This Minimalist New Swiss Army Knife Boasts Not One But Two Rare User-Friendly Features

Think of a Swiss Army Knife, and a few defining features probably come to mind. 

Red scales. That classic cross-emblazoned shield logo. A range of silver implements, including a blade and bottle opener. Maybe even a nail file.

Victorinox

Two things you don’t think of? A locking blade and a pocket clip. 

That’s where the new Synergy Alox and its siblings will surprise you.

They offer many of the traditional tools but also contemporary styling and functionality, the likes of which have never been rolled into a single SAK before. None that I’ve seen, anyway.

This is the modern way

It’s not just, ohh, the sixth-best Kaiser Chiefs song. It’s also how Victorinox is approaching things with the Alox Refined Collection.

While so many of their multi-tools have an outdoors bent, these three slim reapers — the OneFold pocket knife, 8-function Synergy and nine-function Synergy X — clearly elevate EDC for the urban set.

Victorinox

Visually, the most striking departure may be the aluminum oxide (aka Alox) scales, which get a partially brushed finish and skeletonized cutouts in addition to the standard Alox grip-improving griddle texture.

From a functional standpoint, however, there’s much bigger news. Each of the three gets a safety-boosting locking leaf for the main blade.

That may not seem that unusual, but it’s so uncommon for Victorinox that most of its locking blade multi-tools literally have “Lockblade” in their names. 

Victorinox

Perhaps even more unique for the brand is the presence of a handy pocket clip — another feature so unusual that it is often called out by name when it actually appears.

Getting both of these user-friendly elements in a family of good-looking products that all dip under $100 feels quite rare indeed.

Classic SAK tools

While the Alox Refined Collection does diverge from the standard SAKs in major ways, it does retain much of what makes these products so appealing in the first place. 

You get your choice of attractive handle scales — silver, blue and classic red — wrapping around just the right number of handy functions in the case of Synergy.

The large blade, accessible via a nail nick (as usual) is the leading one, but integrated within the three other implements are a box opener, 3 mm screwdriver, 7 mm screwdriver, nail file, nail cleaner, wire stripper and, of course, a bottle opener. 

The OneFold, meanwhile, keeps things very simple with just the blade, while the Synergy X, true to Victorinox nomenclature, offers everything the Synergy does plus a pair of spring-loaded scissors.

Victorinox

If you happen to visit the product pages and wonder why each lays claim to one more tool than I have credited here, know that it is because they’ve chosen to include the carry clip amongst the “tools.”

Considering how rare it is for a Victorinox SAK, perhaps I should be counting it too.

Availability and pricing

The Victorinox Synergy Alox is available now for $78. The Onefold Alox costs $56. The Synergy X Alox ($96) is not currently available, but you can sign up to be notified when it is.

Victorinox

Victorinox Synergy Alox

Like the other members of the Alox Refined Collection, this modern multi-tool departs from classic Victorinox offerings in three major ways. First, the handle scales are part grippy griddle texture, part brushed finish and part skeletonized. Second, the blade actually locks. Third, there’s a pocket clip. But you still get a bunch of awesome traditional tools, including a box opener, 3 mm screwdriver, 7 mm screwdriver, nail file, nail cleaner, wire stripper and, of course, a bottle opener.

• $78 at Victorinox

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