Victorinox Bantam SAK

T

Tentmaker

Joined
Sep 7, 2010
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164
Does anyone here own a Victorinox Bantam? I'm considering a new SAK, having lost my only one on a camping trip :( . It's a cheap one, and I can afford that or anything under $50 at the moment.
Recommendations? Reviews? Stories?
Please share.
 
I have a bantam and love it!:thumbup:

Great little knife, will do most anything in the relm of real world pocket knife duty. The combo tool does a very good job of eliminating one whole layer of the can opener and screw driver tools. It can evben handle Phillips screws by using the inside corner of the combo tool. For virtually the price of an Opinel, you get a good knife with some tool capability, and sak water proofness.

Carl.
 
I have an Alox Bantam , nice knife , just too thin to be comfortable in my huge mitts .

Chris
 
That Bantam is a good little tool and does a lot of work for a minimal pocket load - If you were happy with it - get another one or two.
Peace
Revvie
 
I get the feeling that you are still relatively new to world of SAKs. While the Bantam is a fine choice, I would not choose it as my only SAK. I would go with the slightly larger Sportsman, Tinker, Spartan, or perhaps a Pioneer or even the vaunted Farmer. Those mentioned are all Vic models. Wenger offers several as well such as a Evogrip 10 or Apprentice, Commander, Highlander. These models have more utility with only a very minimal increase in size. You can't go wrong with any of these.
 
I own a Bantam too and love it. Very nice, light, thin and functional pocket knife. I usually don't carry it as my only tool, a Leatherman Micra is its friend and together those little tools cover lots of tasks. Sometimes I swap the Bantam for the Cadet, but the Micra covers functions of the Cadet, so the Bantam is usually fine.

With the Bantam and Micra I can do a lot and don't need much more in daily life. I live in a city and work at an office. Of course I have some larger tools, I keep a few in the car and there are a lot of them in the house, but for most daily tasks, the tools that I keep in my pockets are sufficient.
 
I never really warmed to the Bantam if I'm honest. If you're looking at the Cellidor version I prefer the Waiter, if you're looking at the Alox then I prefer the Cadet.
 
Sadly, the Bantam is out of stock. Taking the advice of Eyegor, I'm upgrading my choice to the Soldier.
The reason for the Bantam was price, and I didn't really need all that much in an SAK. But since I am able to buy a Soldier for only $15 more, I'm upgrading.
On that thought, does anyone own a Soldier?
 
I think every SAK enthousiast has at least one Soldier and/or Wenger SI in his/her collection. The Soldier is a great SAK and a classic, I carried it for years as my only pocket knife, wasn't into knives then. I still carry it from time to time.
 
Tentmaker, you may have problems finding the original soldier (the alox one) and the new soldier is a bigger knife when compared to, especially, the bantam/cadet.

Wenger still makes the standard issue which is the same as the soldier but with a bail.

If you want something like the original soldier in alox you might look at the pioneer.

Vin
 
Eyegor said:
I get the feeling that you are still relatively new to world of SAKs. While the Bantam is a fine choice, I would not choose it as my only SAK. I would go with the slightly larger Sportsman, Tinker, Spartan, or perhaps a Pioneer or even the vaunted Farmer. Those mentioned are all Vic models. Wenger offers several as well such as a Evogrip 10 or Apprentice, Commander, Highlander. These models have more utility with only a very minimal increase in size. You can't go wrong with any of these.
Click to expand...

Tentmaker said:
Sadly, the Bantam is out of stock. Taking the advice of Eyegor, I'm upgrading my choice to the Soldier.
The reason for the Bantam was price, and I didn't really need all that much in an SAK. But since I am able to buy a Soldier for only $15 more, I'm upgrading.
On that thought, does anyone own a Soldier?
Click to expand...

Wow, someone finally takes my advice,... and I get misquoted. The curse of fame I guess. Your choice of the old model soldier is an excellent one and a solid choice. But finding the old model is starting to get harder. A Pioneer may be easier to get your hands on. (For casual observers, the same knife except for the keyring added). If you are referring to the new Soldier, (larger, green, locking blade) then that is a much larger knife than the Bantam you originally mentioned. Still a great choice, but beyond your original post as I understood it. Buy what you want for now. It won't be your last one. These things are addictive.
 
Eyegor said:
Wow, someone finally takes my advice,... and I get misquoted. The curse of fame I guess. Your choice of the old model soldier is an excellent one and a solid choice. But finding the old model is starting to get harder. A Pioneer may be easier to get your hands on. (For casual observers, the same knife except for the keyring added). If you are referring to the new Soldier, (larger, green, locking blade) then that is a much larger knife than the Bantam you originally mentioned. Still a great choice, but beyond your original post as I understood it. Buy what you want for now. It won't be your last one. These things are addictive.
Click to expand...

Lol, sorry about that. I was taking your post as more of a "go big or go home" deal. So I went for the Soldier, which is a harder use model like the ones you mentioned.

Vba, I found one at my local knife shop, so it's all good. As long as none of you get there before me! :D


EDIT: Yes, I'm talking about the old soldier.
 
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Amongst my many other SAKs I own a Wenger SI (near identical to the Vic Soldier you're looking at) and they're definitely good pocket knives, you'll not be sorry to have one. :)
 
I've got about 4 alox Soldiers
4 or 5 Wenger SI Soldiers/Soldat
5 Pioneers (Like the Soldier but with keyring)

That's how much I like the alox Soldier :)

It's a great knife.
 
The Soldier is a good choice. I have to admit that I own several of them, also a few old Soldiers that were issued to the Dutch army, also known as DAKs (Dutch Army Knives). The alox models by Victorinox and the Wenger SI are excellent pocket knives, especially considering the very friendly price, and will serve you a long time.
 
I have a bantam and even tho I do like the little knife I find myself carrying other SAK models more.

My personal suggestion to replacing your lost SAK on a budget, get a tinker small. They can be bought under the $25.00 mark and have everything you will possibly need in a days task except maybe the scissors. I find that most task that call for scissors can usually be preformed with a sharp knife blade.
 
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