New collector cheapies from Swiss tech

[Yadda]

All these colors.

https://www.swisstechstore.com/home.php?cat=89

The colors remind me of the Re:solve series with all the different colors. 

Even worse the under $10 price really makes me like these tools. 

[mikekoz]

  After years of seeing small multitools made by this company, a few months ago I bought the 16 in one tool from REI. It was only $12.00 so I figured at that price it was worth a gamble. What a piece of crapola it was!  The screw drivers were so polished that they pretty much slid out of every screw I tried them on, the tools would not stay in place, you could not put the tool on a key ring like it showed on the package, and the thing was just plain awkward and poorly made. We went back to REI a few weeks later and I returned it. I wonder what kind of quality they were before they moved their manufacturing overseas?

[Noa Isumi]

I second that that!
The polished finish is garbage. The screwdrivers wont grip and they even polish the wire cutters so the edge is hounded off not sharp.
If you get a swisstech stick to the bead blasted or parkerized finishes like are found on the original micro, micro plus, micro ex and es series. If it is polished or gold RUN AWAY.

That said I have used a Micro Plus off and on since they first came out. And they are very handy and capable tools. Just peen your rivets when they get too loose and they will last for years.
I also have EX, Max, Utilikey, Micro, and ScrewzAll. All are good except the Max 19/1 since its polished.

I slightly regret giving away my first gen EX and replacing it with a 2nd gen.. just from a collectors stand point. The first had a 2pc pivot with a pivot block that was covered by the handle shell making the rivets hidden between the 2 pcs therefor un-repairable. The 2nd verson reshapes the shell at the pivot so the rivet passes through.

1st GEN


2nd Gen


See how it crimps in so the rivet can pass through..

[jekostas]

Huh.  Those don't look like the cheapest throwaway garbage from China with the SwissTech logo slapped on them.  A definite step up from their other recent releases.

[Noa Isumi]

I was referring to the finishes. The mirror polish they do is so slippery the cutters don't cut, the pliers don't grip, and the screwdrivers slip. Those EX's I posted photos are one of the best tools under 10$. I posted them to show the difference  in generation construction.All in all I've had good experiences with Swiss tech's original  micro products as long as they are not polished.

However they have been steeping out into name licensed versions of the checkout junk bowl stuff with designs like the "Key Ring Multi-Tool 7-in-1", and the "Mini-Multi 8-in-1". Some are good and work some don't. But all their home grown designs are unique to say the least and most work well.

Now the tool in the first post is an update of their "Carabineer Multi-Tool 6-in-1" flashlight tool with a removable blade chassis. When the tool is removed from the flashlight it looks to be your basic fold over and rivet construction like has been used for cigar and pipe tools for the last century. In other words solid and functional though lacking the in the eye candy factor; but that is found in the storage method of snapping in to the flashlight. That's the big update, the snap off tool with 3 tool configurations and 7 flashlight housings.
But then Crkt did something similar a few years ago with a modular chassis multi with flashlight plus your choice of mini multi on a carabineer.

[jekostas]

Wasn't a comment on what you posted.  Just a general comment on the direction SwissTech has been heading in the last few years.  I know they used to (and still do) make a couple of very decent tools.