I was bitten by the Victorinox bug again today ... (pic heavy)

[Top-Gear-24]

Went to my local army/outdoor store yesterday and saw they had a couple of Victorinox Swisstool boxes behind the counter.  So I asked to see them and the guy from the store said that he was going to quit selling the big tools from Victorinox (he had the Swisstools for some time and nobody bought them, all his customers would buy Leatherman tools and nobody wanted the Swisstools ... untill I walked in ...  ).

He had 3 Spirits, all with the "butterknife", one without a sheath, one with the leather sheath with the belt clip on it and on with the leather sheat and the ratchet/bits/corkscrew.  And he also had a Swisstool, but the leather sheath and the ratchet/bits from that one had gone missing ... He told me if I bought them all, he would give me about 35 % discount, but my budget didn't allow that kind of purchase right now, so I went home and slept on it.

Today I went back there to buy myself the Spirit with the Leather belt clip sheath and see if he would make a deal for me on that one alone.  And after about 15 minutes I walked out with the Spirit that I came for and ... a brand new Swisstool  .

Okay, the Swisstool has no sheath or bit kit anymore, but I had a spare Vic sheath at home which is a bit small for the Swisstool, but it fits (untill I find myself a real Swisstool sheath somewhere, it will do just fine).  But I got the Swisstool for a stunning 49 Euros (which is a great deal, here in Belgium, the Swisstool with sheath costs about 120 Euros), and that is if you can find them in a store here, some of you may remember that about a week after buying my Spirit RT at another local store last summer, I ordered 2 other Spirits ,only to end up in 3 months of lies and b*llsh*t from the Belgian Vic importer.  Which is also one of the reasons why the guy at this store wanted to get rid of the larger Vic multitools, he told me he didn't want to deal with the Belgian importer anymore, because the never kept their word ... sounds familiar ...

Anyway, the Belgian Victorinox importer may suck, but the Vic tools sure don't, so here are some pics from my new Vic tools  .

Here's the Spirit:




I wasn't sure about the belt-clip, but man, this thing is great  .












Here's the Swisstool:













And here is my humble Swisstool/Spirit collection (untill now):










Thanks for listening guys (and girls  ).

Greetings from Belgium,

Eric

[Sidhartha]

oooo my! very nice haul! very sexy spirit in leather 

[ColoSwiss]

Nice tools! And a nice deal makes it even better! 

Karl

[ICanFixThat]

Nice!!  Great Deal! 

[sergemaster]

Amici,
Bravo!!

Cheers,
Serge

[kreisler]

In the closed position, do your 2 Spirits lie perfectly flat on a horizontal surface, i.e. the 2 spring locks both touching the surface at the same time, or is only 1 spring lock touching?

and what about play in the pliers, again in the closed position? (when the tool is unfolded, the pliers do not have any play, of course. and the tool lies perfectly plane on a flat surface, i.e. with the 2 spring locks both touching the surface)

[Mr. Whippy]

Beautiful!  I'd like to hear your opinion of the swisstool in comparison to the spirit.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Cracking set of tools you got yourself there mate

[North Man]

nice one

[Zed]

I must try out a spirit one day   

[Chako]

You would like it very much Paul.

[Smaug]

I wonder why the "Leathermen" sell better?  Is it that they are exotic? Or that they are the original manufacturer of pliers-based multi-tools.

I think they sell better here too, but they are generally less expensive and also I believe there is some patriotism involved too.

Nice catch. I would just recommend dealing directly with Switzerland if you have any problems, and maybe mention that the Belgian importer is incompetent too.

[82brutus]

Great haul! Great pictures!  Good for you! 

Sent from my MB860

[Chako]

I would never consider a Leatherman exotic. Mind you, I guess if I was on the other side of the big pond, I might.

The local Canadian Tire sells the Victorinox SwissTool for almost 100 dollars. You can get a Leatherman for a lot cheaper here.

I still think nothing beats the precision and quality of what Victorinox offers. Mind you, they only offer 2 models (tool variations notwithstanding). Leatherman makes a wider variety of models. The nice thing about this is that there is something for everyone out there.

Eric...nice catch and great photos. 

[Zed]

You would like it very much Paul.

     

[nuphoria]

Great stuff

I haven't seen that belt clip pouch - looks very sturdy.

[Sazabi]

Very nice haul.  I'd like to find a leather belt pouch like what you went home with.  Does anyone know if it's a European-only model and how much they go for?

[AimlessWanderer]

Very nice haul.  I'd like to find a leather belt pouch like what you went home with.  Does anyone know if it's a European-only model and how much they go for?

I think it's the one with the rotating clip, Rex.

Google "Victorinox pouch rotating clip" and you should find options for both the Spirit and Swisstool. I'm pretty sure they're not just Europe

[Sazabi]

Very nice haul.  I'd like to find a leather belt pouch like what you went home with.  Does anyone know if it's a European-only model and how much they go for?

I think it's the one with the rotating clip, Rex.

Google "Victorinox pouch rotating clip" and you should find options for both the Spirit and Swisstool. I'm pretty sure they're not just Europe

Cool.

[MultiMat]

Stunning photos mate  .

I have a standard Spirit with that odd serrated blade on the way to me ,to go along with the 'X' I already have

[Top-Gear-24]

Thanks for the replies  .

In the closed position, do your 2 Spirits lie perfectly flat on a horizontal surface, i.e. the 2 spring locks both touching the surface at the same time, or is only 1 spring lock touching?

and what about play in the pliers, again in the closed position? (when the tool is unfolded, the pliers do not have any play, of course. and the tool lies perfectly plane on a flat surface, i.e. with the 2 spring locks both touching the surface)

Just tested this on both my Spirits and I noticed that, when closed, they don't touch the table with both spring locks, always with one.  There's no kind of play on the pliers (not in open or closed position).  And when I lay them down on the table in open position, both spring locks touch the table (instead of just one in the closed position).

Beautiful!  I'd like to hear your opinion of the swisstool in comparison to the spirit.

A bit to soon to know the pros and cons on both tools, but in a couple of weeks i'll know more about that  .

I wonder why the "Leathermen" sell better?  Is it that they are exotic? Or that they are the original manufacturer of pliers-based multi-tools.

I think they sell better here too, but they are generally less expensive and also I believe there is some patriotism involved too.

Nice catch. I would just recommend dealing directly with Switzerland if you have any problems, and maybe mention that the Belgian importer is incompetent too.

I don't know either, I think it's because Leatherman multipliers are much better known here, and you can buy them almost everywhere (almost in each outdoor/tool/army/adventure store), while Victorinox is only know for their Swiss Army knives, and the Swisstool and Spirit are nowhere to be found at the local stores, and ordering them through the Belgian importer is, like I said before, a test of patience, character and stamina ... and most of the time ends up in not getting the tool at all ...

It can't be about the price, because a standard Spirit with leather sheath costs around 94 Euro, while a Leatherman Wave with sheath costs around 138 Euro.

Thanks for the advice about dealing directly with Switzerland, I also believe that this is the way to go  .

Eric...nice catch and great photos. 

Thanks, I felt like a child in a candy store when I saw these tools at the store for the first time ... 

Great stuff

I haven't seen that belt clip pouch - looks very sturdy.

Thanks  . 

And yes, the sheath with the clip feels great, one of the nicest sheaths I've ever seen to be honest ...

Very nice haul.  I'd like to find a leather belt pouch like what you went home with.  Does anyone know if it's a European-only model and how much they go for?

Thanks, I've looked up this kind of sheath and found it at a Vic internet shop in the Netherlands, and there it costs about 18,95 Euro.  I'm thinking about ordering one of those (but a bit bigger) for my Swisstool  .

Stunning photos mate  .

I have a standard Spirit with that odd serrated blade on the way to me ,to go along with the 'X' I already have

Thanks my friend  .

At first I wasn't sure about that weird looking knife, but only after one day I'm starting to like it, it hasn't let me down today (went for a hike in the ardenne forests, maybe I'll post some pics of that in another topic), and it looks kind of sweet, once you're used to it  .


Greetings from Belgium to all  .

[kreisler]

Just tested this on both my Spirits and I noticed that, when closed, they don't touch the table with both spring locks, always with one.  There's no kind of play on the pliers (not in open or closed position).  And when I lay them down on the table in open position, both spring locks touch the table (instead of just one in the closed position).

Great thread, great posts, thanks for your answer. i got the same one-touchy-ness on my sample. in the closed position my handles dont feel 100% perfectly aligned so the test on the table is the quickest way to visualize this phenomenon.
my pal has ordered a Spirit too, so we'll see if all Spirits behave the same. it's weird though, so far. because it is unexpected.

yeah, i like your swivel sheath too. with google search term < ""Victorinox Leder-Etui für SwissTool Spirit drehbar" > i could find an offer, 11.90€ shipped.

[Top-Gear-24]

So, went back to the store today to see if I could get a sweet deal on one of the 2 remaining Spirits (the one from which the sheath had gone missing) and after bidding for about 5 minutes I walked out with another Spirit for 49 Euro (and a wife that gave me that "why did I marry him ..." look ).

Anyway, woke up last thursday with one Spirit RT in my collection, and now, saterday evening I own one Spirit RT, two "regular" Spirits and one Swisstool ... seems Christmas came early this year  .

I can't help myself, they're so shiny and pretty  .

[kreisler]

... seems Christmas came early this year  .

I can't help myself, they're so shiny and pretty  .

quite funny your post .. with the smileys .. hehe. Congrats to your new Vinox acquistions. Shiny and pretty? you name it!, i got my Spirit attached with a magnet to the base of my desk lamp. it can swivel there (pivot point: magnet) and it shines, i got it in front of my nose at all times when i am sitting at the desk (with PC, monitor, ..)