Victorinox Swiss Tool Spirit X Swiss Army Knife, 24 Function Swiss Made Multi-Tool with Needle-Nose Pliers, Wire Cutters and Large Blade - Silver

For those seeking the short answer; I can’t imagine anyone not liking this tool. Whether it is for yourself, a gift for a friend, or to hand out to employees who might be tasked with various small jobs requiring a variety of tool functions. It’s beautiful, functional, durable, and priced competitively.To the specifics: Even though there are many reviews, I had some difficulty comparing size between this model and the straighter, full-sized model which is also available at about the same price. A lot of my confusion was due to misinformation provided in the specifications. Also, some of the photos posted are distorted in such a way as to mislead as to size and shape. For comparison’s sake, I will describe this Swisstool as falling in between the size of the old, traditional Leatherman, and the Leatherman Super Tool. I consider it to be on the upper end of the size limit as to something that can be carried comfortably in a pocket, (without a case), which is what I wanted it for. Please see the photos for a better idea of what you can expect; When the pliers are open, this tool is very close to the length of the original Leatherman, but when closed, the difference in length and thickness is apparent.Features: Although the basics are the same in most models and brands, be careful in choosing if you are picky about certain features, as these can vary slightly from model to model. I picked this one because I wanted a file, regular knife blade, and scissors. For occasional use, (as opposed to “Every Day Carry”), you really can’t go wrong; just be sure of what you are getting, as I have witnessed some games being played with the photos attached to the descriptions here.Compared To Leatherman: I have “EDC’ed” a Leatherman in various forms for 25 years, and I would still consider Leatherman to be the “Gold Standard” by which all others are judged. I do realize there are other brands, and I have had most of them. While many differences exist between the two, most come down to personal preference rather than quality. For example, I like the standard (small) Leatherman pliers better because of the finer shape of the nose, but the Swisstool pliers are also excellent. This Swisstool offers the ability to use the various tools without opening up the handles, and this might be an advantage for some. Also, the curved design of the Swisstool allows for better hand comfort when using the pliers, although I have never considered this to be an issue with my Leathermans. So overall, I have to take the middle ground as to which is better. I suppose the Swisstool gets points for sexiness, due to the absolutely perfect polished finish and graceful design, but I still love all of my Leatherman models, and they still turn heads when I deploy the tools and fix something in a fraction of the time it would take someone to walk to some location and grab a toolbag. Overall, the reason I ended up with the Swisstool instead of the Leatherman is due to the thickness, the size when closed, and the price to get (most) of the features I wanted. The Leatherman models I considered were either small and toy-like, or big, heavy and expensive; I have found that the thickness of the tool is the biggest issue with carrying in my front pocket without a case, rather than overall length. A model like the Leatherman Wave has more protruding edges that tend to catch and wear on pants and pockets. The Swisstool has smooth and rounded corners and is riveted with a round headed fastener that does not offer as much resistance in the pocket as the fastener heads on the Leathermans. Also, I really am not interested in anything that comes with a set of bits, which complicates carrying and increases the odds of losing something critical. Are you listening out there in Portland??Pleasant Surprises: In addition to just overall quality, the feel and precision of the locking mechanism is very impressive. The sharpness and toughness of the tools may surpass that of my previous Leatherman models, and the small chisel is a bonus that I now realize will see much service in the future.Dislikes: not much. I really, really wanted a straight design with the measuring scale, but that is only available in a larger model. The scissors are a bit puny when compared to the larger model. And the knife blade on this particular Swisstool is kind of smallish and a less aggressive design than the Leathermans I have owned. I should also mention that I hate the stiffness and long, long “break-in” period on any of these tools. It is sometimes difficult to deploy certain tools if you are “fingernail challenged”.In summary, I offer this method to help you select the right tool; First decide on a strict price range, next overall size, then features you have to have. You might just end up with another brand- even the cheaper brands are decent quality for occasional use, so maybe you don't have to spend a bundle to get what you are after. The biggest weakness in the less expensive brands that I have witnessed personally relates to the quality and hardness of the steels, but this might not be a big issue for the occasional user or an item going into an emergency kit. This tends to show up as wear on things like the Phillips head and jaws of the pliers. It is surprising how many different brands and sizes there are floating around today, so you have to take into account how you plan to use it. I don’t like any of the cases on either brand, and I don’t believe that cases should be a factor when choosing because none of them will hold up as long as the tool, which very likely will last a lifetime, or until you lose it to the TSA.

This is singularly the best multi-tool I've ever owned and I've owned many. Do I carry it with me every day? No. I carry a little leatherman squirt every day.... it has most of the same tools just 1/4 the size and weight and I can keep it on my key chain... every time one breaks I just mail it back to leatherman and they send me a new one for no cost, so no problem there ( I think I'm on my 4th). However, I do carry the spirit x every time I go fishing or camping... and I go fishing about every other week and camping (pre-covid at least) a few times a year. The pliers are excellent, the scissors work, the knife is usable enough (in a swiss army knife sort of way), it's easy to sharpen, it's comfortable to hold, the wire cutters work, the screwdriver is the right size and all the tools have held up well for over 7 years.... but none of those are the reasons that make this Victorinox my favorite (regular sized) pocket tool of all time. This tool is the best for me for one reason and one reason alone: Rust.I live in Florida. I fish on the ocean. If you're out on a boat, it's incredibly handy to have a multi-tool... so you don't have to run all over the place looking for a specific tool. I'm constantly cutting line, bending and cutting wire, taking hooks out of fishes' mouths... doing minor boat repairs, (tightening screws, prying stuff open,etc.)... I'm sure all the other multi-tools from major brands at roughly this price point are just fine if you wash them off the second you get home. However, I've got a lot of stuff to do when I get home (clean fish, etc.). So sometimes I clean all my tools properly, sometimes I don't. As a result of 20 years of fishing on the ocean in my own boat, I can say that I've destroyed leatherman waves, and Gerbers (I forget all the names), and loads of others by accidentally allowing them to rust out... this is the only tool that I know of that's mostly impervious to the elements and still gets every job done that I need it to. It's rusted a little before, after a particularly wet fishing trip (4ft seas) and a few days left to its own devices to stew in salt spray (I forgot about it), but a little bit of elbow grease and the little rust spots come right off and it still looks practically brand new. From what I understand it's because of the incredibly high degree of polish.If you work in a factory or on cars or something and you need a big hefty multi-tool, there are probably better options. If you're really into advanced cool-looking razor-sharp knife blades on a multi-tool, leatherman wave/charge is definitely better. If you live anywhere that's humid and near the sea, I sincerely doubt you can find a better more practical tool than the spirit x. After all, I don't spend hours cutting stuff with a multi-tool and I don't know anybody who does. You don't need a S-30V steel to cut open plastic bags and make Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or to cut fishing line. Who wants to clean fish with a pocket knife? Seriously, I've got filet knives for that.The only thing I think I would probably change on this knife would be to create a version with needle-nose pliers and a more typical lanyard ring. Lanyard rings are useful for fishing because they give you a place to tighten knots by putting the hook on them and synching them down. You can do it on this, it's just the lanyard hole is in kind of a weird place and not as easy or as fast as on the leatherman. So, I would gladly trade out the chisel on this for the leatherman lanyard ring. To be fair, I've never tried the leatherman charge tti to check it for rust resistance, that's the titanium one, and ($160 seems a bit steep)... and I'm not sure I ever will... the spirit x hasn't failed yet... and again it works perfectly. The swiss army knife-like blade is fine for how I use it... I might have been better off with the clipped point version, but I haven't dropped it on my foot yet. So, still winning!