This year, for the first time ever, Mikov participated in the Shot Show 2023 in Las Vegas, the largest American shooting, hunting, and outdoor trade show, which has been held annually in the U.S. since 1979. For any company, exhibiting at a prestigious trade show is like taking a look in the mirror. This year’s Shot Show provided us with three important insights.
- Mikov is a well-known brand among American knife enthusiasts. Visitors didn’t come to the booth to see some Eastern European rarity; most of them were already well aware of Mikov. Those who stopped by the booth were familiar not only with the Predator switchblade but also with our hunting knives.
- Given the exhibition’s focus, military knives attracted the most attention. Specifically, this included not only the good old UTON in all its variations, Lubomír Maďarič’s combat knives, but also the Storm and Repetitor knives from the War Veteran Project.
- Pocket knives certainly didn’t go unnoticed, although, of course, due to the exhibition’s focus, they remained somewhat in the shadow of the military knives and Predator switchblades. That is, with one exception: the new Kostka knife. If we were to choose the Predator as the king of our products at the Shot Show, we could rightly considerthe Kostkathe queen. You can order the Kostka right now; we’ll begin shipping it on February 6.
We have thus achieved the goal we set for ourselves: to show American customers that, as a Czech industrial company with a tradition dating back to 1794, we place an emphasis on high-quality craftsmanship, original design, and ingenious construction of Czech knives. And that’s why we’re already looking forward to what we’ll be presenting in Las Vegas next year.