I bought a seal pup elite from the PX here in Iraq. I'd wanted one for a while, and grabbed one off the shelf.
I have to admit that the "Taiwan" on the blade is somewhat of a disappointment. It probably makes no difference, but having spent some time in that part of the world, one comes to accept a correlation between "hong kong" or "taiwan" as being "counterfeit." I realize this isn't the case with the Seal Pup, but putting that on the blade just makes it sound cheap.
The blade came with the only option they had at the PX; partially serrated, and tiger stripe. I don't care for the tiger striping, and have no use for serrations. However, it was a good price, and I wanted one, so I can't really complain about either one.
The knife wasn't particularly sharp out of the package. I sharpened the plain edge, and left the serrations.
I have no need nor desire to destroy the knife to find out what it can do, so no toughness tests will be applied. It will ride quietly with my gear and hopefully won't get used a lot. I only got it for one reason.
The knife is considerably thinner than I've come to expect in a fixed blade. Perhaps it's just that the trend has been more and more toward thicker blades, and there are no shortage of 1/4" blades out there these days. I don't know that this will make any difference for me, and the knife is intended as a last-ditch close quarters weapon and nothing else (I've already got other knives for other purposes).
I fly, and I do need a knife that can hack my way out of something, through aluminum, if necessary. I don't know if it would, but the seal pump doesn't appear like the tool for that job. Hopefully I won't need to find out.
I don't own any of the other SOG Seal knives, so can't compare any of them. I do have a cold steel SRK in my gear, and can't really compare the two, though the SRK will be what I'll grab if I need to punch through the airframe.
The sheath that came with the knife appears decent. It's got a provision for a stone,which I don't need, but it's molle compatible, and is stiff all the way along...a huge plus that makes the knife easier to draw and not hang up...unlike the sheath on the SRK.
The handle is easy to grip and retains the grip when wet, which is also fairly critical. It's design prevents sliding over the blade during a thrust, likewise important.
I wish the Elite had been available for purchase. I imagine when I get home, I'll probably buy one to try out. I wish a plain edge blade had been an option, but the PX's here carry nothing but serrated blades or partially serrated blades.
My .02, for whatever it's worth, bearing in mind that I'm no expert on blades.
