VictorinoxHiker

The SAK Hiker is, essentially, a Tinker plus a saw. The saw is excellent, as with pretty much all SAK tools. The thing I did not realize is that the Hiker is not a true three layer knife, but rather has 2 and 1/2 layers. It is noticeably thinner than a typical 3 layer knife such as the Super Tinker. This makes the Hiker a more comfortable carry than a true 3 layer knife-- it is not noticeably different in your pocket than a Tinker or Spartan. When you need a saw, nothing else will do the job, so the additional tool is a very worthwhile addition to the already excellent Tinker. The Hiker is a really, really good EDC, and not much different in price than the basic Tinker.As has been the case with pretty much every SAK I've ever owned, the overall fit and finish on this knife was perfect. Every blade was very sharp right out of the box, and every tool has an easy opening pull and a snap into place that is much more secure than the opening pull would lead you to think. I don't know how Victorinox manages this easy pull with a secure working position for every tool, but it is really impressive. I have always loved the Tinker, but I think the Hiker may be my new favorite EDC.

I got this Swiss Army knife for my brother, and he takes it everywhere. It’s lightweight, durable, and has all the essential tools for hiking and camping. The blade is sharp, the scissors work great, and the saw is surprisingly effective. A must-have for any outdoor enthusiast!

I once went into the woods wearing nothing but the Hiker duct taped to my thigh. I wanted to see if I could survive a day. After a while, I was getting hungry, so I hunted me a squirrel. I snuck up on the little bugger as quiet as a mouse fart, then stabbed it with the long blade. No worries, the little feller died a quick and humane death. I then used the short knife to skin it. Then I needed a fire, because we all know squirrel meat is best when cooked medium rare...am I right? I used the wood saw to cut myself several small branches. I rubbed two of those lil' sticks together, and presto zesto...a fire.While I waited for the meat to roast, I used the small blade again...to cut long pieces of sinew from the skin still attached to the fur. The wire stripper was great at stretching the sinew out into long and thin "threads". I used some sinew as thread to fashion the rest of the squirrel pelt into a nice little man-thong. The reamer has a sewing eye, so it was easy peazy. It was nice to finally cover my giblets, and the thong was warm and perfect (though a tad bit slimy). I then ate my roasted squirrel, and continued walking.As I was walking, I came across a couple gals hiking through the woods. I gave them a nice wave "hello", and for some reason, they took off running. One was so scared she dropped her bag to move faster, I guess. I have no idea what the problem was. Sure, I still had a little squirrel blood on my hands. But I was wearing a mighty fine, and high quality (if I say so myself) fur thong. Fur is a universal sign of high class folk, so they must have been fearful that they were trespassing on a rich man's property (them believing that rich man was me, of course...with my fancy furs and all). Anyway, I picked up the bag and tried to run it back to the gals, but they ran even faster. They kept running and ignoring my screams of "Stop running from me! I have something for you!" I soon tired. The running made me pooped, and squirrel don't fill the belly for long. If I had eaten an opossum, I would have still been full...but a squirrel ain't nothing.I heard rattling in the bag, which sounded like something canned and likely edible. I decided that common law probably would establish said bag was now my property since the gals abandoned it and I made first claims. So I unzipped the bag and saw 2 beer bottles (thankfully still cold) and some cans of chili. Those gals probably saved my life, because I would have likely fainted from starvation had they not bestowed me with these vittles. But I'm sure I also saved them from a night of bad gas (seriously, beer and chili?). So I considered us even. I used the Hiker's bottle opener to pop open a beer. Then the can opener for the chili cans. I didn't bother making another fire, as I was mightily faintish and in need of nourishment ASAP. After eating, I used the Hiker's toothpick to get the bean skins out my teeth. Then I used the tweezers to pluck out a few splinters from my feet.My stomach was starting to get upset, and I thought I remembered hearing that eating bark stops it. Probably a bunch of bull, but I was nearly naked, and desperately hindered by a belly ache. I used the wood saw to cut a branch, then used the flat screwdriver to peel off the corky part of the bark (you don't eat the corky park). Then I chewed the fresher underneath bark. It didn't really help my gas, but at least now I can sound outdoorsy when I tell people that I ate bark. I realized that the Hiker had a key ring, so I punctured a hole into my fur thong with the reamer and hung my Swiss Army Knife from the key ring. I sort of passed out shortly after. I woke up the next day. I was tired, sick, and covered in rashes. I survived, though.I give the Victorinox Swiss Army Hiker 5/5 stars. It has versatile tools. However, the Philips screwdriver is useless...as this was the only tool I did not use. Probably could have used a corkscrew instead.

The Tinker model is one of Victorinox's most popular. With the Hiker model, we get their wonderful wood saw too.I bought mine as a whittling knife. For this duty, the first step is to remove the keyring and ground or file the keyring nub flush with the rest of the knife body. With the saw, I can harvest the branch and cut grooves for gripping areas. I filed the small blade into kind of a Wharnecliffe pattern and sharpened the point of the tip, to let it get into tight areas easier.One thing worth noting about the Hiker is that although it is three layers thick, the saw is a very thin layer. So it is nowhere near as thick as a Spartan Lite, for example, whose flashlight/phillips layer is a LOT thicker than the saw. The Super Tinker model replaces the saw of the Hiker with a scissors, so that's a more suitable knife for indoor use.The usual Victorinox build quality is here. Perfect fit, finish, and attention to detail.- The can opener works wonderfully. Almost as well as a dedicated hand-crank unit in your kitchen. The small screwdriver tip on the can opener also doubles as a make-shift inline #2 Phillips driver. However, it is easy to close this up on your fingers when using the screwdriver, so be care there.- The bottle opener also works well, but the most useful part of this implement is certainly the flat head driver. I use that driver as often as I do the knife blade. The wire stripper only works if you cut a ring around the wire through the insulation first. If you do that, this works really well too.- The small blade is better for precision work. Some folks save it as a back-up that is always sharp. Others use this as the main blade, and save the large one for food prep. It's up to you.- The tweezers work well, but since they are thin, one cannot grab something very firmly. It wouldn't work for tweezing out unwanted facial hair, for instance. But it is great for getting splinters out of one's fingers.- The toothpick also works well, but many people are too germophobic to use it. I use it all the time, I just wipe it off on my shirt before putting it back into the knife, and that is clean enough.- The #2 phillips works well, but since it is a T-phillips, I find it is limited in application. It can't get a screw that is right next to something tall, for example.- The reamer is super-useful. I use it to drill more holes in belts. I like to have those in between settings. Not only that, but it is good to use as a sharp scraper or prybar, so you're not tempted to use a knife blade for it, and break the tip off.