Outdoors

Victorinox goes huge and tiny with latest Swiss Army tools

Victorinox goes huge and tiny with latest Swiss Army tools
The XXL stretches 3.6 x 2.5 in
The XXL stretches 3.6 x 2.5 in
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The Swiss Champ XXL isn't as huge as a few other Swiss Army knives, but we're guessing it's more comfortable in the box than in a pants pocket
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The Swiss Champ XXL isn't as huge as a few other Swiss Army knives, but we're guessing it's more comfortable in the box than in a pants pocket
Victorinox's Swiss Champ XXL packs 61 tools and 73 functions
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Victorinox's Swiss Champ XXL packs 61 tools and 73 functions
The Swiss Champ XXL looks like a fairly nondescript Swiss Army knife from this angle, but not once you turn it to the side
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The Swiss Champ XXL looks like a fairly nondescript Swiss Army knife from this angle, but not once you turn it to the side
It won't be difficult to find a use for the Swiss Champ XXL
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It won't be difficult to find a use for the Swiss Champ XXL
Victorinox offers four types of Mini Tools, sold in a set
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Victorinox offers four types of Mini Tools, sold in a set
The XXL stretches 3.6 x 2.5 in
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The XXL stretches 3.6 x 2.5 in
Victorinox's new Mini Tools lineup works on smaller jobs like fixing glasses and removing SIM cards
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Victorinox's new Mini Tools lineup works on smaller jobs like fixing glasses and removing SIM cards
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Perhaps a sign of the times, Swiss Army knives have gone a little extreme in 2021. Victorinox's latest Swiss Army releases include one of the largest Swiss Army knives ever offered and a series of Mini Tools among the smallest to wear the cross. Victorinox adds "XXL" sizing to the Swiss Champ lineup with a 73-function monster that just might fill an entire pocket. Its corkscrew holds a tiny screwdriver small enough to repair your sunglasses.

The Swiss Champ XXL reminded us at first of the old, infamous Swiss Army Giant from Wenger, the other historic manufacturer of Swiss Army knives that saw its lineup absorbed into Victorinox in 2013. A closer look at the new Champ, though, and we see it's actually considerably smaller and more manageable.

The Champ XXL packs 73 functions, just over half the four-figure-priced Giant's 141, while adding just 12.5 ounces (354 g) to your pocket – downright feathery compared to the 3 pounds (1.4 kg) or so of the brick-like Giant. No one will call the Swiss Champ XXL's 2.5-in (6.4-cm) width sleek for a pocket knife, but compared to the 9-in (23-cm) width of the Giant, it certainly looks pocketable enough.

Victorinox's Swiss Champ XXL packs 61 tools and 73 functions
Victorinox's Swiss Champ XXL packs 61 tools and 73 functions

We won't bore you with the full list of 61 included implements, which you can review on the product page, but notable XXL tools include small and large blades; two female hex drivers to accept a full array of stored hex, slotted, Phillips and Torx bits; pliers and scissors; wood and metal saws; a magnifying glass; a pharmaceutical spatula; and a watch opener ... oh, and, naturally, a bottle opener.

Also included as part of the Swiss Champ XXL build is a corkscrew storing a mini slotted screwdriver, part of the new four-piece Mini Tools lineup. Featuring color-coded plastic handles, quite similar to the Tortoise Gear FireAnt, Victorinox's tiny tools are topped with task-oriented drivers. There's a gray-handled slotted driver for repairing and tightening glasses, a green-handled Phillips 000 and blue-handled Torx T4 designed for working with small electronics, and a red-handled pin for popping out SIM cards. They may be tiny, but they could be just the right tool at the right time – say, if the temples on your sunglasses pop loose in the field.

Victorinox's new Mini Tools lineup works on smaller jobs like fixing glasses and removing SIM cards
Victorinox's new Mini Tools lineup works on smaller jobs like fixing glasses and removing SIM cards

While the Swiss Champ XXL looks monstrous to us, it's actually not the largest multitool in Victorinox's current line, slotting below the 83-function Swiss Champ XAVT and above the 49-function Swiss Champ XLT. It retails for a not-insubstantial US$315.99. The Mini Tools go much easier on the wallet, retailing for $15 per four-piece set.

Source: Victorinox

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5 comments
5 comments
BlueOak
$316. Think of the wide range of nice alternative and fully functional tools that insane amount would buy.
Aross
Who is going to need something that big that it would cause you to lose your pants. If you need that many tools I would suggest a tool box. I've used some sort of Swiss army knifes most of my life but have never need one like that. The mini one with the small screw driver bits, however, I could use. Just curious though where the extra driver bits are stored.
ArdisLille
It looks like something out of Mad Magazine. And I want one.
CraigAllenCorson
The biggest problem with Swiss Army knives is that you can usually use only one tool at a time. In life, more than one tool is often required simultaneously.
ljaques
My better EDC pouch carries a better/lighter selection of discrete tools (which can be used together at the same time) for under $100. Swiss army knives like that are hard to use and are hard on pockets, ripping right through them after a long hike. That said, I've carried a Victorinox Classic in my pocket for the last 40 years. Knife, blade screwdriver, fingernail file, scissors, toothpick, and tweezers for sub $20.