Swiss Army Knives, exploded and then packed into (thick) credit-card sized packages, are undeniably useful. I have had one for years, using the little knife for cheese, the weak tweezers for removing splinters (don't ask) and the small pin for resetting routers and ejecting stubborn CDs from my slot-loading Mac. It even (so far) makes it through post-911 security theater checkpoints.
Today we have two updated versions -- The $20 Tool Logic Survival Card and the $325 Hermès/Victorinox Swisscard. The difference? Other than the leather case, almost nothing. In fact, remove that case and the Swisscard can be had for just under $20.
The Swisscard is much like mine, with tweezers, a small paper knife, a mini-biro, a router-booter pin, a screwdriver, scissors and an LED lamp. And, of course, a $305 leather sheath. The Tool Logic from ThinkGeek looks a little beefier with a bigger, easier to wield serrated knife, tweezers, toothpick, a "magnesium alloy fire starter", a whistle and an LED flashlight. Both look good, although with subtly different aims. In the words of the great Ferris Bueller, "If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."
Product page [Hermes via Book of Joe]
Product page [ThinkGeek]
