Victorinox Swiss Army Knife

This review is for a Victorinox Altimeter Swiss Army Knife. It was bought as a present so although I do not know exactly what it was bought for I have had a quick look around on the internet and standard prices seem to be around £50. This cost surprised me at first but I suppose you do get what you pay for.

Before I tell you about my experiences with this knife I will quickly outline it's features, which as expected for a Victorinox ...
...one button (this replaces the Victorinox symbol so is well hidden) which is a bit tricky to get the hang of as there are quite a few different lengths of presses to perform different operations, but once mastered works reasonably well.

15. (thermometer)

This works well (but does tend to warm up in your pocket), again it is controlled by the single button and can display Farenheight or Celsius.

16. (mini-screwdriver)
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This review is for a Victorinox Altimeter Swiss Army Knife. It was bought as a present so although I do not know exactly what it was bought for I have had a quick look around on the internet and standard prices seem to be around £50. This cost surprised me at first but I suppose you do get what you pay for.

Before I tell you about my experiences with this knife I will quickly outline it's features, which as expected for a Victorinox Knife is sufficiently long!

These features are taken directly from the manufacturers descriptions and I do find one or two of the features are a bit dubious, but on the whole they all function well:

1. large blade
2. small blade
3. corkscrew
4. can opener with - small screwdriver 3 mm (also for Phillips screws)
5. cap lifter with - screwdriver 6 mm - wire stripper
9. reamer, punch
10. key ring
11. toothpick
12. scissors
13. multi-purpose hook
14. altimeter (-300ft to +18000ft)
15. thermometer (-20C to +60C)
16. mini-screwdriver ( pat.)

I'll go through each function individually and rate each part based on how it has performed for me so far. Although not a serious camper (I do brave the great British countryside every so often) I do a lot of DIY and general "tinkering" so a good knife is always useful.

I'll go through each part individually to provide a detailed description of the knife's uses.

1. and 2. (small and large blades)

Both of these blades are very sharp and sturdy with little flex in them. So far they have easily cut through all that I have asked of them, (paper, card, rope, wire, plastic) and the blades still remain as sharp as when I got it. Both of them come to a point which makes them good for both intricate work (should you need to) and the large blade has sufficient length to be useful in most situations

3. (corkscrew)

The corkscrew is as expected, although made of good metal and is relatively firmly attached to the knife I never feel they are strong enough to remove corks from wine bottles (especially plastic ones) but it still works OK if that's all you have when camping.

4. (can opener with 3mm screwdriver)

This works reasonably well as long as you have mastered the technique of opening cans this way. The tool hooks well over the edge of the can and grips well enough to allow it to puncture the can. The screwdriver on the end works as long as the screw is in an exposed position.

5. (cap lifter with - screwdriver 6 mm - wire stripper)

The cap lifter is good for general hooking and prizing things open, not entirely sure what it's proper function is. The wire stripper doesn't seem to work well (that could just be me though) and the screwdriver is as the 3mm one, as long as the screw is accessible then it works.

9. (reamer, punch)

This is basically just a very narrow blade which comes to a sharp point and is made slightly thicker to allow it to be used to lever as well as cut. Although I haven't found a use for it yet I'm sure it's useful for something whilst camping in the middle of no-where.

10. (keyring)

This does what it says on the tin and allows you to attach the knife to your keys, or belt.

11. (toothpick)

Another one of those things that does what it says. My only problem with this is that it would be very easy to loose as it just slides into the back of the body of the knife and doesn't clip in particularly strongly.

12. (scissors)

These may be small, but they are sharp and fit together very well so cut things quickly and precisely as long as the material isn't too thick. So far they have cut paper, card, wire and string very well for me.

13. (multipurpose hook)

A slightly odd looking thing without much of a hook on the end but again I'm sure you could find a use for it if the situation arose.

14. (altimeter)

This is quite a nice addition to these newer range of Swiss Army Knifes. It calculates the height based on atmospheric pressure so doesn't need to be calibrated at a known height before you start walking, or biking each time you use it. It seems to be reasonably accurate, but as warned on the packaging it is slow to react so is no use to skydivers! Calibrating it is done with one button (this replaces the Victorinox symbol so is well hidden) which is a bit tricky to get the hang of as there are quite a few different lengths of presses to perform different operations, but once mastered works reasonably well.

15. (thermometer)

This works well (but does tend to warm up in your pocket), again it is controlled by the single button and can display Farenheight or Celsius.

16. (mini-screwdriver)

This is a really clever piece of design. It twists into the corkscrew to hold it in place so takes up no extra space in the knife. It is only about 1-2mm in size so would be useful for glasses screws but that's about it. It is also quite hard to get hold of as it is so small, but again does the job.

On the whole I'm very impressed with the quality of this product. All of the stainless steel seems to be of a high quality and all of the joints have a good definite action when opening the various tools. The body of the knife looks slightly more interesting than previous knifes thanks to the electronics which are shown on one side through a slightly transparent panel. The way the button is disguised as the Victorinox symbol is a clever piece of design as is the mini-screwdriver. At only around 100grams this is light enough to carry when walking and is very compact for the number of features.

My only reservations about this product are how well the altimeter and thermometer last as they are not waterproof and may not withstand the shocks which things like this will undoubtedly experience whilst being used. Although not as important as the main knife functions it would still be disappointing if these new electronic additions didn't live up to the known quality of Victorinox products. 

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