Hello! I'm getting prepared for a 1-2yr RTW trip where I will be in and out of cities, rural areas, and wilderness. I'm thinking about buying a swiss army knife of some sort. The only things I can think I may need it for are tweezers, corkscrew, sissors, and maybe some sort of eating utensil. Can anybody help with some advice on what else I may need on one, or any recommendations for a specific model/brand? Thanx!

If you want tweezers, you are pretty much limited to Victorinox. I suggest the Climber.

For eating, I suggest a spork.

I am partial to the spork from Light My Fire. It has a knife in addition to the spoon and fork, and the spoon is separate from the fork so it can hold more liquid than a normal spork spoon. Here's a picture (I hope):

Perfect, thanx for the info =)

LOL! Mikeym, i usually use the side of the fork instead of a knife anyway. I love it; all forks should be made that way!

Is it comfortable to hold? Has one ever broken on you?

I got the knife/spork after my last trip, so I've only played with it a couple of times. It seems as sturdy as any of the other plastic camping utensils I've tried. I wouldn't push it too hard, but it seems fine for normal purposes. I haven't tried it very long so I don't know how it holds up over time. It's super light and super cheap, so you can always take a spare.

- Mike

Adam,

Are you trying to limit yourself to what you can carry on, or are you willing to check baggage?

I've had a tiny, 2" swiss army knife confiscated, even though you can carry on 4" scissors.... Not to mention, the tweezers on them aren't all that great.

If you want carry on, and are willing to carry separate items and skip the knife, you could get something like these:
http://gear.bootsnall.com/p/5498/Snow-Peak-Titanium-Fork-And-Spoon-Set-Ii.html
http://gear.bootsnall.com/p/8635/Msr-Titan-Titanium-Fork-And-Spoon.html

Or, check your local army surplus/camping store for a nice folding utensil set. Army surplus is great cause many things are aluminum and cheap and can stand a beating. I've hammered out my favorite mess kit more than once from dents, and it keeps on going.

Then buy separate tweezers (I recommend tweezerman if you want some serious ones) and corkscrew, both of which are still allowed as carry on, currently anyway...

quote:

Originally posted by mikeym:
I am partial to the spork from Light My Fire.

MikeyM, you have great taste in Sporks. I never thought I would look at a $3 plastic spoon and think "I need that." Then I saw the Light My Fire spork ... my life was forever changed.

quote:

I've had a tiny, 2" swiss army knife confiscated, even though you can carry on 4" scissors....

To my knowledge, you have never been able to carry pocket knives as cabin luggage. Since the early nineties, I must have lost a dozen Swiss army knives because I nearly always forget to transfer them from hand luggage to check-in baggage.

dont forget to consider the leatherman as well. I retired my 18yr old swiss army knife (bought in swiss on my first trip) for my current trip. The pliers have already come in handy a bunch in just 3 weeks. Plus it has all the rest of the bells and whistles-including tweezers. It actually is better than the swiss army tool I carried for all those years. We'll just have to see if I can manage not to lose it over the next 18. No spork tool however. But i do have an old metal knife/fork/spoon combo tool also. cheers.

Leatherman also has a 25 year warranty.

If it breaks, send it back... they send you a new one.

Buy one used...

quote:

Originally posted by Adam Shane:
any recommendations for a specific model/brand?

I'm rather loyal to Victorinox for my Swiss Army needs. Wenger makes good ones too (Both brands are used by the actual Swiss Army.)

Just be sure to stay away from the cheap Chinese immitators. A good pocket knife will last a lifetime.

quote:

Originally posted by Skimaxpower:
MikeyM, you have great taste in Sporks. I never thought I would look at a $3 plastic spoon and think "I need that." Then I saw the Light My Fire spork ... my life was forever changed.

I saw them at Trailsloggers, a new store kind of near the San Jose airport. I think a tear came to my eye when I spotted them.

i have a victorinox swiss tool spirit and i love it. have used it to fix my car, cut through padlocks when i lost the key in south america, on fishing trips and around home all the time. i find it better than a leatherman that i also have, its a bit more sturdy and more comfortable to use. ONly thing that it doesnt have is tweezers but you are better off with a proper set anyway rather than the Vic ones.

Swisstool Spirit

quote:

Originally posted by whalewatcher:

quote:

I've had a tiny, 2" swiss army knife confiscated, even though you can carry on 4" scissors....

To my knowledge, you have never been able to carry pocket knives as cabin luggage. Since the early nineties, I must have lost a dozen Swiss army knives because I nearly always forget to transfer them from hand luggage to check-in baggage.

Hey I just joined and being a bit of a Kit Junkie, found myself reading this thread.

Before the bad day, I regularly travelled with anything from a small Swiss Army knife to a Leatherman Wave in my hand luggage. It just wasn't a problem. The few times I was asked about it, they took a look at it and waved me on. Once coming into Puerto Rico from the Virgin Islands, the X-ray person exclaimed "It's a knife!". The super took my Spyderco Delica out of the pocket on my pack, opened it up and checked it against his hand. "That's fine" he said handing it back to me. Take a look at it, it is significantly more knife than a SAK but I boarded with it.

They reckon 10% of the flying population had a pocket knife with them before that day.

On the Leatherman...Rod is right...but not complete in his rightness. Leatherman makes a provision with many of it's carriers...If the thing breaks... you can take the thing down to some knife store. They will hand you a new one on the spot. That is the love of Leatherman...EHRLICH!

D