A Remarkable Gadget (Swiss Tool Crystal Manager Lite)

Member Name: DocDan3

Product:	Swiss Tool Crystal Manager Lite
Date:	04/07/09 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very Useful, Many Functions, Good Light, Easy & Quick To Use, Quality, Lasts Long

Disadvantages: Not The Cheapest Product

One of the handiest gadgets that I find useful around the house is my Swiss Tool knife. It's manufactured by the very best in this field - Victorinox Swiss Army. The knife is obviously made in Switzerland too. These knives have been produced since 1984 and are of superior quality. The gadget is extremely well built and will last you a life time if you use it appropriately. It has quite a few nifty little gadgets that can be used for various things. I am pretty sure that the knife can only be bought in a single red colour, which is translucent so you can partially see through where the battery is and the parts inside.

The knife has the Swiss cross on one side on the classically designed background. There is a small metal hole on one end, which can be used to attach the knife to a key ring if you find it easier to carry this way. Bare in mind that you don't want this on your keys in an airport when going through security - you will have to pack it in your suitcase to go in the baggage hold if you wish to take it on holiday - where it comes in useful too.

The knife comes in a small grey box with the Victorinix logo on a red background next to a Swiss cross in the corner of the front face. The box is very simple - pretty much plain silver/grey with no pictures or anything but you are able to usually view them by hand in the shop before making a purchase. This cover slides off to reveal a white box with an open top. Inside the box are a couple of papers, which include instructions on how the LED light works and how to use it as well as on the knife with all the gadgets and also one for the ballpoint pen and how to replace that. One piece of paper contains an image of the knife with all the different tools sticking out, which can be used to identify them and see what they do. The instructions are in all different languages including English, French, Spanish and German, Japanese and Russian as they are sold worldwide and can therefore be understood by anyone. The knife sits just below within a plastic container, which is shaped to fit to the knife so it doesn't move around in the box.

The actual knife is around 6cm long and around 2cm wide when the tools are tucked in, but they still stick out a bit. On one side, two tools simply flick out the side. The first is a stainless steel knife. All the tools have slight indents in them, which makes it easy to pull them out using your fingernail. The knife is about 1.5 inches long and extremely sharp despite its size. It should be used with care as you can quite easily give yourself a fine cut with the knife. The knife is really useful for opening things such as boxes and packets as well as cutting things - whether it be labels off new clothes or string or anything else. The knife along with other tools on this gadget enable it to be used in and around the house or if you're camping or on a trip somewhere.

The second gadget in the same side as the knife contains three tools in one. At the end is a magnetic Philips screwdriver, which is really useful for small screws. I have found that the magnetic power isn't brilliant but it also depends on the size and type of screws you are using. Half way down the tool, which is a similar length to the 1.5-inch knife, there is a small hole on the edge used as a wire stripper. Below this is a cap lifter, which is really useful by the bar to get metal caps off bottled beers or other soft beverages.

On the opposite side to these gadgets is a nail filer and small scissors. They are both of a similar size to the other gadgets but the scissors are only small if you compare them to standard size scissors you may have in your kitchen. However, they are still really useful and of good, sharp quality. They are naturally extended and a piece of metal between the two handles compresses as you cut before it extends back to its original position. I find the scissors really useful for cutting labels and opening tougher boxes as you can either cut with them or use them like the knife to slice open packets and boxes. Finally, we have the nail filer. I think this is the most useless tool as it is hard to use and very small. The actual filer lies on top of the rectangular stainless steel tool but it doesn't go right up to the edge due to a flat border round the filer. Therefore, it's hard to file your nails, as the edge doesn't have this capability because it's flat.

On the bottom of the gadget is a small key ring, which is small but of strong quality to be attached to a key ring. The actual Swiss logo on the knife is also a button for the red LED light. Unfortunately, it is not a proper laser but other knives can be bought with this laser. It is simply an LED light, which is rather strong and gives a good enough amount of light in the dark to carry out basic actions. The light consists of a single red LED and is very easy to use but you must constantly hold down the button for the light to stay on. The last feature of the knife is the pen, which slides out the bottom. It is a ballpoint pen and is a small size but will last a considerable amount of time. A small grey slide on the side of the knife is used to slide out the pen and to slide it back in. You can buy new pens in the shops where you buy the knives and these simply slot back in after taking out the old pen. The only problem with the pen is that it barely sticks out the knife so holding the knife and using the pen is quite a pain, as you need to have it at an odd angle.

The knife can be bought for around £20.00 at shops such as Selfridges or outdoor camping stores and other places too. It is of supreme quality and I have already had mine for a few months and it's strong as it was form day one. The gadget is really compact and has a modern look. It's very small too so can easily fit in your pocket and be carried around subtly - not with the intention to kill someone though! It's a really useful gadget and the knife, scissors and screwdriver are all really useful as well as the bottle cap opener. The light is not bad either so you have this multifunctional tool, which can be used in or outside the house. It's of great quality and will be sure to last you years!

Thanks for reading,

Dan ©

Summary: A superb gadget, which is ideal for many uses inside and outside the house