Victorinox Huntsman Swiss Army Knife

Swiss Army knives are truly iconic. The word gets thrown around a lot these days, but in this case it’s fully deserved. These multitools have been around for well over a century and still going strong, a real testament to their timeless design and everyday usefulness.

This particular model is the Huntsman, a knife designed with general outdoor use in mind, the kind of situations where you’re carrying everything you need on your back. Whether you’re heading out for a day hike or a multi day camping trip, what and how much stuff you take with you are the all important decisions. That’s why, for many people, a Swiss Army Knife is considered an essential piece of kit. The Huntsman is a great example of an almost perfect balance between compact size, light weight, and a genuinely useful selection of tools.

Alongside all the usual suspects you’d expect, a blade, bottle opener, scissors etc, there is one tool on the Huntsman that really caught my eye and adds an extra layer of versatility, the parcel hook. Originally designed to carry parcels tied with string in the days before plastic bags, this small and often overlooked tool is capable of far more than its name suggests.

Some modern, everyday uses include:

•No touch tool: Useful for minimising direct contact with potentially unclean surfaces during day to day life.

•Camping tasks: Great for loosening stubborn tent pegs and handy for lifting hot pots or mugs around camp.

•Makeshift handle: Ideal for pulling a stuck zipper, untangling knots, or carrying heavy or awkward loads with less strain on your fingers.

Overall, I really like the Huntsman, in my opinion, it’s one of the best variants of the Swiss Army Knife Victorinox offers. It’s compact, very lightweight, with an excellent array of tools. Another big plus is that the Huntsman is a non locking knife with a blade length of 7cm, which means it is legal to carry in the UK and many European countries provided you have a good reason.

I took my Swiss Army knife with me on a trip to Fuertaventura. It was incredibly useful during hikes, from food prep to minor repairs on the trail, but particularly for those little unexpected annoying jobs that crop up now and again, when you randomly need a pair of scissors or some tweezers! This knife was bloody brilliant! It will definitely be going in my backpack again.

That said, there are a few minor drawbacks worth mentioning. Some of the tools can be fiddly and awkward to open, the main culprits being the parcel hook, the reamer, and especially the saw. The saw in particular can easily lead to sore or cut fingers if you’re not careful, so it’s best opened with caution. The grip could also be better, as it can sometimes feel a little slippery, especially with wet hands.

These are just minor negatives, definitely not show stoppers, just things worth considering if you’re thinking about buying one. Overall the Huntsman is a great piece of kit and I would highly recommend picking one up.