Recommendation? Swisstool X VS Spirit X

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

Hey guys. I currently carry the newest iteration of the leatherman charge tti (not the + version though). I also own a victorinox swisstool and a leatherman 300. I have previously owned a leatherman wave as well as a buck bucktool.

I'm looking to buy either a victorinox swisstool x or the swisstool spirit x. I like having scissors. The swisstool spirit x is in my sights currently. So here are a few questions if you own either or both.

How do the pliers compare? The spirit looks to have a more traditional needlenose. Are the cutters as hard?

What's the size difference between thre Phillips drivers? I know with my swisstool there aren't many recessed holes it can get into for say a toy or appliance.

Are the scissors on one better than the other? The swisstool x looks to have the more traditional looking swiss army knife style scissors.

 

[Mahoney]

The Spirit X is smaller, lighter, and curvier the the Swisstool X. And all the implements/blades are smaller on the Spirit X particularly the scissors. The plier jaws are a tiny bit longer on the Spirit and considerably narrower and pointer. Are far as wire cutting goes, you have less leverage with the Spirit, and there's less material in the jaws at the cutter, but the cutting area is just as wide. The Phillips driver on the Spirit is quite a bit more svelte than the driver on the Swisstool, so it's more likely to get down in a recessed hole, but YMMV depending on the hole.

FWIW I prefer the Swisstool X, I like the full size scissors and the functionality of the larger tool, but it is a lot heavier to carry around than the Spirit would be...

 

[hexenjager]

Hey S SuzukiGS750EZ . I have a standard Swisstool, a Spirit and a Charge TTI+, so I took some comparison pics to try to show the differences since a picture is worth a thousand words.

First a few basic size comparison pics. From left to right, Swisstool, Swisstool Spirit, Charge TTI+.

How do the pliers compare? The spirit looks to have a more traditional needlenose. Are the cutters as hard?

A close-up of the pliers (left to right: Swisstool, Spirit, Charge).

The pliers on the Spirit are a little more needle nosed than the Swisstool, but still not a fine needle nose pliers like the Charge. As far as the hardness of the cutters, I've never used the Spirit on hard steel wire, only mild steel wire and copper, so I can't say for certain how they compare. My Swisstool has cut a decent amount of high tensile (hardened) electric fence wire, though, and held up fine.

What's the size difference between thre Phillips drivers? I know with my swisstool there aren't many recessed holes it can get into for say a toy or appliance.

Close-up of the philips drivers (Swisstool on the left, Spirit on the right).

Are the scissors on one better than the other? The swisstool x looks to have the more traditional looking swiss army knife style scissors.

Close-up of the scissors (Swisstool on The left, Spirit on the right).

Personally, I really prefer the Swisstool/SAK style pliers over the new style on the Spirit and wish the Spirit had come with the SAK style. The new style works mostly, seems like it might be a sturdier design and doesn't have the fine spring of the old style that can catch on things and/or get damaged. That's all the nice things I have to say about the new style. The cutting edges are quite a lot shorter and what you see in the picture is as wide as the Spirit scissors will open where the old style will open far wider. That might not be a big difference to most, but I noticed it a lot in use after being used to the SAK style. The new ones also just don't "feel" like Vic scissors while you're cutting if you know what I mean. Victorinox scissors have widely been considered the best of their type for a long time. What on earth posessed them to change that design is an absolute mystery to me, but it's not an improvement as far as I'm concerned. Swisstool scissors (or an SAK in your pocket) all day long for me. Your mileage may vary.

Hope this helps.

 

[mtoolman]

Just ordered SWISS TOOL X and Rescue.

 

[JimMD]

Just ordered SWISS TOOL X and Rescue.

Love the Rescue (or RS). That rescue blade is great, as are the many of the tools shared with the X, especially those outstanding scissors and the surprisingly useful ruler. Also it's handy having all the tools accessible from the outside.

 

[knife4lif3]

I prefer the Spirit because the pliers are just much better shaped IMO

 

[nome05lag]

Has anyone used the ratchet tool and bit set that can be bought with the X and Spirit? How does it compare to the Leatherman bits/extender in this area?

Leatherman used to sell a ratchet, but it's sold out everywhere and I wondered if there was a problem with it? Or just out of stock?

Thanks.

 

[Guy McVer]

I know with my swisstool there aren't many recessed holes it can get into for say a toy or appliance.

If that's something important to you then I suggest getting either a Jetsetter, Rally, Rambler, or Manager for your key chain.

Jetsetter = 1 layer: combo phillips and scissors

Rally = 1 layer: combo phillips, pen knife, and SD nail file

Rambler = 2 layers: combo phillips, scissors, pen knife, and SD nail file

Manager = Rambler + retractable ink pen

Are the scissors on one better than the other? The swisstool x looks to have the more traditional looking swiss army knife style scissors.

Yes, the scissors on the larger Swisstool are absolutely better than the scissors on the Spirit X. The scissors are actually one of the things that I hate about the Spirit X. Victorinox did manufacture a regular version of the Spirit without scissors and then it was discontinued. You can mod the scissor spring on the Spirit X so that the scissors will open wider, but such modifications void the warranty.

 

[A.L.]

Had the Spirit X, nowadays got the regular X. I have to say I like the regular X much better. It feels like the Spirit did very small compromises with things like flat drivers where the bigger brother has more refined ones. I also like the regular scissors better. The spirit has shaped handle for the pliers but I always found them too slippery for me.