Vic Ambassador vs LM Style CS

quattromori

quattromori

Joined
May 7, 2011
Messages
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Hi again guys,
and thanks in advance for your help and feedback. I'm about to buy a keychain multitool for my work keyring; basically, I need scissors, a nail file, tweezers, a blade.
The choice is between the Victorinox Ambassador and the Leatherman Style CS. Both seem to fit my requirements, and come from reputable producers, so I guess both would make me happy.
Unfortunately, I won't have the choice to handle either one before buying it, so I need some feedback and personal preference please. :)
Thanks.

:cool:
 
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I don't have an Ambassador but my son has a Style CS. The scissors work great, nail file works good as a small screw driver, never used it as a file. The tweezers work but are hard to remove and replace, I can't ever tell if they're in all the way or not. Once you stick them back in the tool you won't have to worry about them falling out though. The blade is kind of hard to open but works fine for a small blade to cut open a taped package or envelope.
 
Get the Ambassador. It has an easier to hold handle and larger blade. The Style is OK but too small to hold onto very well for me. The larger Vic scissors are much better than those scissors on the style.
 
dfwcowboy said:
Get the Ambassador. It has an easier to hold handle and larger blade. The Style is OK but too small to hold onto very well for me. The larger Vic scissors are much better than those scissors on the style.
Click to expand...

Vic scissors are excellent, the industry standard, IMHO. However, the Style CS scissors are larger than those on 74 mm Vic mm models. Also, the CS has an SD tip on the file that works on small slotted and ph screws, and a carabiner/bottle opener, both lacking on the Ambassador, which also has no key ring, while the CS has no toothpick.

Any choice between these multi-tools is really a personal call, depending on how it will typically be used. Although neither has everything I would wish for, the balance of features favors the CS for my purposes.
 
I Really Like The Style CS As I Used To Have One. It's A Nice Little Tool. But I Personally Favor Victorinox Knives. Also The Victorinox Classic Has Everything You're Asking For. Great Handy Little Knife And Perfect For The Keychain.
 
i put an executive on my flashdisk so i carry it very2 often... its one of the perfect SAKs-- i mean you buy it, use it, love it and it would works excellent for its design...
 
Thanks for your feedbacks.
I own a Classic, I just want something in the 3" range. The Executive is nice but I want the simplest lightest SAK/LM as long as it does have the tools I need.
Actually, I thought the scissors on the Style were a bit larger, and the carabiner looked handy...that's what's making me hesitate, cause my first thought when I saw the Ambassador was "that's it!". Of course, I'm talking about the version with the keyring, otherwise I have no use for it.
Thanks :)

Fausto
 
znapschatz said:
Vic scissors are excellent, the industry standard, IMHO. However, the Style CS scissors are larger than those on 74 mm Vic mm models. Also, the CS has an SD tip on the file that works on small slotted and ph screws, and a carabiner/bottle opener, both lacking on the Ambassador, which also has no key ring, while the CS has no toothpick.

Any choice between these multi-tools is really a personal call, depending on how it will typically be used. Although neither has everything I would wish for, the balance of features favors the CS for my purposes.
Click to expand...
Well, I did not read the post properly since I was thinking of the "Style" which is that smaller sized tool. The "Style CS" does indeed have a larger set of scissors.
 
Here are my thoughts on both:
http://www.sosakonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=470&Itemid=35
http://www.multitool.org/Leatherman-Tool-Group/Keychain-Tools/2011/02/06/style-cs.html

Funnily I've never thought about these as direct competitors before though. First reaction is though that I do prefer the blade on the Ambassador; a bit longer and not chisel ground. The longer scissors on the CS can come in handy but the Vic one's have finer tips that are better for getting into tiny spaces. Physically the two tools are almost identical in size. Tough to chose between them really.
 
Gareth, thanks for the links.
Actually, if you consider them well, they're almost identical in tools and size, even tho they start from very different pattern (SAK on one, and pliers-based MT on the other).
I started looking for a larger version of the Vic Classic (but the 91mm range was too big for me for this purpose), and found out about the Ambassador (I have never seen a 3" Vic "live", and the only 84mm SAK's I've handled are the Waiter and the Bantam, that offer quite a different set of tools). When I found out about the Ambassador, I thought I had found what I was looking for. Then I took a look in Leatherman's website, and found out that they made something almost identical to the Ambassador (in terms of size and tools)...so that's why I'm here :)

:cool:
 
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