Too many SAK not enought scratch any direction for a newbee

[Aloha]

SO as ive been cruising online for a new SAK i have come across a few that i am really liking.
One Hand Trekker Camo, Wenger Ranger 58, Evo Grip 18 or S18, Victorinox Fieldmaster, Victorinox Huntsman. Im not a huge fan of the corkscrew and prefer the phlips.  I'd love to have both the scissors and saw and would like a file vs secondary small blade.  It seems my choices are pretty similar with the exception of the Trekker and Ranger which seem similar. 
I may just get either the Range/Trekker and one of the others.  AHHHHHH to many awesome tools and im trying not to be to redundant.......... YET.   

[nuphoria]

Get one...












at a time

[papercut]

Wenger rangers are very nice, you won't have buyers remorse!

[sawman]

Better get those Rangers while you can.  As you may or may not have heard, Wenger's are being discontinued 

[Aloha]

Better get those Rangers while you can.  As you may or may not have heard, Wenger's are being discontinued 

Thank you for the heads up, i was totally unaware so this settles the Ranger vs Trekker for me quite easily. 

Get one...












at a time

if only!

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Better get those Rangers while you can.  As you may or may not have heard, Wenger's are being discontinued 

Agreed.  The Ranger 78 in particular is a very nice tool.  I have the "Patagonia Expedition Race" model of the Ranger, the 179, and while it's not the perfect outdoors SAK for me, it's pretty close.  Very well made, excellent fit and finish, and very robust.  If you want to get as much SAK in a single Ranger model as possible, and you can afford it, get the Mike Horn Ranger, or the RangerGrip 90.

If you are looking for something more pocketable for EDC use, I suggest something like a Victorinox Deluxe Tinker, or an Explorer.  The Wenger Evos are also nice little SAKs and carry well in a pocket.  The 16 and 18 are both great little tools, and also come in an S version with a locking main blade.  They are also much more affordable than a Ranger, but still more than you'd pay for a comparable Vic SAK.

[papercut]

Ranger 78 is tooooo sweeet!

[Monrogue]

I tend to over analyze these things to see what I think I need versus what I want (and yeah, they can go hand in hand a lot of the time) as well as compare the options against what I already own.  Redundancy is going to happen to some degree, but there are so many variations of SAKs that it's hard not to want/need several, even if it's just because each one has one tool that you really would like .  As has already been suggested, you may want to pick up any of the Wengers you may really want and keep a mental wish list of the others to get when you can.  I wish you and your wallet good luck

[colt 1911]

Go for the Ranger

[nic]

I really wanted to get on board the large Wenger lockblade train while I still can, but I found an issue with their non-ambidexterous nature. It is known that the Victorinox OH Trekkers are ergonomically better suited to left-handers, and the reverse is also true for Wenger lockblades.

Wenger put their main blade on the left of the knife, so the whole thing feels unbalanced in your left hand. I prefer the main blade to be centred in the grip at the very least, and preferably as close to the meat of your thumb as possible, as this gives you the most control when putting a lot of pressure on the knife. The phillips screwdriver is on the opposite side of the one on the Trekker too, so you get a clean palm grip with your right hand.

And don't get me started on the lock release, which sits under your right thumb! Everybody knows that a good Swiss locking knife should have a lock that requires your left hand thumb to conveniently release!

The Wenger is a great knife though, and can be considered a serious and credible replacement for a fixed blade knife in the forest. All you righties should get them while you can!

[Aloha]

this site is so awesome!!!  thank you very much for those who have offered direction.  i can totally see how collections in these fine tools can begin.  not enough days on the calendar to carry all the tools and certainly not enough pocket space but i am gonna try.  budget wise on this particular go around i have set $150US to get as many great deals as possible and get atleast 3 tools.  i looked at the ranger suggested and that is an exellent SAK ( Ranger 78 ) i really like the combination of tools on board.  that Ranger 90 is great but a bit over out of my price range (for now), the Ranger 73 is a bit closer for me.  I totally dig that Tinker Deluxe wow what a loaded tool.  This world of SAKs has got me feeling like Monrogue where before i hadnt really gave much thougt to these tools.  Funny enough the Deluxe Tinker had me looking at SAKWIKI ( thank you for such an incredible resource ) and comparing tools sets.  I have since refined my tool need selection need list and the Ranger/Craftsmen are front runners tho the Master Craftsmen is spot on but quickly saw it was a discontinued model and quite the UNICORN.  i still really like the Wenger Evo 18 in yellow  and as it stands now i am really leaning towards these as my next purchases
Ranger/Evo 18/Ranger 73 all well within what i budgeted towards some fun stuff and sccording to amzn i have roughly $20US extra. everytool will be used weekly while others will be used daily so the money spent will be well worth quality tools and peace of mind that when i need a tool ill have it at hand.  for me saving time on the job site is worth everypenny spent and peace of mind in my day to day goings is priceless.  knowing i have a tool on my person should i need it is a great peace of mind ( i pull out my MT daily ).  thank you again for your direction it was all greatly considered and very much apppreciated.  I will finalize my decesion sunday night and order monday morning.   

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

this site is so awesome!!!  thank you very much for those who have offered direction.  i can totally see how collections in these fine tools can begin.  not enough days on the calendar to carry all the tools and certainly not enough pocket space but i am gonna try.  budget wise on this particular go around i have set $150US to get as many great deals as possible and get atleast 3 tools.  i looked at the ranger suggested and that is an exellent SAK ( Ranger 78 ) i really like the combination of tools on board.  that Ranger 90 is great but a bit over out of my price range (for now), the Ranger 73 is a bit closer for me.  I totally dig that Tinker Deluxe wow what a loaded tool.  This world of SAKs has got me feeling like Monrogue where before i hadnt really gave much thougt to these tools.  Funny enough the Deluxe Tinker had me looking at SAKWIKI ( thank you for such an incredible resource ) and comparing tools sets.  I have since refined my tool need selection need list and the Ranger/Craftsmen are front runners tho the Master Craftsmen is spot on but quickly saw it was a discontinued model and quite the UNICORN.  i still really like the Wenger Evo 18 in yellow  and as it stands now i am really leaning towards these as my next purchases
Ranger/Evo 18/Ranger 73 all well within what i budgeted towards some fun stuff and sccording to amzn i have roughly $20US extra. everytool will be used weekly while others will be used daily so the money spent will be well worth quality tools and peace of mind that when i need a tool ill have it at hand.  for me saving time on the job site is worth everypenny spent and peace of mind in my day to day goings is priceless.  knowing i have a tool on my person should i need it is a great peace of mind ( i pull out my MT daily ).  thank you again for your direction it was all greatly considered and very much apppreciated.  I will finalize my decesion sunday night and order monday morning.

The 85mm Wengers sit really nicely in a pocket; a three layer model like a 16 will practically disappear on you, and has a very nice selection of implements for EDC.  If you want to save a bit of money, get a regular Evo18 without the yellow or grip scales and without the locking blade.  They're about $30.  A locking blade will bring the price up a bit, but for some reason it's really those yellow scales that will jack the price up on you.  I guess just because they're limited production, so it costs them more to make.

Another Wenger to consider, and probably the closest Wenger equivalent to the Deluxe Tinker is the Evo52, which is also available in an S model.  It's basically an 18 with pliers.  I've seen them going for around $50.

[Monrogue]

this site is so awesome!!!  thank you very much for those who have offered direction.  i can totally see how collections in these fine tools can begin.  not enough days on the calendar to carry all the tools and certainly not enough pocket space but i am gonna try.  budget wise on this particular go around i have set $150US to get as many great deals as possible and get atleast 3 tools.  i looked at the ranger suggested and that is an exellent SAK ( Ranger 78 ) i really like the combination of tools on board.  that Ranger 90 is great but a bit over out of my price range (for now), the Ranger 73 is a bit closer for me.  I totally dig that Tinker Deluxe wow what a loaded tool.  This world of SAKs has got me feeling like Monrogue where before i hadnt really gave much thougt to these tools.  Funny enough the Deluxe Tinker had me looking at SAKWIKI ( thank you for such an incredible resource ) and comparing tools sets.  I have since refined my tool need selection need list and the Ranger/Craftsmen are front runners tho the Master Craftsmen is spot on but quickly saw it was a discontinued model and quite the UNICORN.  i still really like the Wenger Evo 18 in yellow  and as it stands now i am really leaning towards these as my next purchases
Ranger/Evo 18/Ranger 73 all well within what i budgeted towards some fun stuff and sccording to amzn i have roughly $20US extra. everytool will be used weekly while others will be used daily so the money spent will be well worth quality tools and peace of mind that when i need a tool ill have it at hand.  for me saving time on the job site is worth everypenny spent and peace of mind in my day to day goings is priceless.  knowing i have a tool on my person should i need it is a great peace of mind ( i pull out my MT daily ).  thank you again for your direction it was all greatly considered and very much apppreciated.  I will finalize my decesion sunday night and order monday morning.

You're very welcome   Believe me, after this round of purchases, you will begin thinking about what you are missing (even if it's just one tool or feature) to justify another SAK. Then you will proceed to think about what you need/want until you find another SAK that looks like it will fill that need.  Then you will buy.  Then it's possible you'll repeat the same process every so often until you find yourself thinking about these things daily.  Then the obsession is well underway   Enjoy and good luck 

[sawman]

It sure is difficult for me as well to narrow my buying to just a couple at a time.  When it comes to Victorinox & Wenger, my wishlist far exceeds my wallet.  Am I making the right decisions?  While part of me knows I should get some Rangers before they're extinct, I still find myself hung up on Alox and different colour cellidor 

[Aloha]

ok so an update i seriously mulled over this for an extra day and seriously was gonna exceed my current budget but i stepped away and re-foused.  thank you again for all the help it really did a lot for me.  For now i paused on getting a Wenger Ranger as i am really torn between the 73/78/Real Tree version 50/179 and a few others.  I am going to continue to decide which of those will suit me and possibly get 2.  I am drawn to Wenger Evo yellow SAKs so i went with my original choice and got the EvoGrip 18.  I looked at my other original choices and the Victorinox Ranger seemed best suited for what i really wanted and would utilize regularly so I got that too.  I looked at the Explorer/Mountaineer/Fieldmaster /Craftsmen/Wenger AP Blaze 13 (fun looking)/Deluxe Tinker/Huntsman and really like them all so in due time i will aquire one of each. i now understand why SAKs are great when paired with other tools like Leatherman or similiar MTs, this is all very new to me and i again am very thankful to have such a wonderful group and such generous folks who commented on this topic for me. since weight and size are of not a huge issue for me i love the idea of having a SAK (or 2) and a MT with me at all times.  i wasnt sure what else to get since i was still under my budget so i figured now was as good a time as any to get a new Leatherman and went with the Skeletool.  Im pretty stoked and cannot wait to get these into my hands. 

I have a few other MTs on my list like the Juice S2 or CS4, New Surge, BO Wave, Super Tool 300, Crunch, Swisstool Spirit RT, Charge ALX......... yes im hooked. 

PS in all the researching my good friend aquired her EDC SAK (her 2nd) a Super Tinker which she totally loves. 

Thank you again       

[Monrogue]

ok so an update i seriously mulled over this for an extra day and seriously was gonna exceed my current budget but i stepped away and re-foused.  thank you again for all the help it really did a lot for me.  For now i paused on getting a Wenger Ranger as i am really torn between the 73/78/Real Tree version 50/179 and a few others.  I am going to continue to decide which of those will suit me and possibly get 2.  I am drawn to Wenger Evo yellow SAKs so i went with my original choice and got the EvoGrip 18.  I looked at my other original choices and the Victorinox Ranger seemed best suited for what i really wanted and would utilize regularly so I got that too.  I looked at the Explorer/Mountaineer/Fieldmaster /Craftsmen/Wenger AP Blaze 13 (fun looking)/Deluxe Tinker/Huntsman and really like them all so in due time i will aquire one of each. i now understand why SAKs are great when paired with other tools like Leatherman or similiar MTs, this is all very new to me and i again am very thankful to have such a wonderful group and such generous folks who commented on this topic for me. since weight and size are of not a huge issue for me i love the idea of having a SAK (or 2) and a MT with me at all times.  i wasnt sure what else to get since i was still under my budget so i figured now was as good a time as any to get a new Leatherman and went with the Skeletool.  Im pretty stoked and cannot wait to get these into my hands. 

I have a few other MTs on my list like the Juice S2 or CS4, New Surge, BO Wave, Super Tool 300, Crunch, Swisstool Spirit RT, Charge ALX......... yes im hooked. 

PS in all the researching my good friend aquired her EDC SAK (her 2nd) a Super Tinker which she totally loves. 

Thank you again     

That mentality is what really started/created my over analyzing nature when it comes to my EDC items.  I started off with just a Leatherman, then figured a SAK would compliment it well (which is true) and then decided I could use a couple SAKs to compliment my multitool.  I usually have a minimum of 2 or 3 MTs/SAKs on me at just about any time, and it's usually 3   As an example, right now at home in comfy pants, I have my PSTII in the back pocket, Pioneer in right front pocket and Micra in left front pocket.  Of course I don't need all of that, but I like having it on me.  Part of that is just that I enjoy pulling one of them out and playing with it for a bit. 

Enjoy your new toys and good luck with your new obsession