There is an important thing to consider when you are discussing the Victorinox Swiss Army knifes, and that is the specific "Swiss" aspect. What I mean by this is that the tools that come with a specific knife under a certain name, like "Huntsman" in this case are very much designed to adress the needs of the user to meet the tasks that are typical in a Swiss environment. Sounds a bit like a mental condition, doesn't it, but this here is an excellent model to demonstrate it. It's called the Huntsman, which is meant in the literal sense, it is to serve a hunter out in the woods in Switzerland. The woodsaw, does not need special explanation. The different screwdrivers of course are for any kind of in-the-field gunsmithing, be it the gun itself or the optics, you very much want a screwdriver that fits well to the screw when working on guns.(In the mountains they mostly use a repeating rifle, in the other parts of the country the most common is a "Drilling" with two side-by-side shotgun barrels and between/under them a rifle barrel in .223 or .308 or similar. Also popular is the over/under combination of shotgun/rifle.) The tweezers come very handy to deal with splinters and small thorns that you can catch easily in the woods and need to be taken care of. Hunting in Switzerland is very much regulated and there is a lot of paperwork that comes with it, the pencil is usefull to take some notes or do a smal sketch of something, make a mark on something, it's good to have. The big blade is used for a million things, the scissors are often better to cut some cord, bandage or tape. the small blade you keep reserved for a few specific tasks when you want to be certain that it is in best sharpened condition when used. the hunter wants to do the bloody part of the hunt as quickly as he can, this will be the small blades job with smaller game. The usual, most practiced form of hunting is done from a carefully selected position the hunter is setting himself in typically one or two hours before the dawn or before night is setting in. His best opportunities come in the twilight between night and day. It is for this situation that the knife's light is probably intended, to do some kind of visual check on your gun or the optics, maybe you need to read something, look in some sort of manual, whatever, but the last thing you want is some kind of 5000 lumen supernova extreem xxl Texas edition flashlight because it might spoil your hunt. So, these are my 2 cents , or better 2 Rappen delivered by one of your fans from Switzerland. I hope I could give you some valuable information that might help you to understand the reason or concept that is behind of some of the combinations of Victorinox. Of course it's not the end all, be all, its just one angle that they can choose to take when developping another model. I think you do a great job in reviewing stuff and of course I will admit that your knowledge on the subject of Swiss knifes and knifes in General is far, far beyond mine. The appreciation you show of the Swiss knives is something I do take a little bit of pride in especially as it's coming from someone with part Filippino heritage, a people that I would consider as the worlds Nr.1 experts on the subject of blades. PS. The corkscrew is another thing that has very much to do with Swiss culture and habits. Julius Cesar found most noteworthy about them their warlike nature and their unlimited thirst. Vine made the import good Nr,1 in Roman times. What changed since then is mainly two things, one we now cultivate our own vine, and we use 7dl glassbottles instead of amphores. Most Swiss men think at some point of their life that higher spiritual wisdom is found in tasting vine, wich serves as good enough excuse to get pissed like any other. In the most basic version of the Swiss tam-tam around vine is the common belief that all decent vine needs to be in a bottle with a cork. Hence the need for a corkscrew. Its an indispensable item of all social occasions that are not AA-meetings (the people there usually know multiple ways to open every type of bottle without the help of any kind of tool)
That is the best possible interpretation of the design. However, I don't believe they really made the light so dim on purpose, because it is the same light used on their other Lite series models, which are not designated for hunting. Also a red light would be better if it was for hunting.
Great explanations of these tools, zürihegel ! I am from the U.S. and appreciated this information. :) I am not familiar with those things you brought up until now, so I was puzzled as to why Victorinox chose certain tools on their knives to sell in the past. Now you've cleared all of that up. However, at the same time, Victorinox is clearly known about worldwide! I think it'd be neat if they made some Swiss Army Knife models for those who are not a part of the Swiss culture! Well, that's up to them, of course. I think they'd make a lot more money if they did that! Or maybe some other company can do it. Would be interesting to see foreign competition! :) I had a SAK when I was a child, way back in the mid 1980s. Forgot what model it was, but it was roughly the size of the Huntsman. It was not a tiny Classic. I think it was my grandfathers. Anyway, that was the only SAK I ever had, and don't know where it went. I am still a newb to seeing all of the different SAK models and just started getting back into multitools this year, so I'm watching all these videos on RUclips to catch up. :) I recently bought a cheap BIBURY plier multitool on Amazon that cost but $22. I'd like a SAK but none of them have pliers, except the really expensive one, which then competes with Leatherman (which I'd like more due to some blade shape they have). Anyway, since I now have a decent plier-based multitool, which sadly lacks good scissors, then I'm going for a tiny SAK Classic, solely for the scissors. :)
Your Huntsman Lite has one of the old gray Lite modules. The newer clear plastic Lite modules provide a brighter light, about 4 xor 5x the lux. But I get your point. Personally, I'm a sucker for the in line Phillips. I think a Victorinox is fairly limited without it. I moved the clear Lite + Phillips layer from my recent vintage Huntsman Lite to a Compact, creating a Compact Lite for night time EDC. It's as wide as a Yeoman. For daytime EDC, I added a Cybertool layer to a Companion. It's maybe 1mm thicker than a Ranger. To my old Huntsman Lite with the Lite removed, I added a file and fish scaler. So effectively a Ranger + Fish Scaler. Perfect for outdoor adventures.
I got this last year. It's a cool idea, but its tool set will have a lot of trouble competing with other Victorinox models around the same thickness, such as the Ranger, Craftsman, and Cybertool. The light part is also very underpowered compared to small lights you could just attach to the keyring of another model Swiss Knife, such as a Photon light or Nitecore Tube light.
My 6 year old daughter has shown a lot of interest in my SAKs, so i told her she could choose any SAK she wanted. She chose the regular huntsman in multicam
As far as I know, this is the most-compact option that has a saw, scissors, phillips screwdriver and corkscrew. So even if the light is not all that great, if you need the above tools it makes sense.
The implements on this knife are a bit perplexing. I could say the same about the Victorinox "Handyman". I've never heard of an actual working Handyman doing his job without having a phillips screwdriver in his tool bag/box yet the Victorinox "Handyman" has no phillipis anywhere on it. I love Victorinox but some of these knives make me scratch my head (and nuts) simultaneously.
If you ever used a victorinox, to drive a screw, you know, it is not too comfortable. So an actual working Handyman don't want to use every time a SAK for drive a phillips. And I think, for "oh, i forget my philips screwdriver" situations there is the can openers driver. Not much, but better than nothing. I think, the Handyman SAK is the best, if you use another tools, but you want a second tool for support. Sorry for bad english, it's my secont language what i actually learn.
Just get rid of the light and use it for 2032 or 2016 battery storage. There is so many things I have that use 2032s it would be nice to carry some with you everyday. Especially during hunting season.
I'm not a big fan of the translucent scales, but that's one of the beauties of the SAK - you can always change them to a desired color yourself quite easily from any number of sources. :)
I am looking to replace a stolen Huntsman and was looking at the Huntsman lite because of the LED light. I see that its not worth spending the few extra Francs for such a weak light, I already have a bunch of keytag size LEDs of which I will attach one to the ring of the future Vic. Thank you very much for this review - also appreciated Zürihegel's comments to which I adhere - but my usage of a LED light would require some more power - so the huntsman lite is no longer on my list. 👍
Yes, these lights need updating, the best solution right now is the normal huntsman and attaching one of those USB rechargeable 130LM keychain lights to it by a lanyard.
i got one of these and a midnite manager@work, and the huntsman lite is far inferior in terms of brightness, the midnite manager@work is literally 5 to 10 times brighter it seems when used in a completely dark room. but that's ok, the light is designed for quick tasks like finding a dropped set of keys on the dark ground, quickly finding things or reading text, it isn't meant for a survival knife. i was really disappointed at first in the brightness of this, but now i don't mind. if anything, the battery will last longer. hey at least it isn't the awful old red led lol. it isn't too big in my opinion, it's just about a scale width shorter than the handyman and champion plus.
Yeah that is a problem with the Victorinox Lite models, modern keychain lights are a lot brighter. They need to partner up with Nitecore for better lights that are USB rechargeable.
Even though I don't like the light, I still might get it for having the corkscrew AND a Phillips screwdriver. Since the two tools that I mentioned are on the same layer, they should of replaced the light with a wrench.
Good video ... Do you think the inline Phillips warrants the purchase of one of the chunkier knives or in your opinion is the 3mm driver on the can opener just as effective and hefty ... Thanks for all your efforts...👏
great review I am with you on the nearly needless light I carry the Tube on my keyring and it is rechargeable the one on that knife no doubt takes a difficult to find battery
Kind'a cool, but overall a dumb idea! But hey if i had this or nothing? None of the tools is useless, it's just some others would have made more sense.Maybe if they shrunk a decent light to fit in the frame, it would even be great.
Hello, I have one the same but more current and I also have the mountaineer lite seems to be from the same time of the Huntsman Lite of the video...waching in my channel, Greetings from Perú
Old vid ~ Thanks WAJK. I was just on their site trying to find which Chinese knockoff I have they copied. ~ eesh. Huntsman Lite was the closest but who needs a small battery light stuffed in their auto @ zero degrees out? ...now finding out its a lame light. Screw that girth...others with lame pliers ta boot...more girth. ~ Plastic magnifying lens?...they never heard of Deet type stuffs? Seems Vic is playing with me. ifn corkscrew no Phillips and vise versa. Corkscrew, saw, Phillips screw in simple..was too chubby long ago, I'd get one cuz silly nostalgia.
The Compact is the only one I can think of that is 2 layers. The Pioneer X has 3 layer and scissors, also pretty nice and slim because it has alox scales.
For me, the led light works just fine. Even in daytime it's sufficient when working on the train, whenever I need just a few lumens. I don't like to attach anything to a SAK. Rather carry something like a small edc light separately 😉
There is an important thing to consider when you are discussing the Victorinox Swiss Army knifes, and that is the specific "Swiss" aspect. What I mean by this is that the tools that come with a specific knife under a certain name, like "Huntsman" in this case are very much designed to adress the needs of the user to meet the tasks that are typical in a Swiss environment. Sounds a bit like a mental condition, doesn't it, but this here is an excellent model to demonstrate it. It's called the Huntsman, which is meant in the literal sense, it is to serve a hunter out in the woods in Switzerland. The woodsaw, does not need special explanation. The different screwdrivers of course are for any kind of in-the-field gunsmithing, be it the gun itself or the optics, you very much want a screwdriver that fits well to the screw when working on guns.(In the mountains they mostly use a repeating rifle, in the other parts of the country the most common is a "Drilling" with two side-by-side shotgun barrels and between/under them a rifle barrel in .223 or .308 or similar. Also popular is the over/under combination of shotgun/rifle.)
The tweezers come very handy to deal with splinters and small thorns that you can catch easily in the woods and need to be taken care of.
Hunting in Switzerland is very much regulated and there is a lot of paperwork that comes with it, the pencil is usefull to take some notes or do a smal sketch of something, make a mark on something, it's good to have.
The big blade is used for a million things, the scissors are often better to cut some cord, bandage or tape. the small blade you keep reserved for a few specific tasks when you want to be certain that it is in best sharpened condition when used. the hunter wants to do the bloody part of the hunt as quickly as he can, this will be the small blades job with smaller game.
The usual, most practiced form of hunting is done from a carefully selected position the hunter is setting himself in typically one or two hours before the dawn or before night is setting in. His best opportunities come in the twilight between night and day. It is for this situation that the knife's light is probably intended, to do some kind of visual check on your gun or the optics, maybe you need to read something, look in some sort of manual, whatever, but the last thing you want is some kind of 5000 lumen supernova extreem xxl Texas edition flashlight because it might spoil your hunt.
So, these are my 2 cents , or better 2 Rappen delivered by one of your fans from Switzerland. I hope I could give you some valuable information that might help you to understand the reason or concept that is behind of some of the combinations of Victorinox. Of course it's not the end all, be all, its just one angle that they can choose to take when developping another model. I think you do a great job in reviewing stuff and of course I will admit that your knowledge on the subject of Swiss knifes and knifes in General is far, far beyond mine. The appreciation you show of the Swiss knives is something I do take a little bit of pride in especially as it's coming from someone with part Filippino heritage, a people that I would consider as the worlds Nr.1 experts on the subject of blades.
PS. The corkscrew is another thing that has very much to do with Swiss culture and habits. Julius Cesar found most noteworthy about them their warlike nature and their unlimited thirst. Vine made the import good Nr,1 in Roman times. What changed since then is mainly two things, one we now cultivate our own vine, and we use 7dl glassbottles instead of amphores. Most Swiss men think at some point of their life that higher spiritual wisdom is found in tasting vine, wich serves as good enough excuse to get pissed like any other. In the most basic version of the Swiss tam-tam around vine is the common belief that all decent vine needs to be in a bottle with a cork. Hence the need for a corkscrew. Its an indispensable item of all social occasions that are not AA-meetings (the people there usually know multiple ways to open every type of bottle without the help of any kind of tool)
That is the best possible interpretation of the design. However, I don't believe they really made the light so dim on purpose, because it is the same light used on their other Lite series models, which are not designated for hunting. Also a red light would be better if it was for hunting.
Great explanations of these tools, zürihegel
! I am from the U.S. and appreciated this information. :) I am not familiar with those things you brought up until now, so I was puzzled as to why Victorinox chose certain tools on their knives to sell in the past. Now you've cleared all of that up. However, at the same time, Victorinox is clearly known about worldwide! I think it'd be neat if they made some Swiss Army Knife models for those who are not a part of the Swiss culture! Well, that's up to them, of course. I think they'd make a lot more money if they did that! Or maybe some other company can do it. Would be interesting to see foreign competition! :)
I had a SAK when I was a child, way back in the mid 1980s. Forgot what model it was, but it was roughly the size of the Huntsman. It was not a tiny Classic. I think it was my grandfathers. Anyway, that was the only SAK I ever had, and don't know where it went. I am still a newb to seeing all of the different SAK models and just started getting back into multitools this year, so I'm watching all these videos on RUclips to catch up. :)
I recently bought a cheap BIBURY plier multitool on Amazon that cost but $22. I'd like a SAK but none of them have pliers, except the really expensive one, which then competes with Leatherman (which I'd like more due to some blade shape they have). Anyway, since I now have a decent plier-based multitool, which sadly lacks good scissors, then I'm going for a tiny SAK Classic, solely for the scissors. :)
I wanted this knife till I seen your review. Thank you for making my mind up and saving me money 👍🏼
Sorry :] But yeah, there are other Victorinox models that are more worth it.
The LED light on the new Huntsman Lite has been upgraded and is now much brighter.
I'll check it out.
Your Huntsman Lite has one of the old gray Lite modules. The newer clear plastic Lite modules provide a brighter light, about 4 xor 5x the lux. But I get your point. Personally, I'm a sucker for the in line Phillips. I think a Victorinox is fairly limited without it.
I moved the clear Lite + Phillips layer from my recent vintage Huntsman Lite to a Compact, creating a Compact Lite for night time EDC. It's as wide as a Yeoman. For daytime EDC, I added a Cybertool layer to a Companion. It's maybe 1mm thicker than a Ranger.
To my old Huntsman Lite with the Lite removed, I added a file and fish scaler. So effectively a Ranger + Fish Scaler. Perfect for outdoor adventures.
I got this last year. It's a cool idea, but its tool set will have a lot of trouble competing with other Victorinox models around the same thickness, such as the Ranger, Craftsman, and Cybertool. The light part is also very underpowered compared to small lights you could just attach to the keyring of another model Swiss Knife, such as a Photon light or Nitecore Tube light.
can you do a swiss army camper multitool review? maybe its a bit too simple to be any good as a video lol
love your channel
It's a good design, the only reason I don't have one is that I still use an old Wenger called the Backpacker which is very similar.
Thanks!
+WeAllJuggleKnives ;)
Love the regular huntsman model. Its my favorite.
A wise choice! :D
My 6 year old daughter has shown a lot of interest in my SAKs, so i told her she could choose any SAK she wanted. She chose the regular huntsman in multicam
As far as I know, this is the most-compact option that has a saw, scissors, phillips screwdriver and corkscrew. So even if the light is not all that great, if you need the above tools it makes sense.
The only huntsman with a philips ! I’m french and I need the pen, the saw, the scissors, the Philips AND the corkscrew!
I wish my Ranger had a Phillips instead of a cork screw :(
But if an inline Philips driver is a must the huntman lite is the way to go..
Love the tool, but the should added a brighter light
It comes with old batteries so changing it should help.
I think that the 2016 macgyver used this knife in the Hawaii episode, because he literally used the light, and it looked like it was that size.
You missed the pin!!!
Have a couple of the huntsman good selection of tools.
The Spartan lite is the best SAK with a light
Why is it called the Huntsman Kite if it has more features than the origanal huntsman
The implements on this knife are a bit perplexing.
I could say the same about the Victorinox "Handyman".
I've never heard of an actual working Handyman doing his job without having a phillips screwdriver in his tool bag/box yet the Victorinox "Handyman" has no phillipis anywhere on it.
I love Victorinox but some of these knives make me scratch my head (and nuts) simultaneously.
If you ever used a victorinox, to drive a screw, you know, it is not too comfortable. So an actual working Handyman don't want to use every time a SAK for drive a phillips. And I think, for "oh, i forget my philips screwdriver" situations there is the can openers driver. Not much, but better than nothing. I think, the Handyman SAK is the best, if you use another tools, but you want a second tool for support. Sorry for bad english, it's my secont language what i actually learn.
Just get rid of the light and use it for 2032 or 2016 battery storage. There is so many things I have that use 2032s it would be nice to carry some with you everyday. Especially during hunting season.
yeah time for my favourite series thank wealljuggleknives
Welcome!
How does one replace the light battery on this bad boy? Great vid; Ty.
Interesting concept but probably not for most. Good review and comparison to others. I want a Harvester but they're getting harder to find.
Harvester is awesome
I love Victorinox
Caleb Myth me too!
Nice honest review, interesting multi tool, the light does not look useful enough. Cheers.
Thanks for watching!
I'm not a big fan of the translucent scales, but that's one of the beauties of the SAK - you can always change them to a desired color yourself quite easily from any number of sources. :)
They need more bling, maybe some gold with dollar signs on the scales LOL
WeAllJuggleKnives Ha ha, don't know if I'd go that far but I've tricked out a few of mine with the silver tech scales.
The light is compared to when you see the old school mag lights that are really underpowered and still a markup
The new LED Solitaire is what I want.
We love our old Mini Mags. We need to see after shutting the light off...candle kinda cool as well.
Explorer plus all the way, every day. 😎🤘🏻
your content is awesome and I think you deserve more subscribers then what you have
Thank you for your support!
I am looking to replace a stolen Huntsman and was looking at the Huntsman lite because of the LED light. I see that its not worth spending the few extra Francs for such a weak light, I already have a bunch of keytag size LEDs of which I will attach one to the ring of the future Vic. Thank you very much for this review - also appreciated Zürihegel's comments to which I adhere - but my usage of a LED light would require some more power - so the huntsman lite is no longer on my list. 👍
Yes, these lights need updating, the best solution right now is the normal huntsman and attaching one of those USB rechargeable 130LM keychain lights to it by a lanyard.
But there are a pen
i own a huntsman lite and it has much more power light. You must check battery.
Yeah I was gonna get one but I got the traveller lite instead. No regrets so far
Billy Stink how is the performance of the traveller lite. Is it a good buy ?
Thanks for video. Will it sale for blackfriday on amazon?
i got one of these and a midnite manager@work, and the huntsman lite is far inferior in terms of brightness, the midnite manager@work is literally 5 to 10 times brighter it seems when used in a completely dark room. but that's ok, the light is designed for quick tasks like finding a dropped set of keys on the dark ground, quickly finding things or reading text, it isn't meant for a survival knife. i was really disappointed at first in the brightness of this, but now i don't mind. if anything, the battery will last longer. hey at least it isn't the awful old red led lol. it isn't too big in my opinion, it's just about a scale width shorter than the handyman and champion plus.
it's also pretty much the same width as a Hercules
Yeah that is a problem with the Victorinox Lite models, modern keychain lights are a lot brighter. They need to partner up with Nitecore for better lights that are USB rechargeable.
Even though I don't like the light, I still might get it for having the corkscrew AND a Phillips screwdriver. Since the two tools that I mentioned are on the same layer, they should of replaced the light with a wrench.
Yeah they should upgrade the light and maybe include it as a separate item attached to the keyring.
WeAllJuggleKnives Yes
Good video ... Do you think the inline Phillips warrants the purchase of one of the chunkier knives or in your opinion is the 3mm driver on the can opener just as effective and hefty ... Thanks for all your efforts...👏
The can opener drives a #3, inline driver drives a #2 and a 1.5. It's definitely worth it..
just a question
how many SAKs do you own???
I'm not sure
great review I am with you on the nearly needless light I carry the Tube on my keyring and it is rechargeable the one on that knife no doubt takes a difficult to find battery
Yeah all small lights like this should be rechargeable, changing the tiny batteries is a drag.
Kind'a cool, but overall a dumb idea! But hey if i had this or nothing? None of the tools is useless, it's just some others would have made more sense.Maybe if they shrunk a decent light to fit in the frame, it would even be great.
True that, maybe even the magnifying glass instead of the light. Then it would be like the Explorer but with a wood saw.
Does this come with the plus scales or did you add the plus scales
It comes with them.
Hello, I have one the same but more current and I also have the mountaineer lite seems to be from the same time of the Huntsman Lite of the video...waching in my channel, Greetings from Perú
Thanks, my friend!
Old vid ~ Thanks WAJK.
I was just on their site trying to find which Chinese knockoff I have they copied. ~ eesh.
Huntsman Lite was the closest but who needs a small battery light stuffed in their auto @ zero degrees out? ...now finding out its a lame light. Screw that girth...others with lame pliers ta boot...more girth. ~ Plastic magnifying lens?...they never heard of Deet type stuffs?
Seems Vic is playing with me. ifn corkscrew no Phillips and vise versa.
Corkscrew, saw, Phillips screw in simple..was too chubby long ago, I'd get one cuz silly nostalgia.
make a collection vid if you can plz
One day I shall
Can you recommend a 2 layer sak with a knife? Preferably 84 or 91mm
Go with the Alox Electrician or the the Evolution S111.
I meant a 2 layer sak with scissors. Sorry I'm an idiot
The Compact is the only one I can think of that is 2 layers. The Pioneer X has 3 layer and scissors, also pretty nice and slim because it has alox scales.
Thanks mate
Doug Le cadet or recruit
I like this
Thanks!
can you review the locksmith or the mountaineer! thanks
I've been curious about the Mountaineer, i've always wondered why the file but no saw on that.
I agree bro, i find the saw and a large file to be so useful in a 4 layered configuration. Ya hear me Victorinox!! lol
@@WeAllJuggleKnives No trees high up in the mountains.
The light is not worth it while so weak
so true
For me, the led light works just fine. Even in daytime it's sufficient when working on the train, whenever I need just a few lumens. I don't like to attach anything to a SAK. Rather carry something like a small edc light separately 😉
pls one tebe prvi
Thanks for watching!