I picked up an Eat'n Tool XL last week, and while this may not exactly be eating in the backwoods, I did make some canned stew to try it out.
One of the big changes over the standard Eat'n Tool is that the XL has a can opener (among other things!) while the Eat'n Tool didn't. I figured I'd better give it a shot on one of the few cans I have that isn't a pull top!
The XL latched onto the can and bit into it with authority. I was impressed- it went at the can like the can had run over its grandma.
That seemed to be where the vendetta ended as it really didn't cut all that well, and I found myself putting a lot of effort into turning the can during the cuts to try and make it worthwhile.
And a fair bit of effort later...
I decided to see if it worked better left handed, and the only real improvement I found was that I got to change up the motion from one hand to the other.
In the end I managed to get the job done well enough, although the fact that the can opener was a little taller than the can meant I kept hitting the counter with it. I guess I need to get bigger cans in the future!
While the XL will work, I think I would much rather have a different can opener with me. Of course, until they make a SAK with a spoon that isn't a plastic toy, this is about my only real option for having everything with me in one package.
I'd thought that I'd marked up the finish with the can, but there was barely a mark on it- not that a scratched tool is anything to cry about, but it was nice to see that the XL managed the job without getting marked up.
Now for the important part!
The longer neck on the XL was great for eating with- much more like using a regular eating utensil, although the thicker steel it is made from was noticeable in my mouth. It sort of felt like I was eating off the end of a crowbar, but the thickness is necessary for some of the functions on it, like the wrench and can opener, so having a heavy spoon is a small price to pay.
All in all I like the XL- it's a bit larger and heavier than the standard Eat'n Tool but it does it's job well. I tried the bottle opener a few days ago and it worked well, although for some reason all the pictures I took of that event are out of focus...
If you liked the original Eat'n Tool, you'll love the XL. If you didn't like the old Eat'n Tool, you might like the XL, depending on why you didn't like the original.
Def