Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been traveling around the USA for the past 4 weeks. On my way, I picked up a few interesting keychain items which I plan to post about in the next few updates.
Out of interest, here's the keyring setup I was carrying for my travels:
I brought along the swisstech utili-key because it's light and unobtrusive. It came in handy cutting some clothing tags, and some other odd jobs. I put the keychain away in my backpack during security checks, and the utili-key managed to pass through without any problems.
The empty s-biner was used for attaching and detaching things to the keyring.
Made from polished stainless steel, it is roughly the size of a large key. Measuring: 2-3/4” x 3/4” x 1/8" (folded) and weighing only 0.5 oz.
Thoughts and critique:
On paper the swisstech utilikey sounds amazingly usefully with the all the features it offers. However in practice, there are certain things about the design of this multi-tool that make these functions less practical.
To start off with, the features in the utilikey are not easily accessible. To use the various functions, you need to first put down your keychain, use two hands to unclip the tool, remove it from your keychain, use the desired feature and then clip the tool back on. Compare this to say the spyderco bug, which can stay clipped to the keychain and unfolds with ease.
This is one of the reasons why I keep a spyderco bug on my keychain despite having a 'blade' feature on the utilikey. In comparison to the bug, I find the blade on the utilikey to be thick and not very sharp. I have tried to sharpen the blade further, however the edge is still pretty average.
Straight and serrated knife blade
When using the multi-tool, care needs to be taken with how you hold it, if you are not careful it is quite easy to cut yourself. This is especially the case when using the bottle opener. The bottle opener feature is fairly small and does not give much leverage. I find to open a bottle, it is easier if you pry it open in 2 or 3 locations. I hope the following video helps to demonstrate, how I use this feature on the utilikey.
Phillips screwdriver and bottle opener
The utilikey has 3 screwdrivers; a phillips, a flat and a micro screwdriver. Of these 3 screwdrivers, the phillips is probably the most easy to use. The flat screwdriver does not have much length, and it may be hard to use in awkward and difficult to reach places. The micro screwdriver also suffers from a similar problem; it has difficulty reaching some of the more deeper and recessed screws in my glasses. The tip on the micro screwdriver is fairly thick, it requires some 'thinning-out' to allow it to fit into the screws in my glasses.
Flat screwdriver and micro-sized screwdriver
Despite these short comings from the tool, I still keep a utilikey on my keychain as it takes little room and space. The phillips screwdriver is acceptable, and the bottle opener is okay as a last resort. You never know, it may come in handy when you're stuck in a pinch with no other options.
Cost:
RRP: $11-15 depending on packaging
Manufacturer's website: http://www.swisstechtools.com/productdetail.aspx?PID=VZ75GDTdP68A
Similar tools to consider:
Utili-Key® FX 6-in-1 - has a nail file instead of bottle opener
Utili-Key XT 8-in-1 - has a nail file, nail cleaner wire cutter, wire stripper instead of the two blades.
