EDITORS’ CHOICE
VICTORINOX SWISSTOOL
SPIRIT X
Price: $105
Fresh out of the box, the SwissTool
Spirit X impressed us with its fit
and finish. With the exception of
the pliers, the 22 tools deploy from
the outside of the frame, saving
time. (For the record, the company
claims 24 tools, but one is a cou-
pling for a corkscrew that doesn’t
come included with this model, and
the other is a point to connect a lan-
yard.) And everything worked well.
We didn’t expect much from the
saw teeth running along the edge
of the metal file, but they were
pleasantly capable when cutting
through mild steel hardware. And
the file itself did a nice job clean-
ing up the edges when we were
done. The Phillips screwdriver shank
flares out at the end, so that all four
points on the head are the same
size, making for solid engagement.
The wire stripper and scraper both
work effectively; although we usu-
ally resort to using wire cutters for
stripping, this open-sided notch is
sharp enough that we could quickly
spin it around a wire and pull back
the insulation.both the can and bottle open-
ers worked well, the wire stripper
on the bottle opener blade wasn’t
sharp enough to cut through the
insulation. This wasn’t an issue,
because we found the wire cutter
to be effective at stripping anyway.
The last of the notable fold-out
tools is an awl-reamer combo, for
emergency repairs to things like
leather or vinyl; the sharpened side
can enlarge or even drill holes in
wood with a little twisting back and
forth. Finally, like many Victorinox
products, there’s a toothpick and
tweezers embedded in the handle.BEST PLIERS
SOG POWERLOCKPrice: $70The SOG Powerlock’s calling card is that it can be
opened with one hand and is very comfortable
to hold. The 18 tools include five for fastening:
three flat-head screwdriver sizes, one Phillips,
and a quarter-inch square drive to accept sock-
ets. True needle-nose pliers are machined down
to a nice point, and the jaws meet very tightly
and accurately, which made it easy to grip small
things. The wire cutter and stripper also worked
very well, earning a 4.75 for the pliers. Most of
the other tools performed up to snuff. The par-
tially serrated knife blade was very sharp and cut
easily. And the saw blade was a nice surprise—
the aggressive teeth made quick work of maple
tree branches. We liked the simple locking sys-September/October 2020 61