Customer Reviews

Victorinox Swiss Army Swiss Champ XLT (Transucent Ruby)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been carrying a Swiss Champ for the last 15 years. As a computer consultant, electronics hobbyist, woodworker, and Scout leader I use the knife constantly.

As the Swiss Army line has been growing, I have been having "tool envy" over the newer, slicker knives with the translucent cases, multiple bit screwdrivers and USB drives. I was loath to switch to the tech tools because I would be losing some of my favorite items like the magnifying glass.

When I saw the XLT, my initial reaction was, "It must be mine"! Then rationality took over. I would be adding almost a pound and about 1/2 of an inch to an already extreme pocket load. On the other hand, it had the cool ruby case, lots of extra "stuff" and the freak-out factor when people see it was worth at least $25.00 over the life of the knife. I was sold.

For the extra mass, volume and cost here is what you get over the standard Swiss Champ:

pharmaceutical spatula: This is a 1" long flat non-cutting item. It's intended use is to get small amounts of powder out of containers. My family refers to it as the "coke spoon". Good for stirring coffee, unsticking stuck things and moving stuff you do not want to touch.

Electrician's blade: This is a half-sized blade, about 3/4 inch high. It has a hooked shape that makes it look a little like a linoleum knife. It also includes a notch for scraping wire. It's intended use is for removing insulation from wire. It is great for cutting carpet, cardboard and those annoying wire-ties.

Pruning blade: Another half-size blade. This one looks a little like a meat cleaver. Very flat blade, it is designed to remove small shoots and branches from plants cleanly. This is a great blade: it is wonderful for clean cuts in soft wood and plastic. I use it as a hobby knife like an x-acto #2.

Driver: This is a 3 inch bit holder and a set of bits. The holder is 4mm hex. The bits include #0 and #1 Philips, a 4mm straight bit, 5,10 and 15mm Torx bits and a 5mm socket. This is really handy. You get a full sized screwdriver with a beefy handle. The Torx bits are nice, and they came in handy when emergency replacement of a headlight was called for.

All in all, it is a great product. The only thing that it lacks is the USB drive, and I guess I can carry one of those on my keychain. It is heavy and it is very wide, about 50% heavier and about the same size as a standard flip open cell phone. But it does have incredible geek chic!

I've owned several Victorinox knives over the years and this one by far is the most satisfying and versatile one I've ever owned. It is a beauty to behold and all the tools are well organized. A nice touch is the multiple bit screwdriver tool which has been designed not to fold closed as easily as the rest of the tools. This prevents it from accidentally snapping shut under hard pressure or extra torque. It's ideal for me because I work on computers quite a bit so it's got all the tools I would want or need. In regard to the size or width, it is nearly twice as wide as my old Victorinox but I don't really notice it as much. It has a nice solid feel in the hand and the heft is impressive. I didn't think I would like the translucent plastic as much as I do. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in a high-end and authentic swiss army knife.

I have owned a Swiss Army knife for as long as I can remember- from the Camping to the Swisschamp. The Swisschamp has been around the world with me over the past 10 years!

That said, this knife is the best that they offer. While larger than the Swisschamp, it provides every tool that you could need- and it was time for an upgrade...

I would, however, recommend a belt holder with this as it is too large for the pocket- but then this is not really a true "pocket knife"...more a "multi-tool"...!

.I've owned a lot of knives in my life, but i'll have to say this is the thickest knife i have ever used. the only drawbacks to this knife is that it's so big it leaves blisters on your hands when you carve with it, and that it bulges out of your pocket. i recomend that you buy a knife sheath for your belt. other than that, this knife is great for everything.

The Swisschamp XLT is a thing of beauty indeed.

There is nothing more you could want in a portable, easy-to-carry multitool like this.

It combines the very efficient Cybertool knife by Victorinox with their Swisschamp edition, to create the Swisschamp XLT.

Your friends will bow down to you. This knife will crush all their geek tools. They will be owned, thoroughly, by you.

Get it now.

I've owned my XLT since shortly after it came out, and it is absolutely the best knife I've ever owned, even better than the SwissChamp I'd carried for 10 years prior. I work as a computer tech, and this knife has about 90% of the tools I need to fix a computer, all in a (relatively) small package that I can carry in my pocket. It's got things like Torx and Hex bits, and the bit driver is exactly the perfect size for tightening the little nuts on either side of a D-SUB connector (VGA, Parallel, Serial port, etc). Even the little straight pin has come in handy for resetting PDAs. I have used every single tool on this knife except the fish scaler. Heck, even the toothpick has proven useful!

This knife is amazing, I have been collecting Victorinox knives since I was 8 and have over 75, so I am a very qualified person in this subject. This is an amazing knife it has every basic tool plus more, you can even use it to hammer in a nail, (but don't use the handles). The only problem with it is the size makes it hard to grip and use the awsom screwdriver. If you want it mainly for the screwdriver I suggest buying 1 of the cybertools because they are smaller and way easer to grip. I work as a yacht captain and use the cybertool 34 every day. The amazing thing about Victorinox is that they make a knife, (or as I perfer the term multi tool because if you've noticed it doesn't only have a knife), so first befor you buy a knife check out which one fits your purpose. lastthing is stay away from the cheep Wenger knives, they are not as good and Victorinox is the Origional and Wenger is a fake copy cat.

It's a fine knife. I had similar one about 10 years ago, but it didn't have so many gadgets as this one. The one thing I used a a lot was the fine little lens that was encased in a nice-looking, sturdy gray armature. The Amazon.com photo showed the same thing. However, when I received my knife, I was highly disappointed to discover that the piece had been switched out with a chintzy-looking lens and armature made of one piece of clear molded plastic. Instead of having the nice, solid, opaque protective collar around it, the flattened lens runs almost to the edge of the now-clear armature, perhaps affording it less scratch protection. I liked the look and feel of the old lens unit much better, and the size and focal length of the lens appealed to me. Victorinox probably thinks the new unit is better. To me, it looks like they are just trying to save money by making a cheap-looking switch-out piece. THE CLINCHER : The photographs used on Amazon and all other Victorinox sites around the world STILL USE THE OLD PHOTO to attract customers, even though they told me later that the lens unit has been switched out for several years. First-time purchasers of this knife might not care about Victorinox using an old BAIT AND SWITCH photo of a discontinued unit, but as an old-time user of the knife, I missed the far better lens unit that Victorinox still falsely advertises in their product photo and official company literature. Otherwise, as I said at the beginning, it's a fine knife.

Just received my Swiss Army Champ XLT. I've been using Swiss Army knives since my Boy Scout days. As a sportsman and outdoorsman you can't beat quality and value. This knife is so loaded with features it's no wonder why Swiss Army continues to be so good. Would recommend this knife & Swiss Army to anyone looking for quality and options.

Tom Petrik

I have about a dozen Swiss army knives both Wenger and Victornox, This knife has all the best features and has a wonderful fit and finish! Outstanding!