Victorinox 1679500 Army Knife Swiss Champ Red

I was not disappointed, he actually appeared very pleased, and spent a lot of time investigating the uses of all the attachments (which there appear to be a couple of hundred of). I can highly recommend it for any man who loves a gadget, and as it comes inside a box, it's even easy to wrap up!


A beauty   January 23, 2007
Wpdees (UK)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

A lovely little toolkit. I went for this one as I could always think of things that i would need the missing tools for, on the smaller knives. Now that I have it, I love it, but at 31mm thick (info I couldnt find anywhere), its quite a weight in my pocket. A small sacrifice.


Amazing Multifunctional Tool   February 14, 2008
Hawk (Edinburgh, UK)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

It's worth to spent every money. I have one for almost 20 years and it's still working like new. This one should be a gift for somebody, but I think that I will keep it :) If You need a knife with many different tools, this should be Your perfect choice.


Perfect   August 1, 2008
Mr. G. B. Powell (UK)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I add my name to the other positive reviews of this magnificent knife.

Over a period of 25 years I have owned two of them, because the first got stolen twelve years ago and I immediatly replaced it.

It has been used daily. The blades have retained their sharpness. The chisel, boring tool, screwdrivers, scissors have been used daily.
The crosshead screwdriver has been challenged by some very nasty old screws yet the blades have retained their defintion. You can tell that it has been used by micro-dents, but most other screwdriver bits would have lost the ability to engage the screw at all. This one engages as new.
The scissors have done regular string, cotton, paper, thin card and fingernail duties and have not only retained their sharpness, but the machining of the pivot remains as solid as when new.
The files have had light use on metal and fingernails through the years and retain their bite without any dead zones.
The only blade I have not used is the fish-hook remover and descaler.
All blades lock and unlock smoothly and precisely.
The pliers are more suited for light duties. They can do noble battle with whatever is small enough to fit between their jaws. I have typically used it to remove or restrain small nuts or to hold things for soldering or bending.
The magnifying glass has two minor scratches through wear .. hairline and about two millimeters each but optical function is not impaired. It achieves big magnification over a small distance and is more for inspecting tiny components or splinters in skin than wider areas. There is minimal distortion over two thirds of the lens's diameter but then degrades rapidly .. that it the price we pay for combining a small lens with massive curvature. I could see no chromatic aberation.
The red plastic knife-casing has received no special protective treatment ... it gets put in my pocket alongside other tools and shows no more than a few minor scratches and the overall glossy finish of the red plastic has toned down to a lusterous glow.

Its very widest dimensions when closed are 90 by 32 by 26, and words I would used to describe it are 'compact', 'chunky' and 'dense'. It will fit in your pocket, and will not catch on things but will drag on light clothing.

Alternatives to this product?

Leatherman and similar. But these are, IMO a different category of multi-tool generally built around full size pliers. This enables them for some more heavy and outdoor use, as does their optional hex-socket driver attachment for screw-bits and sockets.