Even though I've only had this for a week, it's my favorite. My 2nd favorite is the gerber ghoststrike, but it's kinda small so i had to put a lanyard on it to get a good grip. But this SOG Instinct is my edc ever since i got it. It's my backup go to "hopefully i'll never have to use it" knife. I really dig the sheath too, lots of options to carry. I carry it horizontally on my kore essentials belt (great belt btw) on my back side. I don't need to even put a lanyard on this knife, fits in hand perfect. No problems with it yet. I have a many different kind of fixed knives, spyderco etc. I'm willing to pay whatever it is for a good product. This just happens to be pretty damn cheap and I highly recommend it for a backup self defense fixed blade. I'll come back to this review if i have an problems with it. again, just stop reading reviews and just buy the dang thing.

Full tang, solidly made, rugged yet compact. Very slim, but not uncomfortable in the hand.
It made a great boot knife, until someone pointed me to the California knife laws and I realized carrying it that way is illegal. Damn stupid laws.
See, I am a utilities operator. As such I carry lots of tools in my pockets- flashlight, screwdrivers, wrench, pH meter, gloves, a rag, earplugs, and sometimes fittings or nuts & bolts. So if I could carry a knife in my boot, it's one less thing in my pockets. Damned stupid laws.
A great and legal way to carry is to turn the belt clip sideways, so that the knife is horizontal in the small of your back. Then it SHOULD be considered open carry.

Great little knife. It is the perfect size for an EDC fixed blade. If you are just cruising around town, going to work, running to the grocery store, this is a great knife. It isn't really a woods/backpacking/bushcrafting knife, but generally if you are into those things you already knew that. The sheath is petty good for a non-custom sheath, the clip is adjustable in 16 different ways, 8 per side. I've tried carrying it both in a boot and mounted upside down on my belt, and both ways were secure and retained well (for legal reasons, I wish to add that I only did this on private property, as according to an absolutely stupid state law I'm not allowed to carry a fixed blade. Switchblade? Yep. Fixed blade? Nope.). /rantover
Anyway, it sharpened well and held an edge well, about what I expect out of 5Cr15MoV, which is not the best steel, but about what I would expect at this price. The scales are average quality G10, by now everyone is doing a pretty good job of G10 scales.
Ultimately, if you are looking for a knife of this size and in this price range, you will probably be happy with the SOG Instinct.

Knife came extremely dull and the finger grooves leave a bit to be desired for reverse gripping. Unless you get a perfect purchase on the handle it's too thin to be comfortable. Plastic sheath has excellent retention but the clip does loosen over time. All in all a decent knife after sharpening but it is definitely not for fast deployment with the finger grooves. You can do it, but it won't be comfy if you grip it slightly off and an uncomfortable grip will yield to imprecise results.

I really want to like this knife, and it's certainly not horrible. I'm a bit disappointed that a) it didn't arrive very sharp and b) The sheathe is so tight that the whole thing comes out when I try to pull the knife from my boot. Might get a little better as the sheathe gets broken in but its just been sitting on a dresser collecting dust because it's a pain in the ass.