Geek Tool: Victorinox MiniChamp Alox

When I was a kid, I suffered this kind of crush for Swiss Army* knives. I was so damn obsessed that I persuaded my parents to buy me a little one, which I still remember with love. Yes, love. You see, MacGyver was (is?) my favorite hero.

And then, one day, when I was playing in the snow on the side of a hill (not sure exactly where) I lost it. It must have slipped out of my pocket, and that wrecked me. I was sad for days.

A few years later, when I was a little older, I bought another one (which I still have). It was a Wenger model with a fair number of tools, and for a while it always was with me. But then pockets began getting packed full with other things like wallet, keys, and grown-up stuff like that, and the knife was left home alone. Swiss Army knives never returned to my mind.

Until now.

Victorinox MiniChamp Alox
That’s my key ring, with more non-keys than keys.

The real threat is not a woman with a credit card, but instead a geek with a credit card. You see the result above: a Victorinox MiniChamp Alox.

I shelled about €35 for that little piece of engineering. It’s a solid, tiny, shiny thing packed full of wonders. It does feel like that, plus like a Swiss clock turned knife. Its build quality is so accurate that you want to cry. It’s awesome.

Moreover, I feel like a child again.

*) Sackmesser in German, they are indeed issued to Swiss Army soldiers and officers. There’s a specific model built for them, which is also issued by other armies in the world to their respective forces. The name is more than appropriate, even if Swiss Army is a registered trademark of Victorinox AG. Switzerland must really be a weird place.


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