Camillus 'Les Stroud' SKTM Engage Multi-tool

[Gareth]

Thanks for taking this hit for us Lynn, and the excellent review.  I can honestly see this tool quietly disappearing from the market in very short order. 

I've not seen any of the later Survivorman shows, does he use any of his Camillus knives in them?

[RT1969]

Seriously, why wouldn't Les make a crappy tool? With crappy tools the profit margin is much higher and as long people buy it, the joke is on those who spend their money on it unknowingly / unprepared of what piece of garbage they buy.

But in my mind he kind of soils his name being he was "supposedly" a key part of designing the tool. 

Agreed and we all hope that we would have more integrity when it comes to a situation like this. But honestly, ask yourself, how much money would it take to put your name on a "less than perfect" - tool?
Also in defense of Les Stroud, we cannot really know how much control he has over the use of his name. Those TV-contracts can be pretty nasty. He probably makes good money with the show but the big bucks are made by the studio.

I think you nailed it. So far we don't know how his name ended on this tool. I am quite distrustful if too many things are marketed under the same name (see: BG Line by Gerber). Don't tell me Mr. IDMOP checks every tool beforehand and approves it!

[Syph007]

So it is only Ray Mears who hasnt had his name slapped on a crappy tool then?  I have some Ray Mears Moras and while they are a lower cost knife, they are at least good.

[enki_ck]

Thanks for taking this hit for us Lynn, and the excellent review.  I can honestly see this tool quietly disappearing from the market in very short order. 

I've not seen any of the later Survivorman shows, does he use any of his Camillus knives in them?

Yes, he even had this monster with him on a recent trip. I think I commented how thick it was back then also. I'll try to find the thread.

EDIT: http://forum.multitool.org/index.php?topic=49312.msg827109#msg827109

For his more serious work in the episodes he uses the pricier tools from the line-up, like $100 more expensive than this "stuff".

Thanks for the sacrifice and review, Lynn. I can't say I'm surprised, but I sure am disappointed.

[Grathr]

So it is only Ray Mears who hasnt had his name slapped on a crappy tool then?  I have some Ray Mears Moras and while they are a lower cost knife, they are at least good.

Cody Lundin and Dave Cantebury havent put their name on any bad tools as far as I know.


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[Lynn LeFey]

The only things I've seen with the pathfinder logo (Dave's school), have been seriously first-rate gear. I considered getting his stainless steel canteen/cup/stove combo, but it was way out of my budget range at the time, and now i think it's sold out.

As for the Les Stroud tool... maybe he's thinking that REAL survival folks don't need that much in the way of tools. So, like, this thing is a test of your awesomeness. Maybe?

[Grathr]

The only things I've seen with the pathfinder logo (Dave's school), have been seriously first-rate gear. I considered getting his stainless steel canteen/cup/stove combo, but it was way out of my budget range at the time, and now i think it's sold out.

As for the Les Stroud tool... maybe he's thinking that REAL survival folks don't need that much in the way of tools. So, like, this thing is a test of your awesomeness. Maybe?

Thats peobably why the can opener does not work. REAL survival folks never eat food out of cans. They  hunt, trap, fish and forrage their own food out in the bush.
The tool is actually a Darwinistic testing device. Either you survive like a REAL survival person, or you die of starvation with a backpack full of canned food.


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[Etherealicer]

The only things I've seen with the pathfinder logo (Dave's school), have been seriously first-rate gear. I considered getting his stainless steel canteen/cup/stove combo, but it was way out of my budget range at the time, and now i think it's sold out.

As for the Les Stroud tool... maybe he's thinking that REAL survival folks don't need that much in the way of tools. So, like, this thing is a test of your awesomeness. Maybe?

Thats peobably why the can opener does not work. REAL survival folks never eat food out of cans.

Hey that makes me a real surivival folk

They  hunt, trap, fish and forrage their own food out in the bush.

or not...

[CanadianLMfan]

But its got a 5 star review on amazon!

And now it's also got a 2 star review, strangely, from a user named 'Lynn'.

 

[Chako]

Guess what came to my door today? 

[Chako]

Here are my preliminary opinions after looking at the tool.

1. Love the colour of the Titanium bonded tools. If nothing else, it sure looks pretty.
2. Man this thing is wide and chunky.
3. Love the grip of the handles at least.
4. Why is there so much space between each tool. I feel ripped off. Instead of what they gave me, they could have doubled the tools. There is room.
5. Scissors so short. Why?!?! There is room in there to lengthen them.
6. Extra flashlight and flint are bulky. They used the same parts as their survival knife.
7. The relatively small pliers looks at odds with that super fat body. Bad enough they had to use super thick washers in the  construction.
8. many of the middle tools are oddly bent in shape to accommodate the pliers when stowed away. Odd considering there should be a ton of room on those handles.
9. Once again, no place to store the included survival guide.
10. You will die before you can install those smurfing small batteries back into the flashlight.

[Lynn LeFey]

The trick to the batteries is to stack them on a table, then lower the flashlight onto them. Nothing else I tried would work.

So... welcome to the exclusive 'I can't believe I wasted my money on this POS' club.

[Chako]

That was the only way I could do it...but I had to look twice on the floor for an escapee before I figured it out. 

[AimlessWanderer]

Just read this after being away from the forum for a while, and it's .... TREMENDOUS!  Not just for the great overview (Cheers Lynn), but for how obscenely pathetic they have managed to make this tool. There must have been some real time and effot invested ino making it so bad. I think if I set out to build a cheapo pathetic tool which was for marketing to bewildered idiots, purely for profit and with no attention to function, I don't think I could have designed something anywhere near as abysmal 

Nice job Lynn 

[jerseydevil]

Just read this after being away from the forum for a while, and it's .... TREMENDOUS!  Not just for the great overview (Cheers Lynn), but for how obscenely pathetic they have managed to make this tool. There must have been some real time and effot invested ino making it so bad. I think if I set out to build a cheapo pathetic tool which was for marketing to bewildered idiots, purely for profit and with no attention to function, I don't think I could have designed something anywhere near as abysmal 

Nice job Lynn 

Did you expect anything less? 

[AimlessWanderer]

I knew it was going to be pretty awful, but am always impressed when manufacturers make things completely unusable 

[Lynn LeFey]

Nice job Lynn 

 

I do try.

I think it's honestly the first mulittool I've ever examined that actually made me angry. I've had worse tools, but those were no-name cheapos that I had NO expectations about going in.

[Chako]

Because it is so bad...every collector needs one in their arsenal. 

  a  for even thinking that! 

[bmot]

a  for even thinking that! 

Here you go:


 


You're welcome 

[Lynn LeFey]

Okay... I was just looking at the user reviews for this tool on Amazon. Someone ELSE posted a five star review of it.

And, how very odd... it's the ONLY review the user has. TOTALLY not the company padding the reviews. 

The first five star review, I think is legitimately some guy who loves it, because he's reviewed a wide range of items... and apparently loves everything.

[Lynn LeFey]

For reference, and book keeping, and entertainment value.

Here is a link to the thread where I tried to sell this tool.
http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,55956.0.html

The idea was put forth that instead of buying the tool, people could donate the funds, and I'd test the tool to destruction.

Grant and Zoidberg funded the project. Much thanks!

And here is the thread of the test-to-destruction.
http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,55957.0.html

My opinion of the tool has NOT improved with hard testing.

In general, I think it's safe to say that this tool is considered a joke now. And it deserves to be.

[Chako]

If I recall, you couldn't even give it away for free. 

[Lynn LeFey]

I do believe I made that offer to a well known collector on these boards, yes.

[ReamerPunch]

This review has provided many hours of entertainment to me, and I just noticed that I have not commented on it. So I thought I'd resurrect it for newer members to read. I hope Lynn pops in again soon.