Victorinox Fieldmaster Review | 5 Years of Daily Carry

Victorinox Fieldmaster Review

I've had mine since 2021. It lives in my EDC bag and has done every day since. After five years of that, here's what I actually think.

The tools you'll actually use

The Fieldmaster has 15 functions. In practice, you'll reach for maybe five of them with any regularity. That's not a criticism, it's just the pareto principle in action.

The main blade gets the most use by a distance. It's the tool you pull out without thinking. Opening packages, cutting tape, slicing through whatever needs slicing. The steel is on the softer side, and so it takes an edge very easily, and despite being a softer steel it also holds an edge quite well. It won't stay sharp as long as something in a harder steel, but when it does dull, a quick touch-up brings it back to shaving sharp.

The scissors are the second most used tool, they're the best scissors I've used on any multi-tool. Spring-loaded, precise, and they cut cleanly every time. I use them far more than I'd have expected before buying this.

The bottle opener is also the large flat-head screwdriver, and doubles as a pry tool. Mine has paint on it from opening a tin recently, for example. The small flat-head lives on the end of the can opener, and that gets real use too, moreso than the can opener itself. The Phillips is fine for a quick tighten here and there, but if you're putting in several full screws it becomes awkward fast. The sideways grip just isn't comfortable for anything serious. Emergency tool, not a substitute for an actual screwdriver.

The reamer is rarely used, but it earns its place when you need it. I've used mine to punch an extra hole in a leather belt. That kind of job comes up once in a blue moon, but when it does, nothing else on the knife would do it. The saw and the hook are even less frequently used. The hook could be used for lifting a pot off a campfire without burning your hand, or pulling thread/cordage/cables through a gap. The saw will handle light wood processing. I personally never find myself needing to process wood, so both tools sit largely untouched, but for anyone who spends real time outdoors, they'd get much more use out of this than I.

Build quality

My poor Fieldmaster has been generally abused throughout its life, and at some point I managed to crack a chunk off one of the scales. I haven't replaced it and I probably won't, it doesn't affect functionality and I never notice it. It's worth saying that the scale material is properly tough stuff, and this damage only occured due to me misusing the tool as an improptu hammer..

That's actually the only damage worth mentioning after five years of abuse. Everything else is cosmetic scratches and honest wear. The tools open and close with the same satisfyingly smooth and precise action they did in 2021. Nothing has loosened, rattled, or degraded. The steel has stayed rust-free throughout.

Maintenance is straightforward. Every three months or so I rinse the whole thing in warm soapy water, dry it off, and hit the moving parts with a drop of Ballistol. Takes ten minutes.

Victorinox back it with a lifetime warranty against defects. Always a bonus, and shows confidence in their product.

The one thing I'd change

The Fieldmaster is bulky. It's the thickest of the standard 91mm SAKs because of the four-layer construction. In five years I've used the wood saw a handful of times. For that trade-off, it's worth knowing your options before you buy.

If you want the same tool minus the saw, that's the Super Tinker. Slimmer, and for most people probably the smarter buy. If you want to go a step further and swap the saw for pliers, that's the Super Tinker Deluxe. Honestly, pliers would be more useful to the average person than a saw. I carry Knipex Cobras in my bag so they'd be redundant for me, but if you don't already have pliers covered, the Super Tinker Deluxe is worth a serious look.

I've also added a Nite Ize pocket clip to mine, so I can attach it to the MOLLE webbing inside my bag. Useful for access and organisation, but it adds even more bulk to an already chunky package. It's a shame Victorinox don't offer a slim clip from the factory on a knife this size.

Size comparison: Fieldmaster vs Recruit

I also own a Victorinox Recruit, which is a smaller 2-layer 84mm SAK, as opposed to the 4-layer 91mm Fieldmaster. The difference is more noticeable in hand than it sounds on paper, and stacking them gives a good sense of just how much thicker the Fieldmaster is. If you're on the fence about the bulk, the photo below might put it in perspective.

Verdict

Five years in, the Fieldmaster still has a permanent place in my bag. The quality is undeniable, the tool selection is genuinely useful, and the price is almost laughably reasonable for what you get. I've cracked a scale and haven't even bothered replacing it. It still works perfectly.

My only real regret is not buying the Super Tinker, or possibly the Super Tinker Deluxe. The saw has come out on the occasions I've needed it, but given how rarely that's been, the extra bulk wasn't worth the trade-off. If I lost this tomorrow, I'd replace it with one of those two without hesitation.

I'll always have a Victorinox on me. It might not always be the Fieldmaster. But whichever model you go for, you're getting one of the best-value pieces of kit in the EDC world.