The more I look at it, the more I want it.

I really dislike the sar4 - useless sharpening choil, handle way too big for the knife, way too heavy for its length...

The sar-8 addresses all of those complaints. It's a knife big enough to make a choil useful, with a choil large enough to do you some good, and a blade length that's appropriate for the handle. I'm very curious how it will compare to the NMSFNO in terms of balance and performance.

I really really wish they would offer a CG version, or at bare minimum an SE version. I also really wish they would announce the potential availability of those versions at the same time they announce the LE. I know a lot of folks felt burned after buying their SAR4LE's and finding out a month later that they could have had a variety of handle colors on a less expensive knife.