Victorinox Outrider (Swiss Army Knife)
Owner Review by André Corterier

Personal Biographical Information:

Name: André Corterier
Gender: M
Age: 32
Height: 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight: 78 kg (172 lb)
Email: andreDOTcorterierATfreenetDOTde
Home: Bonn, Germany
DATE: 2004-12-03

Backpacking Background:

I began backpacking in my late teens using Europe’s "InterRail"-System – weight hardly mattered, as we were on trains a lot. I usually traveled through southern Europe during summer, for about three weeks at a time, moving from campsites (often without tent) to youth hostels etc. I recently rediscovered backpacking and have started out slowly – single-day 15 mile (24 km) jaunts by myself or even shorter hikes (pushing a stroller uphill through the woods). I am getting started on longer hikes, as a lightweight packer. My gear is either old or really new – nothing in between.

ITEM: Victorinox Outrider
Year of manufacture: 2003
Manufacturer: Victorinox
URL: http://www.victorinox.com/
MSRP: none given - retails for around 33 EUR

Weight Comparisons - scale accurate to 5 g (.2 oz)
listed weight: none given
measured weight: 130 g (4.6 oz)

What convinced me to buy this pocket knife (dubbed a "pocket tool" on the Victorinox home page as I later found out) was that it seemed, at the time, among my available options to be the one item which combined a decent, fixable blade with a wood saw and scissors at the lowest combined weight. I wanted something which combined real-world usefulness for hiking and camping purposes with some helpful capabilities in a survival situation (larger knife, saw).

First Impression:
You may want to look at the manufacturer's home page for a good picture of it showing all its functions, found under "Products/Pocket Tools/Outrider". For a Swiss Army Knife, it is somewhat large, being 111 mm (4.37 in) long in its folded state. It has a more solid feel to it than the usual, smaller pocket knives I've handled, an aspect it has in common with the other so-called "pocket tools" of the manufacturer. This is something I liked, especially as far as the blade is concerned. Its cutting edge (slightly curved towards the tip) has a length of 80 mm (3.15 in), with the blade being about 2 mm (1/12 in) thick at its base, tapering to almost nothing at the tip. The blade has a thickness of 1.5 mm (1/16 in) or more for about two thirds of its length, which I find reassuring and suggestive of more stability than most pocket knives I've seen seem to provide. According to the manufacturer's FAQ page, "All Victorinox knives are high carbon, stainless, first grade, A-quality steel. They are tempered to a 55-56 HRC hardness for optimum edge retention." I have no means to verify this, but my experience with it so far bears this out. It is very sharp and I have seen no need to sharpen it yet. Admittedly, it's not something I use everyday, although I'll occasionally slit open a letter with it or do some other thing with it which does not strain the knife in any way. It is also good for cutting vegetables or plastic binders. And of course I've cut the occasional rope or string with it when out hiking. I've sharpened my pencil with it a few times, also.

Features:
The knife has the following features, which for simplicity's sake I'm quoting from the website:
1. large lock blade
2. corkscrew
3. can opener with
4. - small screwdriver
5. cap lifter with
6. - screwdriver
7. - wire stripper
8. reamer, punch
9. key ring
10. tweezers
11. toothpick
12. wood saw
13. scissors
14. long fine Phillips-screwdriver

I've described the blade already.

The corkscrew works (it's one of those European things, I guess - without a corkscrew, a pocket knife seems incomplete to me - and we've had a bear of a time trying to open a bottle of halfway decent red wine over a campfire in Southern France one night when nobody around had a corkscrew). I've opened a few bottles of wine with it, although at home I use a "dedicated corkscrew". In contrast to some cheap corkscrews, the one on this knife has what in German is referred to as a "hollow soul" - meaning that there is an empty space in the center of the corkscrew, much like a gun barrel, around which the metal part of the corkscrew winds like grooves in a rifle barrel. This creates a much lower chance of crumbling parts of the cork into the wine, which is a common occurrence with corkscrews designed like screws (with a solid center).

The can opener works, also - this is what I call the "pocket knife 101 test". I was once given - as a gift, after I had misplaced my older pocket knife - a cheap 3 USD pocket knife picked up at a food store counter. It was a long time thereafter, moving into a new apartment, when I found myself without other implements in my new apartment on a Sunday (in Germany, this means shops are closed). I had a can of ravioli, but only the cheap pocket knife. Applying leverage to the cheapo knife attempting to open said (solid) can resulted in the knife breaking into its component parts without so much as puncturing the can. With the Outrider, I must have opened about a dozen cans and it still works just as easily as the first time. No signs of stress on the package, either. I find this wonderful for car camping and "Inter-Railing", where canned food is common (and can openers less so). Of course, I rarely carry canned food when backpacking (although it has happened).

The small screwdriver is a dumb size: Too small for real screws, too big for the tiny ones on my glasses.

The cap lifter (in Germany, most beer bottles are still sold with these caps, which one cannot screw off) works. I don't use it much, usually having other implements (spoon, fork, case etc.) handy, but when I do not have such handy I use this one.

The (larger) screwdriver is also an odd size. I've used it a (very) few times, but here again it's too large for the kind of screws I find on the baby carriage etc. It's the perfect size for the kind of screws I use woodworking around the house - but when I do that, I have a cordless electric screwdriver with a set of driver bits handy.

I've never used the wire stripper - it's a good 1.5 mm (1/16 in) in diameter, which is larger than the inside (metal) diameter of the electric wire used around houses in Germany for light fixtures etc. - I don't do other electric work (and try to stay away even from light fixtures).

The punch looks wicked and I assume may be useful for leatherworking, though I've never used it for that - to me it looks as though the knife would double as a (really small) punch dagger. But as the knife is wicked sharp and appears sufficiently robust, the punch wouldn't be my first choice as a mêlée weapon, either. I've used this to make small holes into tough fabrics etc. to allow threading a bit of cord through.

The key ring - present. I attached a little LED light to this to complement the package, which has seen no use since I began testing a different LED light.

The tweezers are functional. They - like the toothpick - are not visible on the picture on the manufacturer's website. They do not fold out of the tool, but are inserted into slots in the handle on the side of the key ring. I have used the tweezers to remove small splinters and ingrown hairs. I would prefer a real set of tweezers for these actions - the ones included in the Outrider are definitely of the make-do kind. However, real tweezers haven't made it into my gear kit and having these with me was valuable. Weight-wise, they do not register on my scale. This is also true for the toothpick (and the only reason it's still with me). It's an ugly white plastic and I prefer vigorously brushing my teeth (I do have a toothbrush in my kit, and as far as I know, Victorinox does not offer a tool with a folding toothbrush). The means of storage of these features also means that these are easily lost, as they are not permanently attached to the package. While I have not - to my knowledge - ever had one of these slip out of its storage place accidentally, the fact that they can be taken out and misplaced meant that I had lost the tweezers of my two previous Victorinox knives before I lost the knives themselves.

The wood saw is functional - perhaps surprisingly so. I know I was surprised the first time I used a saw folded out of a (different) Victorinox product. It makes good headway into wood, which is the reason I wanted one on my new knife, also. It has a working edge of 84 mm (3.31 in). I have found that I use it very little, however. The sort of branches easily sawed (with a diameter smaller than the saw's length) are branches that I can break - at least by laying one over a fallen log and jumping on it. Of course, the saw also allows sawing a circular cut into a much larger log, with a depth close to the saw's length, which makes much bigger logs breakable. However, separating logs of this size is an action I rarely find myself doing - and when I do, I tend to have an axe or a real saw with me.

The scissors are the item I use most on this tool - usually for cutting bandages to size. With a three-year old around the house, I seem to be using this at least weekly (but then, bandages even help against her tummy aches). I already knew when I bought this knife - from painful experience - that cutting a strip of bandage to size with the blade part of a pocket knife creates a very real risk of needing a bandage myself thereafter, and is something I am almost entirely unable to do if I'm the person in need of a bandage (on a finger) in the first place. So scissors are something I believe everyone should have when backpacking, and for me, these do the job just fine.

The long fine Phillips screwdriver is a bit of a disappointment. Having to open the scissors in order to be able to open it doesn't bother me (much), but its head isn't machined finely enough. The leading edges are blunted just enough so that only pefectly-fitting screws can be turned with it. I am certain (from other, dedicated screwdrivers) that even screws a size or even two sizes smaller can be turned, if with lesser torque, with a Phillips screwdriver as long as its edges are sufficiently distinct. Nevertheless, it's worked on the kind of screws which hold down the battery compartment lids on electrical toys. So my daughter thinks it's just right.


Durability:
The Outrider resides in my pants pocket, on trail and off. It is just small enough to do so without prompting people to quote Mae West* at me. I've carried it literally everywhere I went (except airplanes - this needs to go into checked luggage or will be confiscated). While it does not see continuous use, I've used it a good bit and see literally no sign of ageing on it (except that I have to clear lots of pocket lint out of its insides every once in a while).

Suggestions for Improvement:
The flat screwdrivers could both be smaller - I won't be using a pocket knife on real screws, but having one for my glasses on it would be phenomenally valuable. The Phillips screwdriver could use precision-machined edges.

Summary:
It's an excellent product, the purchase of which I do not regret. In evaluating my evolving backpacking style and needs, however, I am beginning to think that, given the perceived frequency in which I use the features, it is a little large and contains a few unnecessary features. The scissors are really the part I use the most, and the blade still leaves something to be desired when I think of "survival" type situations.




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*Mae West: "Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"