Most of us who hike today carry quite a bit of gear with us. The necessary modern philosophy of “pack it in, pack it out” requires that. Instead of building shelters on the spot, for example, we carry tents, and those as well as the many other essential pieces of our pack loads sometimes break. Things hardly ever break where it’s convenient to repair them or get a replacement.
In those circumstances, where suddenly you have to tack together something workable from the pieces of the things you have, it’s nice to have a knife with a few technical options. The Swiss Army Forester fits that need.
Made to the high standards of Victorinox, the Forester is hefty enough to get important things done. The 4 3/8″ closed length combines a strong black nylon handle big enough to grip securely and shaped for non slip use. That larger size includes a stainless steel lockback blade nearly 4″ long and an equally stout and useful wood saw blade. Most of the standard Swiss Army multi-tool functions are present in heftier form than usual, and include a locking flat blade screwdriver and cap lifter, a can opener, wire stripper, tweezers, and even a toothpick. With the Forester you get a strong corkscrew, also very useful for working jammed knots loose without damaging cordage. With the counterpart model, the Trailmaster, you trade the corkscrew for a Philips head screwdriver.
All this versatility, size, and strength makes the Forester too heavy (nearly a pound) to conveniently carry in your pocket, so either stow it away in your pack or get the optional leather or nylon belt sheath.
Find this Forester Swiss Army Knife:
