Miscellany: The Victorinox SwissTool

While the Leatherman multitool may have been the first out of the gate, the search for something different led me to the Victorinox SwissTool. A gift from my uncle and aunt at Christmastime, the SwissTool is attractively finished, comes with a nice nylon case that snaps shut smartly, and retails for about $50-$60. That's all well and good, but how does it perform?

The first thing you notice about the SwissTool is its heft. It definitely weighs more than other comparable multitools in its class, which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your point of view. It's made of stainless steel, and uses locking tabs to keep tools in place. The whole affair feels quite smooth and refined, like a Swiss watch.

Unlike most other multitools, you can access all the tools with the pliers closed, which is honestly pretty darn handy. Most times you'll only need a screwdriver or a blade anyway, so it's a major PITA to have to open up a tool, extend a blade, and close the tool again. The SwissTool neatly avoids this whole problem (recent Leatherman models have since made a knife available without opening the tool up).

The pliers work pretty well, but the wire cutter insert developed a gouge in it when I was trying to cut some speaker wire. The wire cut fine, but it was still a bit distressing. The blades and screwdrivers work great, the saw is pretty wicked (used it to cut some ABS plastic on my bike light - no problem), but the file and the miscellaneous tools are less useful.

All in all, 8/10.