Victorinox Camper

Reviewed 06/26/2016 by Toad

-Price Paid: $11.00
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

I really like this knife. I take it with me when I go camping. The large blade is perfect for food prep and is like having a foldable paring knife. The screwdrivers come in handy for fixing other gear that I carry. The can opener is top grade. The corkscrew is good for untying jammed knots, picking and getting old gaskets out of my stoves, and uncorking. The awl drills holes, sparks my fire steel and mends straps. Most everything on this knife is useful to me. The saw on this knife is very useful and safe to use. Swinging sharp blades in the woods far away from medical help is a trip destroyer for sure. Its nice having a tool that very comfortably and effectively takes care of alot of the chores I have to deal with on the trail. The quality is top notch.

Reviewed 12/19/2013 by BradGad

-Price Paid: $24.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

There are about ten Victorinox knives that I consider truly top tier, and the Camper is definitely one of them. If the Galactic Overlords decreed that everyone must carry one and only one SAK, and they assigned me the Camper, I'd be thrilled that they picked this one for me.

It's a Victorinox, so the standard comments apply: great value, fit and finish very good, time-tested tool designs. The blade takes an edge very well and is extremely corrosion resistant, but edge-holding ability is only so-so.

It's essentially a Spartan (another top-tenner) with a saw. And what a fine little saw it is! It's self-cleaning and seemingly never needs sharpening. It handles branches up to two and a half inches in diameter with ease. When camping (hey!) it's useful for partially sawing thicker firewood... make a substantial cut in a thick branch, then you can whack it against a tree and break it into smaller pieces. For detail work, it's about as good as anything you could get at a high-end woodworking shop. This knife came in super handy when I was building a chicken coop this past spring. I needed to cut openings in particle board with a reciprocating saw, and the Camper was perfect for getting the cuts started: I bored a hole through the board with the awl, then used the saw to make the first have inch or so of the cut. Once this was done, I could fit the reciprocating blade in and go to town. Not sure how I would have done it without the Camper.

The knife also has a really nice form factor. The Camper is the thickest SAK that I consider truly comfortable for pocket carry with any clothes. (The Climber/Climber Plus is just a fraction of a smidge over the line.) Comfortable in the pocket but satisfyingly substantial in the hand.

In my review of the Huntsman, I said I carry it the most often, but that seems to be changing. The Camper (with a micro-screwdriver in the corkscrew and a straight pin in the little hole) paired with a Manager on my keychain gives me an excellent tool set in a form that's noticeably more comfortable to carry than the Huntsman. This combo is becoming my go-to EDC set up.

Reviewed 06/30/2013 by Gypsy

-Price Paid: $13.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 1 year

Comments:

I bought it for my volunteering year as a cheap 13$ alternaive to one hand trekker, which I left home because of airport saloon restrictions.

During one year I have used it daily for camping, cooking, repairing bikes, appliances, small artworks, gave it to people who abused it much more, broke small portion of blade on a tip trying to dismantle a subwoofer, people opened three wine bottles per week, who lost it in many various terrains through the year, but it still came back to me every single time.

I have thought that at the end of the year, I will have to discard it, since it will be bent, molten, ethically unappealing, rusted, jamming.

Now, a year later, about "camping" name reminds only half a tent of faded model, from incorrect way to open tin cans it has a scar under the Victorinox logo, yet all the tools are working, none of them is bent, none of the small tools are lost and I am confident, that my SO will make great use of it on her ERASMUS in Spain for half a year, as I come back to my trekker..

Reviewed 03/17/2011 by Jack

-Price Paid: $25.00
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

A wonderful knife. It's very reliable and versatile. The features are 2 stainless blades, a saw, an opener for tins and bottles and a tweezers. I used it for more than 4 years for fishing, camping, in the woods and for every day carry, with only sharpening once. Great edge holding. It's still in use.

Reviewed 09/30/2009 by Mihai

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

Briliant. Excelent stainless steel quality. Very good resistance in time (I've put mine trough alot of stress in the last 8 years and still performes as new). Great features, especialy the wood saw that is quite efficient for even thicker branches. A trustfull companion for my hardcore climbing, trekking, caving and mountain biking adventures.