Swisstool spirit, yay or nay?

[mrynnr]

SPIRIT FTW!

[Etherealicer]

is that really a question? of course yay, you're on multitool forum!

It's more than just that. I think Wave and Spirit are the two most popular MTs.

I also think that this is interesting as the two are as different as can be.

Wave: Strong focus on the 4 main tools with OHO blades. Due to the bit holder extremely versatile but requires accessory (bits / bit-extender).
Spirit: Well balanced between all the tools, all accessible from the outside, with no preference to any. Broad tool selection (chisel, pry-tool, hook, awl...), works brilliantly on its own (no bits needed).

There are of course other differences like pliers-shape etc. but for me that is the essence of the two.

[hellsing]

For me the plier shape IS the spirit of the spirit.

I mean this shape is almost perfect to grip bolts, a shame we can't use it on even larger bolts.

When i bought my spirit 2 years ago i was: ok let see why everybody love it, but i'm sure my charge/surge will stay on top of it and i will resell my spirit in 2 weeks. And i was wrong. I still have it and love it.

[Zed]

Another factor with me was,after years of trying out pretty much all mt offerings i kind of left the spirit till last as kind of knew it would be the best one,and i was right  as said we all have different needs from a sak/mt,luckily there are loads too choose from,but the spirit is one of the best  I guess i left it too the end of my mt journey knowing its the best

[Mextreme]

is that really a question? of course yay, you're on multitool forum!

It's more than just that. I think Wave and Spirit are the two most popular MTs.

I also think that this is interesting as the two are as different as can be.

Wave: Strong focus on the 4 main tools with OHO blades. Due to the bit holder extremely versatile but requires accessory (bits / bit-extender).
Spirit: Well balanced between all the tools, all accessible from the outside, with no preference to any. Broad tool selection (chisel, pry-tool, hook, awl...), works brilliantly on its own (no bits needed).

There are of course other differences like pliers-shape etc. but for me that is the essence of the two.

What do you mean by no bits needed. How do you handle hex and torx?
You mean you like it so much you can oversee this lack, or are you able to use any of the other tools?

[Mextreme]

I love the Spirit for the typical Victorinox fit an finish.
It is in a class of it´s own and I use it as a meditation piece for my piece of mind. Open and close, repeat. Satisfying klick and snap.
However in my world everything is held together by torx and hex. In industrial automation products I handle daily, left philips and straight screws behind a long time ago and my latest 3 cars have almost only torx on the superficial stuff that I need to reach. Needle nose pliers are also good since everything is so tight nowadays. The fuses in my car are so close I can barely get the nose of the wave in between them to pull them out.
I want to be able to handle light/medium stuff with my multitool and the flat bits from Leatherman are really great in that role. They have their limitations but in the role they save trips to the tool box by letting me unscrew a torx to check something. The stuff I check is normally not rusted or tightened to any crazy level so it works 95% of the time.
 I´m typically not in the woods or any farm so scrapers and hooks and such, I have no need for. Give me drivers any day.
Also the diamond file is a gem(!) I always need to finish of some sharp edge on some tool.
One hand opening blade is also great for me since the thing I need to cut is normally in my other hand so that saves some time putting it down to open the blade.
The tool selection of the Wave is better for me so that closes the deal.
This is my day to day of course yours can be completely different. I think that is the nice thing about multitools, there is a great selection. So far nothing has been perfect for me, so I keep searching 

[Etherealicer]

is that really a question? of course yay, you're on multitool forum!

It's more than just that. I think Wave and Spirit are the two most popular MTs.

I also think that this is interesting as the two are as different as can be.

Wave: Strong focus on the 4 main tools with OHO blades. Due to the bit holder extremely versatile but requires accessory (bits / bit-extender).
Spirit: Well balanced between all the tools, all accessible from the outside, with no preference to any. Broad tool selection (chisel, pry-tool, hook, awl...), works brilliantly on its own (no bits needed).

There are of course other differences like pliers-shape etc. but for me that is the essence of the two.

What do you mean by no bits needed. How do you handle hex and torx?
You mean you like it so much you can oversee this lack, or are you able to use any of the other tools?

I mean its pretty pointless to have a bit-holder without bits, but when you have those bits its more versatile (see red marking). The Spirit has the screwdrivers that are aboard (designed to fit more than one screw size) your stuck with what you have but you don't need to carry any extra parts.

IMO (not so humble today ). I think its a trade off. The Spirit is superior with its reach and screw-driver selection than a Wave without extra bits. However, if you add the bits then the Wave is better. The result is a compromise. How many different screws do you encounter, do you like carrying extra parts etc... different design philosophy.

Ad extremum would be the Surge: For me, that is not a MT, I call it a MT-Hub, you can basically cut anything (dry-wall, metal, wood, plastic) with it as long as you carry the appropriate blade in addition to the Surge.
The Surge alone has either a wood-saw or a metal-saw whereas the Wave has both (point to the Wave). A Surge with a set of t-shanks can have any kind of saw, whereas the Wave is stuck with the wood-saw or a metal-saw (Point to the Surge). For me it therefore makes more sense to carry a Surge with a set of t-shanks.
The Surge has a tiny metal-saw for its size, so if we compare metal saw size the point goes to the Wave. On the other hand if you use your metal-saw a lot you can easily replace the blade on the Surge, point to the Surge.

There is no This or That is better, for me this is an essential difference in the tool design.
So the question is what serves you better.

[Aloha]

   might as well add a Surge to the shopping list 

[Etherealicer]

  might as well add a Surge to the shopping list 

Well, he is a LM-fanatic so quite possible he already has one, if not

[Aloha]

 

[Zephon]

I'll echo what the others have said about trying out one and when you don't like it, you can always re-sell it at a decent price.

I have to admit that the first thing I told myself when I got the Spirit was that I didn't want to get grease, etc on it and I was afraid to scratch the finish. 

After I've gotten over that, I have to admit that I find that they are darn comfortable pliers to use.  It relegated the other plier-based multi-tools to the drawers and (car) toolboxes. 

[BASguy]

As a tradesman I think the Spirit is almost a perfect tool. The outside access spring loaded tools are the winning format for me.  The amazing quality of Vic is beyond any other manufacturers.  The polished pretty look is nice, but I assure you it is an amazingly durable and robust tool. 


Sent from 9 miles from the face of the sun

[Zephon]

The Spirit has a darn good tool to size density.  They're not as big as 111mm SAK but it's just as pocketable.

[classicrock]

Love them both the LM and the Spirit. I always pair them with my Compact. However the Spirit is far more ergonomic for my hand and don't bite my palm.

Just get one and you will love it.





Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk

[Zed]

Another factor is,if you dont like it just trade it here for another Mt,ive been doing this for years and means ive tried pretty much most mt's 

[Gareth]

Yup, I was (and am) another died-in-the-wool LM fan as well.  After joining the forum I kept hearing about how good the Spirit is and so I finally took the plunge.  Now I'm not going to try and argue that the Spirit is perfect but it is very very good IMO.  I'll never get rid of mine but, as others have said, if it's not the tool for you then it'll be fairly easy to swap it for something else.

[firiki]

... I'm not going to try and argue that the Spirit is perfect but it is very very good IMO.  I'll never get rid of mine but, as others have said, if it's not the tool for you then it'll be fairly easy to swap it for something else. I'll be happy to get rid of it for you for free!

Fixed 

[Zed]

... I'm not going to try and argue that the Spirit is perfect but it is very very good IMO.  I'll never get rid of mine but, as others have said, if it's not the tool for you then it'll be fairly easy to swap it for something else. I'll be happy to get rid of it for you for free!

Fixed 

  or ill have it as a spare 

[bayoublade]

To me it all comes down to carrying options and one hand accessibility.
I don't like sheath carry MT and don't normally carry a folder, so there is nothing works better for me than a Wave.

If you do carry a folder and like sheath carry MT, then Spirit is an excellent choice.

I whole-heartedly agree with Kampfs points. The fit and finish of the Spirit X is unmatchable; the individual locks for each tool, the solid snap of said locks, the good solid "weight" it carries... I called it the "going out multi-tool" ... all that said and I'm even a huge LM fan.
I agree with a previous comment on the Philips however, something about it that was a little "off" it just didn't bite as well. Also, i simply prefer the OH opens of my LM tools. Ultimately, it didn't get as much use as I'd have liked, so, needing money for another project, I sold it to Kampfer... I know it's in good hands now. :-)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[metsfan]

I never liked the swisstool or the spirit because of the wire cutting section on the plier head.  It find it to be way too small to get any real wire cutting job done.  Anything over 14awg will give you a problem and the cuts will not be clean, you may find youself regripping a few times to cut 12awg and thicker, at least that's been my experience anyway.

[firiki]

I never liked the swisstool or the spirit becaus...

  A heretic. Burn the heretic. Burn him. Burnnn...








I'm joking, of course.

[Demel]

I never liked the swisstool or the spirit becaus...

  A heretic. Burn the heretic. Burn him. Burnnn...








I'm joking, of course.

don't worry nothing a good  can't fix 

[firiki]

I never liked the swisstool or the spirit becaus...

  A heretic. Burn the heretic. Burn him. Burnnn...








I'm joking, of course.

don't worry nothing a good  can't fix 

Yeah, I guess giving the guy a chance to repent is fair.

I still have my doubts, though, in which case the solution is simple:  b u r n ...

[ToolJoe]

Is it hard to get wire in place to get it cut?

[metsfan]

Is it hard to get wire in place to get it cut?

Kind of, the swisstool/spirit have a very small wire cutting section to begin with and on top of that, there are 2 wire stripping/hard wire notches integrated into that cutting surface.  So some wire has the tendency to bind up in those notches and also the cuts are not clean, more like gnawed and mangled, especially with stranded wire.  Again, these are my experiences and others may not have this issue, although I'm pretty sure plenty of people have seen and experienced what I've described, at the very least those who work with electrical wire.

[SAK Guy]

I never liked the swisstool or the spirit becaus...

  A heretic. Burn the heretic. Burn him. Burnnn...








I'm joking, of course.

don't worry nothing a good  can't fix 

Yeah, I guess giving the guy a chance to repent is fair.

I still have my doubts, though, in which case the solution is simple:  b u r n ...

Nooooooo!   Stone him! (smaller carbon footprint)   

[BASguy]

Is it hard to get wire in place to get it cut?

Kind of, the swisstool/spirit have a very small wire cutting section to begin with and on top of that, there are 2 wire stripping/hard wire notches integrated into that cutting surface.  So some wire has the tendency to bind up in those notches and also the cuts are not clean, more like gnawed and mangled, especially with stranded wire.  Again, these are my experiences and others may not have this issue, although I'm pretty sure plenty of people have seen and experienced what I've described, at the very least those who work with electrical wire.

(Image removed from quote.)

I must have a couple of good ones compared to yours.  I have no issues stripping stranded wire from 12 gauge to 22 gauge with either of mine. 


Sent from 9 miles from the face of the sun

[metsfan]

Well in my post I never mentioned stripping wire as an issue, I only referred to cutting wire.

[firiki]

I never liked the swisstool or the spirit becaus...

  A heretic. Burn the heretic. Burn him. Burnnn...










I'm joking, of course.

don't worry nothing a good  can't fix 

Yeah, I guess giving the guy a chance to repent is fair.

I still have my doubts, though, in which case the solution is simple:  b u r n ...

Nooooooo!   Stone him! (smaller carbon footprint)   

Fair point, I'm too old to like innovation, though

If we used a gibbet instead?

[rdub934]

The Spirit has to be the sexiest multitool ever. I don't have one but I do admire them. One day...