What happened to Swiss+Tech?

E

Eyegor

Joined
Feb 22, 2006
Messages
848
Ever since I was forced to surrender my Swiss+Tech MicroTech at airport security I have been wanting another. Not needing. Just wanting. Today, I saw a display of Swiss+Tech products at what I thought were very good prices. I snatched up a new MicroTech and a MicroPro 9-in-1 with LED light. Before I purchased them I noticed that they are no longer made in the USA. Now they are being produced in China. When did that happen? That probably explains the price difference. I decided to purchase them anyway. At least partially to see how the quality compared. As I never owned a MicroPro before I have nothing to compare it to. But I can compare the MicroTech to the one I owned before.
These are my observations:

The design is identical. The main pivot seems looser. Too soon to tell if that equates to more fragile. The pivot point on the arms is actually much tighter than on the original. This slows down deploying the tool. The arm pivots are also affected by the new coating on the tool. The original came painted with an enamel that appeared to be baked on. The new one has a rubberized coating of some type. This makes the handling of the tool a slight bit more comfortable but binds at the arms as I mentioned before. It also makes the screwdriver tips more bulky. This may make it harder to fit some screw heads although on the ones I tried I found no difference. In summary, it is the same tool, with apparently the same base construction. The different coating and construction may come into play in the future.
 
I wasn't aware that there had been a change. I was looking at some in a local store and checked to see where made - USA. However, it could be old stock. Would be interested in hearing if USA --> China on this one.
 
I know where there is a USA made Swiss+Tech MicroTech 6-in-1 with a gift box tucked in the back of a display case. But the shopowneer wants $26-$29 for it and won't budge. So for now it sits. But if their production has moved, maybe I'll go back and rescue it. BTW, the chinese version was retailing for $5 in a clampack, no gift box.
 
Eyegor said:
Ever since I was forced to surrender my Swiss+Tech MicroTech at airport security I have been wanting another. Not needing. Just wanting. Today, I saw a display of Swiss+Tech products at what I thought were very good prices. I snatched up a new MicroTech and a MicroPro 9-in-1 with LED light. Before I purchased them I noticed that they are no longer made in the USA. Now they are being produced in China. When did that happen? That probably explains the price difference. I decided to purchase them anyway. At least partially to see how the quality compared. As I never owned a MicroPro before I have nothing to compare it to. But I can compare the MicroTech to the one I owned before.
These are my observations:

The design is identical. The main pivot seems looser. Too soon to tell if that equates to more fragile. The pivot point on the arms is actually much tighter than on the original. This slows down deploying the tool. The arm pivots are also affected by the new coating on the tool. The original came painted with an enamel that appeared to be baked on. The new one has a rubberized coating of some type. This makes the handling of the tool a slight bit more comfortable but binds at the arms as I mentioned before. It also makes the screwdriver tips more bulky. This may make it harder to fit some screw heads although on the ones I tried I found no difference. In summary, it is the same tool, with apparently the same base construction. The different coating and construction may come into play in the future.
Click to expand...

Whatever differences there may be between USA and China made Swiss+Tech I don't know because of experience with the Chinese versions only. However, I have tried several samples of those and found differences in fit and finish among them. Maybe they are substantially the same and what you have encountered are manufacturing variances. That happens a lot with other than high end products.
 
One thing I have noticed with the Chinese ones is that some of the black ones seem to have an oxide finish, while others seem to have a paint-like finish.
 
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