not for me. For me, the safety lock nestles right into a crease in my hand when I’m holding the knife to where I don’t notice it at all–it just disappears.
Really, the only potential issue would come in if you’re going to be stabbing something with the blade. The index finger contour isn’t deep enough to allow you enough grip to stop your hand from sliding, and there isn’t anything like a crossguard, either. However, I don’t know how often you’ll be stabbing something with an EDC drop point knife… the thing is just overall made for slicing and cutting, not stabbing.
Overall, I really like the Flash AT handle–I think it’s super comfortable. The handle gets a 9.5/10 from me–only reduced because of the very slight potential issue of my hand sliding into the blade by a lack of crossguard or deep index finger contour. Still, though, it’s a great handle.
The Action
Flicking the knife open is super snappy. Just hit the thumb stud and the blade flies right out.
Some assisted openings will have trouble if you try to open the knife with a thumb stud. Your thumb will drag across the blade sometimes and slow the opening down. That’s not how it goes with the Flash AT. I haven’t had anything like that happen at all: It just powers through and snaps right open each time.
The AT-XR lock is also really easy to use: Just drag it down and close the knife. That’s really all there is to it. There’s no sticking, you don’t have to try to drag down both sides of it to close the knife–just pull it down and close the knife.
The spine-mounted safety lock… well, locks the knife. It’s really easy to activate: Just flip it to the lock position and the knife doesn’t open. Return it back to the unlocked (or “fire”) position–indicated by the red dot on the safety–and flip the knife open.
That’s really all there is to say about the action of the knife.
Overall, a 10/10 on the action: It works flawlessly.
How it Sits in Your Pocket
The Flash AT has a deep carry pocket clip that easily hides the knife in your pocket. It disappears into your pocket and, for the most part, is pretty hard to detect. It doesn’t poke and is pretty hard to notice for me.
Now, that may be different for you depending on how big and loose your pockets are, but for me (on several different pairs of pants with varying pocket sizes and shapes), it’s been pretty hard to notice.
The clip also makes it super easy to hang off the lip of your pocket. Some clips will be super tight and hard to slide onto the lip of your pocket and others will be so loose you wonder if your knife will fall out, but the Flash AT strikes a nice balance between those: Easy to slip on, but not so loose that it will easily fall out.
In terms of whether or not it tears up your pockets, the answer is no. The handle of the Flash AT is smooth enough that it won’t rip up your pockets (but still has enough grip that it won’t slip out of your hand).
It gets a 10/10 from me in this category: It’s hard to notice (both to me and others) and it doesn’t rip up my pocket.
Conclusion
Overall, the SOG Flash AT is a nice middle to middle-upper tier knife. It’s a good daily carry that will be able to handle common (even somewhat strenuous) daily tasks. If you’re looking for a slick, high quality knife that won’t break your bank, I’d definitely recommend the SOG Flash AT.
You can get it on SOG’s website here.
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