It's not the length difference, it's the width. I held the S7 prototype at Blade 2007. It was like the S6, only longer. It was a very nice knife, but not all that different than the S6. The SOD is more of a camp knife chopper with a very wide blade. I just preferred the Bravo-2 to the S7 because I liked the pretty handle and blade geometry a bit more. As far as steel, A2 holds a great edge and is plenty tough, if not quite as tough as SR77. Superior steel depends on which measure of performance you value more. Having used both, I like the edge holding of A2 a little better. I still like the S7, but I like the SOD a lot more.