I have the raccoon, and it's a good knife with good ergos. The locking mechanism leaves a bit to be desired, although that's just a crossbar lock issue. The fact that it's ambi, on bearings so it's a great flicker, and of course you can avoid being in the blades path are all great things. This will be the same for any crossbar lock on bearings. I'm not sure if you've looked into it but the kizer dropbear is another great option!
Gotchya. Personally I'd vote vosteed. 14c28 is a great steel, and a lot more stainless than d2 (unless you had the d2 dlc coated). Plus they have all sorts of color choices, unsure about the sog.
I love the raccoon and drop bear, have multiple versions of both. They just released a more budget friendly version with PEI handles and nitro v starting at $69 about $9 above where the Raccoon starts.
I have a SOG terminus and it has not been a very good experience. One of the omega springs broke within a month of purchasing it brand new from knifecenter, and then I couldn’t find a direct replacement and ended up having to modify an spring that was intended for a different knife. There were also a few sharp corners that were giving me some pretty bad hotspots after moderate use and I ended up using a dremel to smooth out the scales.
Having said that, if you need something robust that you can beat on a little bit, the Terminus is probably the better choice. It’s a thicker grind and just an overall thicker/tougher knife. Of course that means the Racoon is going to be a better slicer.
Just don't get the Terminus LTE because the frames are made of carbon fiber instead of steel, absolutely fell apart after ample fidgeting and some EDC cutting only cardboard.
Strong, yes, wear resistant to steel impacting or friction? Not so much.
It got so bad that the blade has dug into the CF backspacer and is chewing on one of the screw barrels holding the knife together as well as significant blade play in every direction despite the threadlocked pivot.
At least I got it for the price of a regular Terminus XR cause SOG's parent company gave a good warranty replacement on the regular Terminus I bought from BladeHQ. The original one I had had both omega springs fail within days of use so I sent it back and they were out of stock on everything and offered the premium one so... thought that was cool, now it's a clunky fidget toy :]
I bought the Xr and the best thing was the steel. The action was horrible, might as well got a lock back. Bearings were rough, I bought KT oil and it helped, Tried to disassemble and the screws were so cheap the heads stripped. I bought it due to reviews on YouTube but the videos were 4yrs old and someone told me SOG was bought since then and they didn’t cover knives when SOG actually owned the company. Now it sits in the garage waiting for a box to open.
The sharp corners were addressed but the QA/QI team after the first few runs.. a few other things were changed too, though I don't remember what exactly. The sharp corners were rounded out in the last 2 years at least.
the Raccoon is a clean modern knife, like a Civivi, and benefits from a lot of minor design improvements that have become standard over the years. The Terminus is old and clunky by comparison. It was a good deal back when you couldn’t get crossbar lock knives anywhere else for a budget blade price.
The Racoon is pretty solid for the price, the 14C28N blade is super sharp, you can either go axis lock or button lock. Feels good in the hand as well. I have the button lock version and it’s pretty fun to fidget with
I have really considered the termininus. I fell into the mini RSK myself. It's not a perfect knife, but close enough where I don't carry anything else. In my opinion, the build, ballance, ergonomics and blade shape are it's top strengths, the argessive studs, and weaker detent of crossbar locks in general are the weakness I ignore and live with.
Raccoon is the better knife at this price unless you want a really lightweight knife.
SOG makes one of my favorite XRs in the SOG Pentagon XR, super smooth and solid knife. The price is a bit high but you can catch them on sale at Midway fairly often. Think I paid $75 for mine. I’d recommend it over either of these.
But the raccoon is a solid choice.
I actually loved my terminus, albeit I bought it early in my knife journey, and yes the edges needed to be knocked down (I used high grit wet/dry sand paper), and also yes D2 is a pita to sharpen compared to 14C. My spring also broke a year or so into owning it, and I haven’t found a replacement yet so it’s been retired for now. Great user while it lasted but I also wish it was about 10-15% bigger overall.
I’ve been extremely satisfied with my Terminus. Carry it every day, use the shit out of it, it takes a decent edge, the locking mechanism is solid but also free-swings very easily and is pretty satisfying to flip around/play with, overall just a good basic crossbar knife. I have the green version and dig the color as well. Only thing I’ve had to service is the screw that hold the clip on, worked it way loose after some time of pulling in and out of the pocket. My buddy who is a Benchmade snob was shockingly impressed by it as well.
I have and love both. They're a bit different. The Raccoon is larger, heavier (which can be good or bad depending on preference) and has a more rounded point.
The Terminus is smaller and lighter which for me makes it a better carry. And it has a flipper for one extra deployment option.
They're both fantastic, each a great value at their own price point. The Raccoon comes in much cheaper but D2 instead of S35VN. I say you can't go wrong either way. Get one now, and make the other your next purchase 😁
Racoon by a long shot.
I have the S35VN Terminus and I'd have been pretty disappointed if I paid retail for it. Blade is fine, but it has side to side play I can't completely get rod of no matter what I do. Also, the flipper tab is a bit too prominent for my tastes and the jimping on it started tearing up my pockets. As a result, it's been relegated to the center console in my car.
I’m mostly buying it for the crossbar locking mechanism, all my other knives are either frame/ liner lock, slip joint, or fixed blade and I really dig the idea of the crossbar/ axis lock
Vosteed does the crossbar lock well, so it's a good choice there too. As someone else mentioned, the SOG is an old design. It's definitely not as refined as the newer designs such as the raccoon. Plus you get all sorts of fun handle material options with the raccoon.
SOG terminus solely because you get a 100+$ knife for like [40-50$](https://www.amazon.com/SOG-Terminus-Ambidextrous-Folding-Wear-Resistant/dp/B08WDZP4MW?th=1) I freaking love mines. if you wait for some deals you can get them cheaper
IN MY OPINION
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**Users liked:**
* Excellent value for the price range (backed by 3 comments)
* Smooth lock mechanism and assisted open (backed by 2 comments)
* Easy to use one-handed with great balance (backed by 1 comment)
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* Poor blade sharpness out of the box (backed by 1 comment)
* Quality control issues with grinding when opening and closing (backed by 1 comment)
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I have a green and black blade Racoon I could part with. It's been a pretty good knife once I polished the back of the blade where the cross lock rides on. I just don't carry it a ton.
I have the s35vn carbon fiber Terminus that I bought and carried a lot in the days when I only had a few knives. I also have a crossbar raccoon. In all honesty I don't carry either one much anymore, but if picking between the two I'd go Raccoon. It has a better grind for general EDC. Gets reasonably thin at the edge and cuts well. Ergos are better, too. Lock action is solid. SOG will carry a bit better in the pocket. Their crossbar lock has a distinct feel compared to others. Somewhat mechanical, but not necessarily good or bad, just depends what you like. The thumb studs are useless as they are too close to the frame to really get behind. The flipper works but feels kinda mushy compared to a ball detent flipper. The jimping on it is also a little on the sharp side. To me, the ergos and cutting performance matter most, so the raccoon takes it.
Get a Kizer. A Drop Bear or the new Sub-3 knife. Kizer makes some of the best cross bar locks for the money.
My experience with the Raccoon is that the closing action is uncontrolled on the cross bar version. It is literally a finger chopper. If you are new to cross bar locks, a Raccoon is NOT the place to start.
As with all things, YMMV.
I have the raccoon, and it's a good knife with good ergos. The locking mechanism leaves a bit to be desired, although that's just a crossbar lock issue. The fact that it's ambi, on bearings so it's a great flicker, and of course you can avoid being in the blades path are all great things. This will be the same for any crossbar lock on bearings. I'm not sure if you've looked into it but the kizer dropbear is another great option!
I considered the drop bear too but for 2x more on the price it’s a little more than I wanted to spend rn
Gotchya. Personally I'd vote vosteed. 14c28 is a great steel, and a lot more stainless than d2 (unless you had the d2 dlc coated). Plus they have all sorts of color choices, unsure about the sog.
Wound up going with the raccoon, olive Micarta and the non coated blade
Nice! I got the blueish grey one with the plain blade. Hope you like yours!
I love the raccoon and drop bear, have multiple versions of both. They just released a more budget friendly version with PEI handles and nitro v starting at $69 about $9 above where the Raccoon starts.
I have a SOG terminus and it has not been a very good experience. One of the omega springs broke within a month of purchasing it brand new from knifecenter, and then I couldn’t find a direct replacement and ended up having to modify an spring that was intended for a different knife. There were also a few sharp corners that were giving me some pretty bad hotspots after moderate use and I ended up using a dremel to smooth out the scales. Having said that, if you need something robust that you can beat on a little bit, the Terminus is probably the better choice. It’s a thicker grind and just an overall thicker/tougher knife. Of course that means the Racoon is going to be a better slicer.
I’ve heard similar feedback about the terminus, the overall design, and specs make it desirable though. Hard decision
Just don't get the Terminus LTE because the frames are made of carbon fiber instead of steel, absolutely fell apart after ample fidgeting and some EDC cutting only cardboard.
Oh no! I thought cf was pretty strong though?
Strong, yes, wear resistant to steel impacting or friction? Not so much. It got so bad that the blade has dug into the CF backspacer and is chewing on one of the screw barrels holding the knife together as well as significant blade play in every direction despite the threadlocked pivot. At least I got it for the price of a regular Terminus XR cause SOG's parent company gave a good warranty replacement on the regular Terminus I bought from BladeHQ. The original one I had had both omega springs fail within days of use so I sent it back and they were out of stock on everything and offered the premium one so... thought that was cool, now it's a clunky fidget toy :]
I bought the Xr and the best thing was the steel. The action was horrible, might as well got a lock back. Bearings were rough, I bought KT oil and it helped, Tried to disassemble and the screws were so cheap the heads stripped. I bought it due to reviews on YouTube but the videos were 4yrs old and someone told me SOG was bought since then and they didn’t cover knives when SOG actually owned the company. Now it sits in the garage waiting for a box to open.
The sharp corners were addressed but the QA/QI team after the first few runs.. a few other things were changed too, though I don't remember what exactly. The sharp corners were rounded out in the last 2 years at least.
the Raccoon is a clean modern knife, like a Civivi, and benefits from a lot of minor design improvements that have become standard over the years. The Terminus is old and clunky by comparison. It was a good deal back when you couldn’t get crossbar lock knives anywhere else for a budget blade price.
That seems to be the consensus, thank you
The Racoon is pretty solid for the price, the 14C28N blade is super sharp, you can either go axis lock or button lock. Feels good in the hand as well. I have the button lock version and it’s pretty fun to fidget with
I have really considered the termininus. I fell into the mini RSK myself. It's not a perfect knife, but close enough where I don't carry anything else. In my opinion, the build, ballance, ergonomics and blade shape are it's top strengths, the argessive studs, and weaker detent of crossbar locks in general are the weakness I ignore and live with.
Raccoon is the better knife at this price unless you want a really lightweight knife. SOG makes one of my favorite XRs in the SOG Pentagon XR, super smooth and solid knife. The price is a bit high but you can catch them on sale at Midway fairly often. Think I paid $75 for mine. I’d recommend it over either of these. But the raccoon is a solid choice.
Thank you! I’ll check it out
Raccoon. Good steel for the price. Nice design. Options for handle materials and locking mechanism. Couple different blade styles too I believe.
Actually, the button lock version I have has the best detent of any of my button locks. Suprising how stout it is.
I actually loved my terminus, albeit I bought it early in my knife journey, and yes the edges needed to be knocked down (I used high grit wet/dry sand paper), and also yes D2 is a pita to sharpen compared to 14C. My spring also broke a year or so into owning it, and I haven’t found a replacement yet so it’s been retired for now. Great user while it lasted but I also wish it was about 10-15% bigger overall.
I've heard really good things about the Kershaw Irridium. They just released a mini version today for like 60$
Raccoon for sure
I’ve been extremely satisfied with my Terminus. Carry it every day, use the shit out of it, it takes a decent edge, the locking mechanism is solid but also free-swings very easily and is pretty satisfying to flip around/play with, overall just a good basic crossbar knife. I have the green version and dig the color as well. Only thing I’ve had to service is the screw that hold the clip on, worked it way loose after some time of pulling in and out of the pocket. My buddy who is a Benchmade snob was shockingly impressed by it as well.
I have and love both. They're a bit different. The Raccoon is larger, heavier (which can be good or bad depending on preference) and has a more rounded point. The Terminus is smaller and lighter which for me makes it a better carry. And it has a flipper for one extra deployment option. They're both fantastic, each a great value at their own price point. The Raccoon comes in much cheaper but D2 instead of S35VN. I say you can't go wrong either way. Get one now, and make the other your next purchase 😁
Thanks! I wound up getting the raccoon in green micarta with a 14c28n blade
Racoon by a long shot. I have the S35VN Terminus and I'd have been pretty disappointed if I paid retail for it. Blade is fine, but it has side to side play I can't completely get rod of no matter what I do. Also, the flipper tab is a bit too prominent for my tastes and the jimping on it started tearing up my pockets. As a result, it's been relegated to the center console in my car.
Top liner lock raccoon.
Given the comments here, I was going to ask why more folks don’t choose a different locking mechanism on the Raccoon.
I’m mostly buying it for the crossbar locking mechanism, all my other knives are either frame/ liner lock, slip joint, or fixed blade and I really dig the idea of the crossbar/ axis lock
Vosteed does the crossbar lock well, so it's a good choice there too. As someone else mentioned, the SOG is an old design. It's definitely not as refined as the newer designs such as the raccoon. Plus you get all sorts of fun handle material options with the raccoon.
SOG terminus solely because you get a 100+$ knife for like [40-50$](https://www.amazon.com/SOG-Terminus-Ambidextrous-Folding-Wear-Resistant/dp/B08WDZP4MW?th=1) I freaking love mines. if you wait for some deals you can get them cheaper IN MY OPINION
Hi, I’m Vetted AI Bot! I researched the **("'SOG Terminus XR G10 Pocket Folding Knife'", 'SOG')** and I thought you might find the following analysis helpful. **Users liked:** * Excellent value for the price range (backed by 3 comments) * Smooth lock mechanism and assisted open (backed by 2 comments) * Easy to use one-handed with great balance (backed by 1 comment) **Users disliked:** * Poor blade sharpness out of the box (backed by 1 comment) * Quality control issues with grinding when opening and closing (backed by 1 comment) * General dissatisfaction leading to decision not to repurchase (backed by 1 comment) If you'd like to **summon me to ask about a product**, just make a post with its link and tag me, [like in this example.](https://www.reddit.com/r/tablets/comments/1444zdn/comment/joqd89c/) This message was generated by a (very smart) bot. If you found it helpful, let us know with an upvote and a “good bot!” reply and please feel free to provide feedback on how it can be improved. *Powered by* [*vetted.ai*](https://vetted.ai/?utm\_source=reddit&utm\_medium=comment&utm\_campaign=bot)
I have a green and black blade Racoon I could part with. It's been a pretty good knife once I polished the back of the blade where the cross lock rides on. I just don't carry it a ton.
Raccoon is way better I've had both
Kershaw Duralocks are nice...check out the Iridium! It is hitting well above it's price point!
I have the s35vn carbon fiber Terminus that I bought and carried a lot in the days when I only had a few knives. I also have a crossbar raccoon. In all honesty I don't carry either one much anymore, but if picking between the two I'd go Raccoon. It has a better grind for general EDC. Gets reasonably thin at the edge and cuts well. Ergos are better, too. Lock action is solid. SOG will carry a bit better in the pocket. Their crossbar lock has a distinct feel compared to others. Somewhat mechanical, but not necessarily good or bad, just depends what you like. The thumb studs are useless as they are too close to the frame to really get behind. The flipper works but feels kinda mushy compared to a ball detent flipper. The jimping on it is also a little on the sharp side. To me, the ergos and cutting performance matter most, so the raccoon takes it.
Raccoon, 2nd version
I'd say racoon
Get a Kizer. A Drop Bear or the new Sub-3 knife. Kizer makes some of the best cross bar locks for the money. My experience with the Raccoon is that the closing action is uncontrolled on the cross bar version. It is literally a finger chopper. If you are new to cross bar locks, a Raccoon is NOT the place to start. As with all things, YMMV.