On the one hand, the thumb hole cutout is pretty obviously just straight up incorrectly done. It isn't the right shape, the right size, OR the right level of chamfering to make any sense at all. Probably the worst attempt at a cutout like this I've ever seen in a production knife. I almost wonder if it is intentional to make it okay to open only with two hands or very slow thumb rolls. Kind of surprised because Hogue is usually quite good at ergonomics and hand / digit features like this.
On the other hand, the handle may be the best handle I've ever felt on a folding knife. Absolutely perfect chamfering, angles, size, even the feel of the anodization is basically perfect. Almost feels like a perfected version of the Manix 2 concept in hand. Even the pocket clip is perfectly shaped and size to disappear completely (while still being a really useful design for actually grabbing the knife out of your pocket).
Also, I really, really like the blade shape. Nice and tall, excellent point placement, super slicey. One of Hogue's best blade designs I think.
If you are the kind of person who fidgets with their knife a lot, and / or values thumb deployment a lot, maybe wait until they redesign this one (which I am hoping happens this year). But if you are fine with just deploying the blade with the crossbar lock and don't really care about the deployment too much (which is mostly where I fall), it's one of the most premium feeling knives I've felt in a long time, with an absolutely wonderful blade in practice.
All they need to do is redesign this thumb hole and fix the deployment, and change the blade steel from S30V to MagnaCut, and I think they'll have maybe the best folder on the market. Until then, I still really like it, but I know some folks will definitely be frustrated by this deployment design flaw.