Background information
Fare well movie collection: how I got rid of my DVDs and Blu-rays
by Patrick Vogt
«How many tools does your pocket knife have?» – «All of them!»
30.7.2025
Translation: Elicia Payne
Video: Davide Arizzoli
Pictures: Davide Arizzoli
The Swiss Champ XXL is a pocket knife. One with more than 70 functions, claims the manufacturer Victorinox. I put the oversized pocket knife to the test to see how suitable it is for daily use.
«A real lad has a knife in his pocket!» I so often heard this hopelessly outdated and completely nonsensical sentence in my childhood – without adhering to it. We did have a pocket knife in the house, but I practically never had it in my trouser pocket. Even though I’ve managed to become something today, I’m now making up for this neglect, big time. With Victorinox’s Swiss Champ XXL I’m naturally overcompensating.
Pocket knife or tool box?
The Swiss Champ XXL is exactly what it says on the box. In other words, with dimensions of 91 millimetres (L) × 28 millimetres (W) × 62 millimetres (H) and a fighting weight of 353 grammes you can’t miss it. But it has to look obtrusive. After all, the manufacturer states that the beast among the pocket knives with its 73 functions can master any task. Any task, ok ok, Victorinox.
The knife also includes standard tools like a blade, a bottle and can opener and a corkscrew. The fish scaler, watch case opener and bit wrench are more at the unusual end. But somehow there has to be a reason for the advertised 73 functions.
Speaking of which, in the video review above we demonstrate with more or less adequate examples the possible ways you can use the functions. For English subtitles, click the gear icon, «Subtitles/CC» and «Auto-translate».
Wenger has the biggest
If, like me, you think the Swiss Champ XXL is slightly exaggerated, wait until you see this! Victorinox’s subsidiary Wenger produced what’s considered to be the world’s most comprehensive Swiss Army knife (link in German). The Giant Knife 2007 has 81 individual tools for 141 different functions and weighs a whopping 1.3 kilogrammes. Even though it’s no longer being made, no one has yet been able to take its place in the Guinness Book of Records.
What Swiss Champ XXL and Giant Knife 2007 have in common? They’re first and foremost collector’s items. Despite all the possible applications and functions, neither is practical, let alone pocket-sized. Want a pocket knife collection? Hm, I don’t.
In a nutshell
Chunky collector’s item with some functions repeated
The Swiss Champ XXL is impressive on every level. On the one hand, there’s its wide range of functions and, on the other, its size. That’s why you have to ask yourself: can you still class this is as a pocket knife? Because, to be honest, you don’t want to be carrying around a tool like that in your trouser pocket. If you do, have fun.
Victorinox advertises the Swiss Champ XXL as the «ultimate companion for indoor tasks and outdoor adventures». Yes, it has dozens of functions (some of which feature twice ...). But they’re no use to me if I can hardly use one of them properly because the tool’s so cumbersome. For everyday tasks I prefer to use a toolbox. This stocky pocket knife is much better off as a collector’s item.
Pro
- Somehow compact for so many functions
- High quality
- Nice collector’s item
Contra
- Bulky and heavy
- Unwieldy to use
- Some functions are the same
- Expensive
I'm a full-blooded dad and husband, part-time nerd and chicken farmer, cat tamer and animal lover. I would like to know everything and yet I know nothing. I know even less, but I learn something new every day. What I am good at is dealing with words, spoken and written. And I get to prove that here.
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