SwissTool Spirit Opinions?

[Solstice]

Hi Folks, I've lots of good things about the original SwissTools- many seem to prefer the build quality over Leatherman.

However, they are on the big/heavy side, and you need to open the pliers to get to the knives and other tools.

I recently stumbled across a decent deal on the Spirit, which seems to be Victorinox's updated "sexy" model (I think its kind of a response to the Leatherman Wave or Juice series). Just wanted to know if anyone had this tool and if they thought it was worth a purchase- pros, cons etc.

Thanks in advance,

Jon

 

[elgarak]

I have the Spirit in the Plus version, with a cute little ratchet. Very happy, it's my EDC, though a little bit bulky in the case that carries also the ratchet. The only other gripe I have are the scissors, which are a little bit too short to be really useful (and it seems that they could have been made longer). Otherwise, very happy with it. Much nicer finish and better fit to my hand than the various Leathermans I have.

 

[Perfectionist]

Nah .... the Leatherman Charge is King of the (edc-able) multi-tools

 

[billgr]

i have the LM wave (old) and the spirit
the spirit wins hands down....it's not even close!

 

[nelstomlinson]

I recently stumbled across a decent deal on the Spirit ...

So, tell us about that deal. Is there more than one?

 

[gloworm]

I have the standard Spirit and a letherman juice. The Spirit is of higher quality build, after using my Spirit and a friends Wave I'm sure Iv'e purchased the superior model for my needs.Highly reccomended

 

[DieselDave]

Jon,
Actually on the Swisstool all the items open from the outside without opening the pliers and they all lock open. The Swisstool was my EDC for a couple of years until recently. I am now EDC'ing the "New" Wave. I like the Wave size and lighter weight but IMO for strength and overall quality the Swisstool is better.

I may try to put my hands on a Spirit. Thanks for the info.

 

[Solstice]

The "deal" to which I was refering isn't all that special as I understand it after taking a gander at bladeforums.com. Apparently, at some time in the past, Amazon offered the Spirit at $37.99- the lowest price ever. Then the price stablized at $54.99 (list price is $75). Currently, Amazon is having a sporting goods sale (until midnight Oct 18th), and the price is $45.89 including shipping. I looked elseware on the web and this seems like a good deal (just not as good as before). Thanks for all the replies- based on these and what I read on bladeforums, I went ahead and ordered. I really like the looks of this thing and I love Victorinox quality in general. Kind of wish it had a regular pointy blade, but other than that it seems like a good EDC tool.

Here is the Amazon link if anyone is interested:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...1/002-4269253-9027229?_encoding=UTF8&v=glance

 

[ckl]

I am the minority, i don't like the curved handles of spirit, they make the tool look less compact. Also, i am very disappointed with the stupid spring design of the scissors.

Stick with the older swisstools as possible! I bet that you will need a bigger and stronger tool to survive if you are in Amazon...

 

[Solstice]

It's funny that people have mentioned the scissors. From what I have read on bladeforums (Perfectionist, I saw some of your posts there - I'm not yet a member) the shorter scissors are on purpose.

Several people had problems with the LM Juice scissors for example; even though they were longer, you couldn't get them to cut near the tip and had to use the base to cut anyway.
Victorinox just gives you the essential part and shaves a tiny bit of weight in the process.
As for the spring being under pressure when closed I agree that that isn't the best idea, but I haven't read anything about premature failure, and of course, there's always the Victorinox guarantee.

 

[Perfectionist]

Dang Solstice .... are you stalking me !!

I was really looking forward to the new Spirit as it was announced shortly after I got my Charge and hoped it would be an improvement over the Charge's (minor) flaws ...... was bitterly dissappointed !!

The Original SwissTool is frikkin superb so I guess maybe the Spirit had too much to live up to

Now if only Victorinox or Leatherman hired me to design their tools .......

 

[Deanster]

Yeah - the Spirit seems dissapointing to me - neither the amazingly solid robustness of the original SwissTool line, nor the very pleasing ergonomics and handling of the Wave and Charge.

I've never been a huge SwissTool fan - my theory is that if I need anything more solid than the Wave, I should go get real tools. I NEVER carry my Leatherman SuperTool for exactly the same reason - it's vastly more solid and has longer/better tools than my Wave, but it's just too darn heavy/bulky to be worth carrying. It used to live in my car door pocket for emergencies, and now it's with a Marine in Iraq - hopefully it'll live a more-useful life there.

As I've mentioned before, I've actually pared my EDC multitool down to a Leatherman Juice S2 - pliers, knife, scissors, can/bottle opener and phillips/standard screwdrivers. Everything I really use, nothing I don't. The Juice line is awfully lightly built, though - not a tool for serious torque at all. My Wave still gets the call if I think there's real work happening that day.

 

[Solstice]

Yep, I'm stalking you Perfectionist- look! there I am!..just on the other side of that Atlantic Ocean. I was considering the Wave, but I had tried the old one and didn't really like the feel (I found it hard to extract the tools and it seemed a bit to easy to cut oneself on the knives). The new one is as big/heavy as the Charge line. I really like the slimmed-down looks of the Spirit and the tools set seems usefull to me. Can you guys say more specifically why you're dissapointed with it? I've got an old Leatherman SuperTool (original, not 2000 or whatever) that is definitely tough, but its hard to extract the tools individually, hard to close them afterward, lacks scissors, cuts into your hand when using the pliers and is too heavy to pocket carry. I don't have the Spirit yet, so I can't say which camp I'll be in once it comes. Thankfully, when it does, I'll know how to "lube my tool" thanks to Perfectionist's thread over on bladeforums .

 

[mahoney]

The Spirit is a nice feeling tool in the hand, but it hasn't joined my EDC yet because it lacks a ruler. The wire stripping notches are wider on the chisel blade in the Spirit than in the Swisstool X, so be carefull not to get cut if you want to hold the chisel blade by the sides. Also the file is not as wide as the file on the Swisstool X.

 

[cdf]

The spirit is a great midsized multitool , build quality is superb . The curved handles are comfortable and dont pinch .

Chris

 

[Geddinight]

The spirit looks nice. I have edc'ed a Swisstool for about 3 yrs. I haven't seen anything to replace it with yet. I have a full sized frame and don't mind the full sized Swisstool at all. I would not change just because they made it smaller. The real key to the swiss tool is the locking device. It gives me confidence to use the tool as a tool that won't close up on me at the wrong time.

 

[Solstice]

I got my Spirit today and I have to say I'm really impressed with it, regardless of what the Leatherman fanboys might say . It is a beautiful combination of elegant design and rock solid utility. Everything locks up solid- there is no play in the blades/pliers when open nor folded. Even the curved handles, which seem like a gimmick, actually serve 2 functions: obviously, they aid comfort when using the pliers, but the space in between alows you to more easily access the individual locks for the tools for use with the handles closed. I find the size to be just about perfect.

As expected, my only qualm is with the non-pointy and mostly serrated blade. It looks like a useful blade, but I would really like to see a regular pointy straight blade on this thing as well so I wouldn't have to carry a seperate one. Ah well, it's not such a big deal. As is (and for the price) the Spirit blows all of the other multitools I've seen first hand (Gerber, Buck, and dare I say Leatherman) out of the water.

 

[Perfectionist]

Spirit is very very good ...... but Charge is still better

 

[Solstice]

The Charge looks great, but is it worth twice the $$?

 

[colubrid]

I have quite a few multitools including a Chrage xti. The Vic Spirit is the favorite. It also is half the price and 3x the quality of Leatherman. SOGs are nice but the best has to be the Vics.



http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/standard?pictid={40C787DB-0BE0-4A74-B52B-9D0D516D7197}&exp=f&moddt=38970.8502586574&ssdyn=1