What to Consider When Buying a Swiss Army Knife, Leatherman or Other Multi-tool

Swiss Army knifes and other multi-function pocket knives have been popular for hikers, campers, explorers, adventurers, and collectors for years. They are priced anywhere where from a few dollars to over a hundred dollars. Also, there are many options when selecting a pocket knife. Both of which can make choosing one very difficult. It can be very confusing to decide on how much to spend and what features you want. When you are buying a Swiss Army knife, Leatherman, or other multi-tool, there are specific things you should keep in mind.

How much are you willing and able to spend? The first thing to consider with price is how much you can truly afford. You don't want to trade money for food for what is basically a gadget. Once you decide what you can afford, you should decide what you're willing to spend. The money you're putting towards this knife could go somewhere else, even if it's towards a recreation. Do you want to trade that for a knife? There are quite a few knives in the twenty dollar range, and there are plenty that exceed a hundred dollars. How many movie tickets and cups of coffee are you willing to exchange for the knife? Once you've decided that it simply comes down to picking what you want.

Where are you bringing it? If you're going to mainly brings it hiking and camping, then there are going to be specific features you want. If it's going to be a pocket knife you carry absolutely everywhere then those features are going to be very different. For hiking and camping you may not mind a large, bulky knife, as long as it has good tools you will use such as a large locking blade, a wood saw, or can opener; as a simple pocket knife, you might prefer it to be small and have scissors, a corkscrew, or even a pen. If you're just collecting and have no serious use for it, then you will probably pay less attention to the practical aspect so much as the appearance and whether or not it completes some element of your collection, for instance if you want every Swiss Army Knife from a particular series.

How important is the knife? For some it seems obvious that the knife is the most important part of a pocket knife, but with today's multi-purpose knives the other tools that come in it can be as important, if not more so, to you. Consider how much you'll actually be using the knife and whether you actually want a knife at all. Sometimes all you really want is a multi-tool. There are many tools these days that either don't have a knife or only have a small knife. This removes the liability of carrying around a knife. On the other hand maybe all you want is the knife, with the extra tools being an afterthought. You also consider what qualities you like in a knife. You have many options, large, small, locking, and sometimes you have to choose between the tools you want the kind of knife you want. This is when you need to decide which is more important.