13 Best Swiss Army Knives (Review) In 2021

As much as we love Swiss Army Knives, some of them are a bit overcomplicated. The whole point of a pocket knife is that it fits in your pocket and allows you to perform simple tasks when you don’t have a toolkit. The Classic SD Pocket Knife perfectly encapsulates that spirit. It’s just over two inches in length and has a total of seven functions – blade, nail file, screwdriver, scissors, keyring, tweezers, and a toothpick.

We reckon this is the best of the Swiss Army keychain knives. It’s small and lightweight enough to carry around without weighing your keys down. We also love the fact that it comes in 30 different colors and designs. This makes it a great personalized present and also a catch for Swiss Army Knife collectors.

When you hear ‘Swiss Army Knife’, this is probably the knife that comes to mind. It features the traditional red casing made from polished ABS scales. Interestingly, the first Swiss Army Knives in the late 19th Century has a black handle – the iconic red handle came a few years later.

This knife has an impressive set of tools (without going overboard). You get a 2.45-inch blade, a Phillips screwdriver, a bottle opener, a wood saw, scissors, and more. It also comes with a super useful keyring, so you can have it safely attached to your pack when you go hiking or camping. The Fieldmaster is designed to be just as useful around the house as it is ‘in the field’. In our opinion, it’s one of the most versatile Swiss Army Knives.

The Swiss Army Evolution is a slightly more ‘evolved’ version of the classic Swiss Army Knives. The most noticeable difference is the ergonomic handle. It’s still finished in the traditional red, but it has grooves in the design to give your fingers a better grip. This gives you more power and accuracy when you’re using the tools. If you think you’ll be using the screwdriver regularly, it’s worth choosing this knife over one with a smooth handle.

It has a similar set of tools to the Fieldmaster. You get a 2.5-inch blade, a wood saw a Phillips screwdriver, scissors, and more. It has all of the traditional Swiss Army tools, which makes it useful as a camping or hiking companion. Plus, it’s slightly shorter than the Fieldmaster. We reckon it’s one of the best Swiss Army EDC Knives (everyday carry) – it has enough essential tools for the majority of situations without being overly complicated or too chunky.

The SwissChamp Pocket Knife is for those of you that want more from your Swiss Army Knife. Sometimes a knife, screwdriver, and saw just won’t cut it. With a total of 33 functions, this pocket tool can get you out of most sticky situations. It’s like having a tool box in your pocket. Honestly, some of the tools are a bit ‘out there’. For example, the fish scaler and hook will probably never get used unless you get stuck on a desert island.

The sheer amount of tools on this Swiss Army Knife makes it thicker and heavier than the other models we’ve looked at. At 1.3-inches across and 6.5oz, it’s still thin enough to fit in your pocket, but you probably won’t want to carry it around on your keychain.

Next up we’ve got the Victorinox Swiss Army Knives EvoGrip Pocket Knife. As you might have guessed from the name, the grip is the most important feature on this pocket knife. The handle features two rubber inlays that take the ergonomic design of the Swiss Army Evolution one step further. The rubber handle makes this tool even more useful than a standard Swiss Army Knife because you can get more power and stability when using the tools. Even though this is a better design, the more traditional Swiss Army Knives sell better because of their iconic look.

You get a similar set of tools to the Fieldmaster and Evolution knives. The set includes a 2.5-inch locking blade, Phillips screwdriver, wood saw, and serrated-edge scissors. You can also get versions of the EvoGrip Pocket Knife with more tools if you don’t feel like this one is up to the task. For more amazing blades like this, check out our selection of the best hunting knives.

The Swiss Army Huntsman Pocket Knife is the #1 best-selling camping folding knife on Amazon. It’s got over 5000 reviews and 89% of those are five-star reviews. That’s pretty rare on Amazon, even on the best-loved products. So, what is it about this Swiss Army Knife that people love so much?

Well, from the ABS polished scales to the stainless-steel tools, this is a very well-made pocket knife and a multitool. It has a range of 15 tools, similar to the Fieldmaster. In fact, in many ways, it’s the same as the Fieldmaster pocket knife. The only difference is that the Huntsman has a corkscrew instead of a Phillips screwdriver. So deciding between them is as simple as deciding which tool you’ll use more. The corkscrew is a deceivingly useful tool – here’s an article that lists 42 potential ways to use it.

The Swiss Army Evolution S54 Tool Chest Plus is the most feature-rich model in the Evolution range. It has a total of 31 functions including a locking blade, metal saw, compass, ruler, pliers, scissors, and much more. The only thing it’s missing is a screwdriver. Being part of the Evolution range, it benefits from having the ergonomic handle with two inlays. This gives you better stability and power when using any of the tools. Plus, it makes it much less likely to slip out of your hand.

We’d recommend this Swiss Army Knife to adventure-seekers in particular. The fact that it has a compass makes it the perfect travel companion, especially if you’re out on a multi-day hike. It’s thicker and heavier than your standard Swiss Army Knife, but will still fit easily into a coat pocket or backpack. Our only complaint is that it’s too chunky to fit into the pocket of your jeans.

The Victorinox Swiss Army Explore is an iconic pocket tool for EDC. We said it earlier about the Fieldmaster and it’s true for this knife too – if someone says Swiss Army Knife, this is the knife you picture. From the iconic red handle to the Swiss Army logo, this knife could be brand new or 50 years old and you would barely be able to tell the difference. It even has the hook tool, designed for carrying parcels back when the postal service used string (i.e. a long time ago).

The beauty of the Swiss Army Explorer is its size. It’s got enough tools (a total of 16 functions) for almost any situation but doesn’t have anything unnecessary. The bigger Swiss Army Knives are amazing to look at, and cool to have around the house, but too many tools can become more of a hindrance than a benefit. If you’re looking for the perfect sized Swiss Army Knife, we think this is it.

The Starfish Classic SD Swiss Army Knife is one of the smallest Swiss Army Knives available. That comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. We love the fact that it’s small enough to carry around on your keychain without being noticed. It weighs less than one ounce and measures just over two inches on the long side.

The obvious downside is the lack of tools. This is one of the simplest Swiss Army Knives on the market and features just six tools – knife, scissors, nail file with screwdriver tip, toothpick, tweezers, keyring. It’s not the best companion if you’re doing a cross-country hike. Instead, it’s more suited to your everyday carrying needs. Plus, you get a cool starfish pattern! You may also like some of the best Bushcraft knives from our list, so check them out.

One look at this Swiss Army Knife and you can tell it’s not your average pocket knife. With over 83 functions, this knife is packed with tools. That makes it considerably thicker (2.6-inches) and heavier (12.3 ounces) than every other pocket tool on this list. A lot of reviews online say that this pocket knife is a gimmick for Swiss Army collectors. Honestly, we kind of agree. Swiss Army Swisschamp Xavt Pocket Knife is too big to carry around in your pocket and the sheer amount of functions means that you can spend ages looking for the right tool.

Of course, just because it’s designed as a collector item, it doesn’t mean it’s not useful. Every tool has a purpose and most of them can be used for everyday DIY. It’s also beautifully crafted and covered by the Swiss Army lifetime guarantee. If you’re crazy about Swiss Army Knives, this has to be in your collection. For more handy options for your outdoor adventures, check out our selection of the best camping knives.

Here’s one for the Swiss Army Knife history buffs. The Pioneer is based on the pocket knife given to the Swiss Army in the 1960s. The most notable feature is the silver Alox scale handle. Instead of the ABS plastic that’s normally used, this one is made from a material called Alox. It’s made up of lots of small scales, which provides extra grip and also looks fantastic.

The Pioneer has a total of eight functions – knife, reamer, punch, can opener, screwdriver, bottle opener, wire stripper, and key ring. So, it’s towards the simple side of the pocket knives on this list. However, it still measures 3.5-inches long, so it’s not a small knife. Honestly, you can get better Swiss Army Knives than this one, but we had to include it because of the history. Our guide to the best Benchmade pocket knives features more quality options like this, so check them out.

The Victorinox Swiss Army RangerWood 55 is a bit different from the other products featured on this list. If it didn’t have the iconic logo on the wooden handle, you would find it difficult to tell it apart from other pocket knives. The wooden handle is made from walnut and has ergonomic grooves so it’s comfortable in your hand.

The other major difference is the length of the knife. The handle measures 5.12-inches, which means it can feature a 3.9-inch lock blade and a 4.2-inch double-cut wood saw. So, if you think you’ll use these tools regularly, it’s well worth buying the RangerWood 55 over a smaller Swiss Army Knife. For all the fans of diving, we have prepared our list of the best diving knives, so take a moment to check them out.

Last on the list is another small Swiss Army Knife. We’ve chosen this as our Best Value product because it costs less than $20, which is an amazing value for a pocket tool of this quality. Victorinox Swiss Army Classic Pocket Knife Red Edelweiss is both super small (2.25”) and weighs less than one ounce. That makes it perfect to put on your keychain and carry around with you every day. Of course, that small size means it only has basic tools. These include a knife, a nail file with nail cleaner, scissors, a key ring, tweezers, and a toothpick. Be sure to also check out our guide to the best boot knives for more handy options like this.