Victorinox Swiss Champ – Very Long Term Review.
After owning this knife for over 22 years I thought it about time to review this little gem. It’s a sturdy built, dependable friend that has gotten me out of many a tight spot with all its wonderful tools.
Highly recommend this as a pocket knife you can tuck away someplace close to hand.
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Looks well used. I just got one from my husband lol he thinks it is necessary for everyone to
carry a small tool box with them . lol
Nice job! Have you always carried it in a pouch or did you ever just pocket carry?
22 years, a very significative and interesting experience. Thank’s for your video !
Fantastic knife, my EDC for 25 years or so . Very handy.
I have had mine for a very long time. 17 years plus. I don’t carry it around but it is in use often. It is a good companion to have in a suitcase when staying in hotels. It is a well made bunch of tools. Have never found a use for the parcel hook!
Where did you get the pouch from?!
I want to get this and the mini champ. The mini for pocket carry and the Swiss champ for my EDC bag. Great review
I own a champ, a spartan, a mini champ, a soldier and a swiss card. Kick ass tools all of them.
Magnifying glass can get you a fire started if you have sunlight. Save you energy in a survival situation =D
Good review. Twenty years on, mine hasn’t fared so well. The corkscrew broke on the third bottle of wine, though I have to concede that the cork was a cork from hell and I perhaps should have given up on it. The spring on the scissors broke and then the screw came out and is lost. The end of the fish scaler broke when I used it to try and lever a a nail out from a wall. Again, as with the cork, I probably asked for that one. The magnifying glass snapped when I tried to get it out, my fault for not keeping the joints lubricated.
All that said, I want to disassemble the knife and replace a few parts but I can’t find a purpose made tool for removing the pins. My idea was, I would pick up a lesser knife and cannibalise it for parts. Has anyone out there tried that?
I own a Victornox Tinkerer. Not as packed full of tools as the Champ but it does well in a pinch. I never leave home without it. I’m looking into getting a Victornox Outrider though for camping.
hola AMIGO, muy lindo su video,meinscribi en su canal. una pregunta: cual es su navaja preferida
I was thinking about getting this, but I realized that it might be too practical and wieldy, so I got a Wenger Giant instead.
But in all seriousness this was a great review. It’s really a testament to the build quality of these knives that it looks so good after 20 years.
brilliant idea adding plasters to the pouch
i have a ranger. the pliers didn’t seem to be useful and i prefer to have a separated magnifier
I think that after a certain point they just become to thick to be comfortable to hold, and that’s when the leatherman tools come in. IMO
that a big knife 🙂
Bought mine in Barbados 1994 while on my Honeymoon.Still in great shape like yours, always with me when I travel .Won’t leave home without it.
they are truly the best pocket knife ever, i have two, one came with the same case you have, but the case itself had the usual survival gear in it, including a propelling pencil for some reason haha, a signal mirror, paper etc, i still have it in my kit, and a little later i found another on ebay for a few quid, very cheap, so i got that too, coz..why not , mine also has a reamer on it i think, but the best thing about them is the lifetime warrantee, if you break a blade or tool, or in my case the jaw on the pliers on excercise in cyprus, you just send it back, and rather than fix it, they will just send a brand new knife, all it will cost is postage, great deal, gerber do the same deal, so do zippo lighters, so if you see a broken one cheap at a yard sale or junk store, ore ebay etc, grab it send it back and boom, new for old,
Great video . Great SAK . Have the same model and got it with same pouch :-)Subbed and cheers from Croatia
Have you come across a swisschamp without the parcel hook? I have one
where did you get the pouch
I find that the 111mm OHT….One Handed Trekker is a great knife that the blade locks and there ya go.You can get it in a serated blade or regular.One thing you didn’t pull out was the reamer.I always look at the reamer first to see if its pre 1985.That’s the year they added the sewing eye.I have about 43 SAKs and so far about 4 Swisschamps I just love them.
Got my Swiss Champ in 1999. Needs a new pen (ink ran out), and a new spring for the pliers, but otherwise is great. Biggest problem I have is that I wear it on my hip daily and i’m sick of the Velcro on the Holster failing (Victorinox only make the dome type in red now, I need black). Never lubricated or serviced, has been banged around a lot, but still in good nick minus a few little dings and such. Recently misplaced my holster, feel quite naked without it, but had a near-miss of the knife falling out one time too often. Where can I get a holster like the one you feature here? Or any suggestions on alternatives?
I have a workchamp which is 111 mm version.its even more practical than simple champ
I used my Victorinox SwissChamp since 1985 every day. Look as new and have since 2 years the Mother of Pearls version. As collectors toy i have the XAVT version of the SwissChamp. The only thing that wearout is the Victorinox Leather Case.
nice I’m SAK tinker fan myself
22 years! that’s amazing mate. Great video!
Great video. My wife bought me a Swiss champ. It’s a very good pocket knife. It has been my edc since then. I do hope mine lasts as long as yours.
Can you remove a row of tools out of these? Thanks
Time to give that fine tool a bath. Love my swisschamp at about 8 years in.
Is it avaliable in all Victorinox stores?
3 stores here.
Good honest review. Thumbs up from me and thanks.
I had this one but really is too thick, so I gave it away. I have about 10 others victorinox and are really good
great video.. I bought a Victorinox huntsman yesterday.. hope to use it as long as you did.. Any tips in maintaining it?
Good video I have one also
I had the 1985 version of the Swisschamp (was it the Champion, perhaps?} for over 30 years and it served me very well. It was time to retire it. I put it to work many thousands of times. Though I was a bit hesitant, I opted to replace it with the SAK Craftsman. Over the years I had found a use for every one of my previous SAK tools with all the bells and whistles, but the Craftsman seems to whittle it down to what is relevant for my needs. It should last me the rest of my life since I’m older and far less abusive to my tools thanks to experience.
I collect knives, mostly single blade knives. If I had to choose one knife for the rest of my life it would most definitely be a decked out SAK. I wore out 4 Leathermans in the time it took me to wear out 1 SAK, and I mostly attribute that to build quality, not abuse.
Thank you, very interesting review. 22 years!!! And bought it just yesterday…
Great video, if only it came with an awl/reamer it would be perfect…. I just got this one and it is really cool. I’ve had the classic for about 15 years and love it. I’ve driven over my classic (by accident) and it had no affect on it other than a few little dings in the scales. Victorinox tools are just amazing.
Jesus, I’d be angry if I got one for free. Awful thing.
muy lindo su video. usred usa mucho esa navaja el dia a dia
22 years! I lost mine within 2 years.