Flipper or no flipper on xm-18?

myowngod

myowngod

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I'm looking to pick one of these up, and cannot decide if I want the flipper or not... it adds extra protection from having your hand slide forward... but I'm curious to what people who have or currently do own one or both versions think/prefer.

Thanks!
 
I went with the non-flipper since I've heard the flipper can sometimes get in the way, and I didn't plan on using the flipper. Ive heard as a flipper, you're better off going with Begg or another established flipper maker--the thumbstud deployment is the primary way of opening the knife.
 
tf8s said:
I went with the non-flipper since I've heard the flipper can sometimes get in the way, and I didn't plan on using the flipper. Ive heard as a flipper, you're better off going with Begg or another established flipper maker--the thumbstud deployment is the primary way of opening the knife.
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On my knives now, I'm non-partial..I do not prefer a flipper over the stud.. I mean.. they work fine on my ZT350 and RAM, but they don't seem to get in the way to me either? perhaps just on the xm18 they stick out too far?
 
I specifically ordered , and received, a non-flipper XM-18

I prefer non-flipper knives.
If you carry tip-up, you are more likely to accidentally engage the flipper and open the knife up in your pocket.

As for a more secure handgrip because of the flipper, you don't really need it with this knife. It has very good ergos and the G-10 is very grippy.

The other reason I don't like flippers is that they inhibit a quick transition from grip to choil/grip when doing a quick choke up on the blade.

I'm sure others will chime in on their preference for flippers and why they like them.
 
I don't find the flipper to be any nuisance and I love the extra security it affords as a guard when the blade is open.

I find its a bit harder to open using the flipper w/o some wrist action but once you master the necessary action its lightning quick and deadly reliable.

I would have not bought the XM w/o the flipper. Use it if you want, use the stud if you want, it makes no difference and in the overall scheme of the knife it only looks right with the flipper.

edit: if properly clipped in your pocket in a tip up configuration against the seam there is zero chance of the knife opening accidentally. However due to the curve of the handle I prefer to carry the knife tip down as it takes up less room in the pocket and is easier to remove from the pocket.
 
myowngod said:
On my knives now, I'm non-partial..I do not prefer a flipper over the stud.. I mean.. they work fine on my ZT350 and RAM, but they don't seem to get in the way to me either? perhaps just on the xm18 they stick out too far?
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i've actually never handled a flipper xm-18. the first time i found an xm-18 i had a choice, but i recently found some more and they were all nonflipper. the other flipper knife i have is fine, but it's a ken onion design so it's really designed as a flipper. i'm just going by what i've heard and what made me make my decision. for me, the flipper was $25 more, so it really just came down to preference.

edit: i accidently said i never handled a non-flipper, which is what i own.
 
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I had a flipper and didn't care for it. It was in the way and never felt quite right. It sucks b/c I think I would have really liked the knife otherwise.
 
seems to me there are two different schools of thought at work here. A general concensus one way or the other would make this much easer guys :thumbup:

From what I've read, the xm-18's flipper isn't easy to engage in the first place.. so I doubt opening it on accident in a pocket is a likely thing?

spiralarchitect said:
I had a flipper and didn't care for it. It was in the way and never felt quite right. It sucks b/c I think I would have really liked the knife otherwise.
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So you are basically saying, it felt like it wasn't made with a flipper in mind? or that the design is just better suited for the studs..? could you explain how it was in the way?
 
Have you noticed that the vast majority of XM-18's for sale, fleabay, etc. are flippers? You rarely see a non-flipper that somebody wants to part with.

To me, that is very telling.
 
I'm a flipper guy and like my 3.5" flipper alot. I can't really speak on the non-flipper side of things because I don't own one and don't think I will (not that I don't want one, but I need my other arm and leg). I see alot more flippers for sale, but that may be due to the fact that Rick makes alot more flipper models than non-flippers. He also makes alot more 3.5" models than 3" models. That's why most of what you see for sale are 3.5" flippers.
 
Tony8179 said:
I'm a flipper guy and like my 3.5" flipper alot. I can't really speak on the non-flipper side of things because I don't own one and don't think I will (not that I don't want one, but I need my other arm and leg). I see alot more flippers for sale, but that may be due to the fact that Rick makes alot more flipper models than non-flippers. He also makes alot more 3.5" models than 3" models. That's why most of what you see for sale are 3.5" flippers.
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much closer to the truth than the flippers being not as desireable.
 
Had both, love both! Kept the flipper though and carry it a few times a week.

Using the flipper is for me a more reliable way of bringing the xm into action FAST. If you don't care about deployant speed then go non flipper.
 
Biginboca said:
Had both, love both! Kept the flipper though and carry it a few times a week.

Using the flipper is for me a more reliable way of bringing the xm into action FAST. If you don't care about deployant speed then go non flipper.
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is it really that much quicker? i might have to go on the hunt for a flipper
 
Had both, still have the non-flipper :cool:

The flipper needs wrist and gets in the way.... I'm not much of a frills kind of guy though, I dont like flippers, AO, or Autos... So YMMV

IMG_6978.jpg
 
Huh? Do a search for XM-18s in the for sale forum here and at quick glance I'm pretty sure there are more non-flippers than flippers on the first page.
 
I've owned two flippers in the past and I now only own a non-flipper. I've never had the flipper accidentally open in either carry position. The flipper for the most part will require some wrist action. I really don't see a big deal about not use the wrist. Even though I was able to open it without wrist action, I had to concentrate on flipping it open just right. That required more effort to me than just using wrist action to be sure it opened every time.

There were two main reasons why I don't prefer the flipper:
1) when I carried it tip up (which I prefer in general), the flipper would scratch my cell phone in my pocket
2) The finger choil is small enough as it is. The flipper leaves less room than the non-flipper at the finger choil.

The main benefits that I saw the flipper having were:
1) Another option for opening, which I didn't really care about.
2) A finger guard

Personally, holding the non-flipper, I don't feel concerned about my hand sliding in any way. Secondly, I don't really see myself needing to stab something that hard to be concerned about it. I don't carry for self-defense, but even if I HAD to stab an assailant to save my life, I wouldn't be concerned with my hand slipping. It's not like I feel like I'll need to stab my way through a car hood one day. The day I start thinking that's a real possibility will be the day that I'll start carrying fixed blades for EDC.

All in all, I enjoy either version, but I prefer the non-flipper.
 
I prefer the non-flipper as well for all the reasons stated above. The only thing I can add is that for me, the flipper just plain makes the knife harder to open and close.

The flipper gets in the way when opening the knife with the thumb stud and you have to adjust how you hold the knife so that the flipper clears the inside of your index finger when opening. Also, when closing, you can't close the blade as far toward your thumb before you need to move your thumb and finish closing the blade with your index finger.
 
Bucky said:
I prefer the non-flipper as well for all the reasons stated above. The only thing I can add is that for me, the flipper just plain makes the knife harder to open and close.

The flipper gets in the way when opening the knife with the thumb stud and you have to adjust how you hold the knife so that the flipper clears the inside of your index finger when opening. Also, when closing, you can't close the blade as far toward your thumb before you need to move your thumb and finish closing the blade with your index finger.
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While i didn't feel like I had any problem opening the flipper version with the thumb stud, you do have to hold the flipper version slightly lower than you would a non-flipper to allow the flipper to not bump into your hand on it's way to the open position.
 
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