OLD RELIABLE You don’t need to be a history buff to appreciate Victorinox’s elegant, limited-edition Heritage. It faithfully replicates the familiar folding knife distributed to Swiss army troops in 1891—just a blade, punch, screwdriver, and can opener—in a slick ebony handle. Yet it’s as functional as the company’s modern knives. $495; swissarmy.com
Soft Touch
Gerber Balance (Courtesy of Gerber)
Gerber’s seven-ounce Balance has the features you expect in a basic multitool—locking blade, scissors, slide-out pliers—and some you don’t, like tweezers and dual long-arm screwdrivers with interchangeable (if easy to lose) bits. The rounded edges make for a refreshingly comfortable grip, but the pliers occasionally jammed. $75; gerbergear.com
Return Ticket
Think you can make it in the woods with only a knife? We hope you bring one as dependable as Spyderco’s 8.75-inch Bushcraft. Designed by British survivalists, this beast has a four-inch blade made of durable tool steel—extra thick for prying, twisting, and hacking—and excels at wilderness chores like shelter building and game processing. Yes, it also cuts salami like a dream. $280; spyderco.com
Climbing Partner
An alpinist’s gear should be freakishly light and super reliable—like Wenger’s Ueli Steck Climbing Knife. Encased in gram-saving titanium, it features climbing-specific bolt wrenches in its double-thick blunt-tip combo (half-serrated) blade, a driver adapter (with three bits included), and a metal file for sharpening ice tools and crampons. $200; wengerna.com
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Super Spork
Eat, wrench, screw: CRKT’s four-inch Eat’N Tool upgrades the titanium spork (a staple of the fast-and-light set) with a bottle opener, a screwdriver, and three bolt wrenches. And at just seven bucks and 1.5 ounces, it’s light on everything but utility. $7; crkt.com
Action Hero
We loved Benchmade’s 915 Triage for everyday use: it’s slim and pocket-friendly, with a grippy ergonomic handle and a powerful 3.5-inch combo blade that can be opened with one hand, even gloved. It also comes with life insurance: a carbide-tipped windshield breaker on the butt and a seat-belt cutter. $165; benchmade.com
Trailside Mechanic
It’s hard to believe you can fit this many bike tools in your jersey and forget they’re even there. The 17 in Blackburn’s Toolmanator 3 include a chain breaker, spoke wrenches, every driver head you could ever need, and a minipump for midride shock tweakage. It’s also tough as hell and weighs just 4.8 ounces. $40; blackburndesign.com
