The Mountaineer was my first real Swiss Army knife. Bought it in 1981 at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on a trip to Holland. I chose it out of many models because it had almost everything I would normally need at the time as an every day carry or travel knife including scissors and a full size nail file besides the usual Spartan tools . The metal (hack) saw edge of the file has also come in handy at times. Mine is a little different from the one in the video. No key ring, no parcel hook and no hole in the awl. Great knife ! Nowadays I tend to carry a Climber as my EDC or, sometimes, a Spartan plus Classic SD and spare the Mountaineer since it has sentimental value for me (bought it on the first trip with my wife). In the past decades I have bought several other models of SAK for more specialized uses (travel, hiking, eating, repairs, camping, night time walking etc. ). A knife for every occasion :-)

Love the Mountaineer. I wish they put that exact file on more knives. It's so much better than the dinky little nail file.

Agreed! It flies under the radar!

Nice alternative to the Climber or Huntsman. Felix Immler did a video on how to remove the branding a good while ago with good results. All the best.

Probably my favourite sak!

I was lucky enough to come across one of these today new in box for barely more than you paid for yours. I have two Huntsmans and love them both and though I do work in a shop with wood, I never have had need for the saw yet so I sought out one of these as filing down sharp metal parts that can cut me in our shop and the need for filing catchy spots in my fingernails, this really is more practical for me. Just hoping I can swap the yellow scales off one of my Huntsmans as I love the yellow colored scales and the plus P. That's a lot of function for something so small and lightweight. Thanks for your insights on this model. Great energy in a knife video!

I have carried the mountaineer as edc for about twenty-five years! The first one was the older file and screw pivot on the scissors. I thought i had lost it so got another in 2021.found the first one a day after! I like the new file so now thats my edc. Mountaineer is i believe the best of the 91mm models? Ive had loads as a collector but Mountaineer is the winner!

Merry Christmas Mark for you and your family wishes from germany Regards Dirk 👍🎅

Thanks for the review of the Mountaineer and for putting that on the map for me. That would make a nice minimal slim EDC for me as I currently EDC the Swiss Champ. I use the metal file more than the saw, now I probably prefer this over the Huntsman. Especially as the file tip can be used for some Philips screws, I tried it and it works! Put plus scales, with the pin on it and a mini driver for the corkscrew and it will have more utility and be even better.

I love my mountaineer! Use it every day and the metal file is awesome!

I definitely love the Mountaineer for urban carry. It's like an "urban Huntsman". However i still give the edge to the Deluxe Tinker for versatility and usability. The pliers are still more usable to me than the metal file and saw

I have both the Deluxe Tinker and the Mountaineer in the 91mm category. I like the Deluxe Tinker slightly more because of the pliers which can come in super handy.

Had a similar experience myself. Wanted the mountaineer for the scissors and more versatile saw, and found new old stock from 1989 with the old style file. At a great price too

Get the Climber, get the Climber, get the Climber. Or the Super Tinker, if you prefer the back Philips.

Great review Mark! Although discontinued for some time, try to score a Craftsman.. It's the predecessor to the Handyman with a Phillips instead of a corkscrew.. At one time, it was considered so versatile that it was even issued to NASA space shuttle crew as part of their overall kit.. I EDC one along with a Benchmade 14460 for office duty..

I like the alox Pioneer. The horizontal awl is perfect for opening boxes, keeps the knifeblade sharp and free from glue and nasty stuff

I wanted to buy a swiss army knife to my girl as a birthday gift, and I bought this model because I thought she will love this one has this tool to filing her own fingernails. Her birthday is in 2 week so I hope she likes it. Sorry my english is not the best.

After a few days of flipping back and forth with the huntsman I finally got this one... I didn't realize what a journey of discovery it is finding a sak with your ideal configuration lol

My first Swiss army knife was a Mountaineer. Have it 20 years now. My all time favorite and m EDC. Beside that I have one Classic model, Rescue tool, and next one I am planning to buy is Swisschamp, just because of versatility.

I added pliers to a Mountaineer and made a camping SAK. Pliers are great for taking hot things out of the fire, canteen, skewers, pots, etc..

Mark wishing you & family a safe, healthy & Merry Christmas. Here is my take on the Mountaineer , I have 2, one bought a few years ago relatively cheaply 2nd hand in good condition on Ebay , a TSA confiscation & needing only the blade sharpened, I also changed the scales to Silver Tech scales & my 2nd one I bought new as an impulse buy last year when it was on sale with 40% off. I occasionally carried the SilverTech one as an alternative to the Huntsman but not recently. It is a good Urban EDC carry but far better as part of a home or office tool kit if any light metal working or plastic pipe or sheet cutting & shaping / filing is needed , for pure Urban EDC pocket carry I prefer the Pioneer X or Climber & for combined Urban & Countryside carry the Huntsman or the Farmer X or a 111mm SAK such as the slide lock Rucksack . I seldom carry my Compact, I bought it new, albeit when it was on sale yet it was still 40-50% more expensive than a Huntsman or Climber & I have fitted several of each with Plus scales & it still worked out cheaper than the Compact. If you need a good all round 91mm SAK for your place of work I recommend the 5 layer Ranger which is the slimmest model to contain the metal saw/file, wood saw, scissors , chisel & small slotted screwdriver . Above that is the 6 layer Handyman which adds a Plier / wire cutter & crimper but I have not bought one as I already have the Plier on both my 4 layer Deluxe Tinker & my 5 layer Cybertool M ( both of these are mainstays of my home tool kit along with the newer Mountaineer & my Ranger & I find the duplication of certain tools useful )

It's def a super nice SAK.. the reason everyone loves the compact though is because of how many surprisingly useful tools are packed into a 2 layer SAK. 4 layer sak really isn't that bad though!

You're absolutely right, I think the hacksaw and file are infinitely more useful in an urban setting. In my country, it has a price very similar to the Hutsman (more or less 5 dollars of difference). Greetings from Tucumán - Argentina.

I agree with you that the saw isn't as useful for urban EDC, whereas the file often is. However, I do also think the Explorer or Deluxe Tinker are two other great urban EDC options that are also 4 layers. Personally, my Explorer with plus scales is probably my favorite, since it pairs nicely with the pliers and file on my Leatherman Squirt. Everyone's needs are different though, so you can't really go wrong with almost any SAK. Even the Fisherman is useful to some people who like having the ruler and the small hook on the end of it. (Some tea drinkers use it to pull tea bags out of their cups for example)

I’ve had the compact for a while now and it’s my favorite, but I’m a big fan of paring leatherman and Swiss Army knives together, as of now I carry the signal pared with the compact, as well as a midnight manager. My system has everything but a metal file, and I don’t want to lug around a surge so I’ll either get this knife to pare with my signal or get a ranger and pare it with a skeletool. Decisions, decisions....

Thanks for the review it was so good it convinced me to buy one. Definitely think it will give me all the tools I would actually use. 👍😀

The Work Champ is even bigger and better locking blade too 111 mm size too !!!

Mountaineer, The Best Urban EDC!!! I have two and would like to buy one more later

Reckon this would work well paired up with a Skeletool, or even just a pair of Knipex Cobra. I agree that this or even just the Climber are both better than the Compact, not only because of the small blade which I use a fair bit, but also because of the can-opener working better to deal with Phillips screws than the combo-tool, plus I do occasionally use an awl.

I have the Mountaineer and the Hiker. Between the two they have all of my favourite tools but are not bulky to carry. I personally think the Mountaineer & Hiker are the perfect SAK combination.

Have one probably wont be going up any mountains maybe a step hill,great knife to have.

You were correct, the Mountaineer looks fantastic! I’m definitely gonna pick one of these up!! The older model you have is very cool! Basic is/was a cigarette brand.👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Merry Christmas Sir, I find the Ranger to be the perfect EDC for me. Basic is a brand of cigarette.

I love mine. 👍🏻

Many people might say "get the compact 3x". But I suggest you to get the Explorer.

The little blade is good for carving tight places

You can put a sewing needle behind the cork screw in the pin hole.

I think this model gets overlooked because if people are considering it they probably decide to go one size larger and get the Ranger at roughly the same price, which gives you several more tools with only 1 more layer (saw plus 2 more bottom tools). But it's always a tough call when deciding on how thick to go with a SAK.

I don’t know why I never think of this one, because Victorinox makes a heck of a good file (which no doubt explains the price, since cheap multitools always have awful files). I also love Victorinox scissors, (just wrapped presents with a Compact, just as fast and effective as any large pair), although the up-charge for the Compact is harder to justify. I carry a Spyderco, so as it is I tend to think of the Compact as my “edc scissors.” That gets me thinking… an awesome mod would be to make a 2-layer, with just scissors and a file. I can’t be the only person who’s thought of making a “not-a-knife” SAK.

"Basic" is/was a brand of cigarettes.

It’s definitely a good one and in a lot of cases you can use the metal saw when you would use the wood saw. The awl is great to have also. I personally think four layers is one layer too big for urban EDC. If they made a “Compact” version of the mountaineer then that would be perfect. I might have to go about modding a compact to add the metal saw and awl on a third layer.

The Mountaineer has a hole near the corkscrew that will fit a straight pin if you want to upgrade your SAK.😉

I like the Mountaineer and the Compact...however my most carried is either the Cyber Tool 34 or a Deluxe Tinker.

I do agree that the metal saw+file+nailfile is an underrated tool, particularly over there in the US. Here in Germany it's more popular. The price of the mountaineer is relatively high, about € 35.-, whereas a huntsman can be had for € 28.-. Happily I picked up a limited edition (300 pieces) of the aloe version, called Mountaineer X. That's a sturdier version...

Agree on everything, and I don't understand why this cost so much, you can actually get a ranger for about the same money, and you get both the metal and wood saw (plus some more back tools). Only down side is additional 3mm thickness

Scissors and saw for me...1976 bought my first Huntsman/Hunter, whatever the name was. Sill have it. I investigated fires and went all over the western US, and always had that knife with me. But I do like the metal saw as well, just in case.

Can you resharpen the metal saw and can you resharpen the metal file?

The mountaineer, fieldmaster ,huntsman are basically similar SAK.

The metal saw can cut wood as well, actually. But not as effective. I am a lot in the woods, so the huntsman it is for me. But i get you completely, for urban carry, this is great.

The saw (believe it or not) is a perfect bread knife when camping.

hey..love the content!! im looking for the thinner metal file to add to the blade layer...do you know which models i can break down for that...cheaper the better...thanks

I carry Swisschamp as edc and I have it all 😎 get swisschamp👍

This knife seems to be useful and well balanced but to me, the Compact being slimmer is a better offer when it comes to urban environment.

I’ve got a mountaineer, I like the nail cleaner but miss the Philips , now I carry a minicamp alox and the field master in my back pack. Why is it all the knife people on KZfaq seem to find victorinox steel to soft ? It may be soft but doesn’t that mean it won’t snap or chip easily also it’s corrosion resistant and easy to sharpen. Are saks tough would you say ?

Felix Immler: how to open the secret slot on the scales with the metal file :-)

BASIC was a cigarette company

Mark, where do you buy your SAKs? Do you recommend certain sellers? Thanks

Hi Mark where do you mostly find your knives?

I like this one a lot, but I'm wondering if it would be too bulky🤔 does it fit well in the small jeans pocket??

Its not unusual to have different Swiss army knifes for different occasions when outdoors I carry the huntsman or sometimes the hiker but at home I carry the Spartan because I don't need a knife with a saw so strip right down to the basics of if I need to be slightly covert I carry a mini champ

Its a shame it doesnt come with the chisel as it does on the ranger

They are -a lot- cheaper here in europe, whats the cost of shippimg a sak to the us? I can send you them!

About this model... can't understand why is called mountaineer actually. Cute in any case, the perfect tiolset would be there if the corcscreew was replaced by the phillips head (while it looks adeguate on the huntsman...)

Wow.. today $52.00 in Amazon... and gasoline $6.15... !!!

Sorry but the only one you need is the compact for every day use blade,bottle opener,can opener,cork screw,small eye glass screwdriver,pin,pen,tweezers,hook not so good,flat head screwdriver,nail file,and scissors what more do you need for everyday use

I wonder why they call it a Mountaineer if it does not have a saw. A metal file would be more urban-ish tool. I still prefer the Hunstman.

mmm. I think that the Compact is the best edc SAK. TYhis one is to voluminous . At least for the city.

I own a lot of Victorinox knives but the Mountaineer is the most useless knife. I have never sawed a screw with a file.

No.