Two things are here that weren’t here a week ago, and they are both called Snow. The Wenger AP Snow 50 is my first big Ranger. All I have to compare it with is my Victorinox Trailmaster, so I took them both out for a wander. It was mighty cold outside, and rather dark, and Ansel Adams I am not, but I tried to take some pictures anyway.
First impressions of the Snow: Wow. It looks like a prop from Star Wars. Smooth and white - very white. I heard that every Wenger Snow is different, using different chunks from a larger Realtree pattern. I guess I got the blankest part of the canvas because mine is almost all snow drift, with just one twig on the reverse and a cluster of foliage on the front. I’m not thrilled by the inclusion of the word “Realtree” in the pattern - no one cares who designed it - but the lettering on mine is fairly feint and unobtrusive. The overall initial impression is a good one. The scalloped shapes and textures on the scales are rather inviting and really set it apart from the far less flashy Victorinox.
Time to try the blade. Flicking the blade open on the Vic is a joy - and the real reason I bought it in the first place. It’s a trifle tougher on the Wenger. While I can flick the Vic blade open with one move of the thumb, I need two moves to completely open the Wenger blade. I think this has to do with the shape of the thumb loop, which in both cases bulges from the top of the blade. On the Victorinox it is more oval, a smoother shape. The thumb loop on the Wenger is a tad flatter and more angular; I don’t like the appearance of the shape, and I don’t think it works very well.
Closing the blade is another matter and one in which Wenger beats the pants off the Victorinox. As far as I am aware, no man alive has successfully closed a Trailmaster one handed without amputating at least part of a finger. The sliver of metal situated in the most perilous part of the knife, laughably labeled PRESS when PULL is what they mean is akin to an electric socket with the word POKE written beside it. An invitation to disaster.
The only way to safely close the Trailmaster is to either be born left-handed, or to use two hands. And even then it is far from certain that your fingers will remain intact.
The Wenger deals with the blade release problem in the most elegant and delightful way. Press the Wenger flag, close the blade, job done. You can do it one handed without being insanely dexterous, so if you are in a situation in which you genuinely need a one handed blade - hanging off a mountainside, for example - you can close the damn thing one handed as well.
Besides the main blade the Wenger Snow 50 gives you a saw and a gutting blade. In my case the gutting blade will never go blunt as I am unlikely to use it. The saw looks jolly impressive and I am sure will do the trick. What else do we have? A corkscrew. Because it’s probably impossible to gut a deer without getting drunk first.
I am glad to have, for once, a SAK that doesn’t give me yet another set of Fat Screwdriver/Bottle Opener/Tin Opener tools. Actually, if Wenger had made a “Solo” Snow with just a single cutting blade I would have purchased it; it was the search for something simple for use in the kitchen that got me looking at the Ranger series in the first place.
A minor niggle with the Snow 50. There is a thumb sized groove in the underside, opposite the corkscrew, where you would expect to find an awl. Since there is no awl, the groove has no purpose other than to remind you there is a bigger, more expensive model that does have one. The Snow 50 is not cheap; surely Wenger could have made scales without the thumb groove to make the underside smoother and to spare us the suspicion that it is assembled from leftovers.
Compared to the Victorinox Trailmaster it’s a big SAK. Look at the blades: the Victorinox has a shorter blade, but almost as much cutting edge. Wenger take a lot of space and don’t do much with it; if they designed a car it would be gigantic but have very little room inside. But there is something wonderful about the Wenger. It’s a lot of fun - a joy to hold, and to behold.
It’s unfair of me to compare the blandest black Trailmaster with a funky camouflage Snow 50, but these are the knives I have; visually, the Wenger wins hands down. Their knife may be unnecessarily chunky, but it feels great in the hand. Like that chick who was married to Picasso, I don’t know if it would benefit from being slimmer.
I came home thinking that for most walks, regardless of the weather, I’ll take the Wenger. There’s something special about it. It’s got personality. It’s a bit daft -- Not even the toughest sheep-shagger in the SAS needs a camouflage SAK. It’s a bit chunky -- but on a cold day, it’s in a big pocket and really no bother at all. It’s a bit pricey -- one of the reasons I have been so slow to sample Wengers in general. But at the end of the day it’s a wonderful knife, and it is sad that these things are probably no longer being produced, as Wenger slips, like a melting Terminator, into the cauldron of Victorinox’s smelter. Having poo-pooed the entire Realtree line not so long ago, the prospect of their disappearance has me eyeing my wallet and wondering whether I shouldn’t buy another one before it is too late.
I doubt I am the first to wonder what the future Wenger-Victorinox hybrids will look like. Hopefully Victorinox will keep some of Wenger’s charm and eccentricity. And I hope to high hell they keep the Wenger locking mechanism.
The only thing I hope they dump in the dustbin is the Realtree Blaze colour scheme. Good Grief! What were they thinking?
Maybe I should try one, and see if they’re as ugly as they look...
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