Victorinox sent out a newsletter today, promoting their new collaboration with Adidas that resulted in a unique sneaker and Swiss Army Knife offering.
The Adidas EQT93 Victorinox sneaker is said to feature Victorinox’s grey and red colors, a Damast steel tread pattern, and a place to attach the custom leather pouch made for the matching Swiss Army Knife multi-tool.
The sneakers will be sold in “selected markets.”
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The multi-tool, which Victorinox amusingly named the Classic SD Solemate Limited Edition, is also a limited edition but will be more widely available.
The Victorinox Solemate features a unique pattern on the front, and geographic coordinates on the back.
The knife blade also features engraved coordinates, which Victorinox says describes the location of both brands’ headquarters.
The Victorinox Solemate comes with a paracord keychain and black nappa leather pouch that can be attached to the limited edition Adidas sneakers.
Victorinox says this about the specially decorated Classic SD Swiss Army Knife: “Perfectly matching the sneaker, this sleek pocket knife brings sharp urban style to the everyday.”
Price: $75 (Swiss Army Knife only)
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Obviously, unless you must have the limited edition Vic Solemate and its leather pouch, you’re better off with any of their other Classic SD styles, with street pricing starting at $17.
This unusual-seeming team-up between Victorinox and Adidas follows in the footsteps of Leatherman’s team-up with Topo Designs on a limited edition Skeletool multi-tool and matching pouch.
Anything that helps further normalize pocket tool carry and use is a good thing.
Nathan
yep so urban, that’s the word I’d use to describe it. or well not.
MM
I’m curious if calling this a “multi tool” is Victorinox’s marketingspeak or if this was Stuart’s choice of words, since I think that’s a bit of a stretch. Modern language has gotten very strange; the other day I came across a website which used the term “life hack” to describe applying oil to a squeaky hinge.
Anyway, it’s not my stylistic or functional choice for shoes or EDC but I totally agree that anything which normalizes carrying pocketknives like this is a good thing.
Stuart
Those are my words.
Does it have multiple tools? It’s a multi-tool.
Is it just a folding knife? It’s a pocket knife.
MM
You’re hanging around too many product reps, Stuart! You’re starting to lean towards their ways!
(just to be clear, that was meant to be a joke)
So what do we call a “congress” type knife? Is that a multi-tool since it has multiple blades? Or is it a pocketknife because there are only knife blades present?
Stuart
Or like Case? Pocket knife.
Add scissors, tweezers, toothpick, and nail file? Multi-tool.
Sometimes it’s okay to stray.
Leatherman’s Free K-series tools are considered knives. Looking back, I called the T-series multi-tools. https://toolguyd.com/new-leatherman-free-t2-t4-multi-tools/
Getting back to the Classic SD, its best functions around here are the scissors. Its knife blade can be useful, but it’s too small for what I would personally consider a pocket knife. It’s a keychain-sized multi-tool.
Semantics are fun when other people are involved. But when it’s just me, I follow my self-established trends, otherwise word choices can bog down my writing.
What happens when a tool brand stops marketing their cordless products as 12V Max and simply adheres to 12V. Do I maintain conventions, or follow their example for just that brand?
Dewalt is really spelled DeWALT. FlexVolt is really FLEXVOLT.
Milwaukee’s M12 1.5Ah battery is really M12 REDLITHIUM CP1.5.
Is a drill/driver subcompact by brand or description?
Multi-functional pocket knife = multi-tool. Consistency, at the least, means I have less to think about or determine on a case by case basis.
MM
I was simply curious if you were using “multi” to refer to the number of functions or the number of tools. I.e. a Congress knife has many tools (blades) but only one function (cutting), whereas the Classic SD has multiple tools and multiple functions. It sounds like it’s functions.
So how about a single-bladed folding pocketknife which has a bottle-opener hook built into its one blade. Is that a multi-tool or a pocketknife?
I do agree that technically the SD is indeed a “multi tool” if we stick to the semantics but I think if you walked up to the average Joe, or even the average knife enthusiast, you showed them a pic of that and asked them what it was called you’d have far more people calling it a “pocketknife” than a “multi tool”
Stuart
Pocket knife with single blade and a bottle opener? Pocket knife.
Tool with bottle opener as the primary function, and itty bitty knife blade? Bottle opener.
“Swiss Army Knife” could suffice.
But where do you draw the line between pocket knife and multi-tool?
Consider the Victorinox “Handyman,” with mini pliers, scissors, file, corkscrew, screwdrivers, etc. Is that still a pocket knife?
The Leatherman Skeletool – pocket knife or multi-tool?
Do an image search for “pocket knife,” and you’ll see some SAKs but mostly folding knives.
Do an image search for “multi-tool,” and you’ll see some SAKs but mostly fold-out tools with pliers.
You can go either way. SAKs fit into the Venn diagram between pocket knife and multi-tool.
When you say “Swiss Army Knife,” many people know what to visualize. There’s no ambiguity in the title.
In the post, there are visuals so that even though you might disagree with my choice of descriptor, there’s no confusion about what exact type of product I’m talking about.
Next up, flashlight vs. worklight, and headlamps that are primarily handheld. =)
Jared
While this isn’t useful to me, I bet its the sort of thing that will sell out quickly. Both unique and mainstream enough to capture some interest.
Also, I assume it’s $75 for just the knife and sheath? $75 with a pair of sneakers too and it would be a GOOD deal.
Stuart
$75 for just the Classic SD tool and pouch.
I tried to look it up, but couldn’t easily find the price of the sneakers. I found it now – $150 (style code GV6830), already sold out.
fred
I could be more expensive. Maybe next time they will pair with their southern neighbors and offer a Prada-styled pocketknife/sheath combination to sell with $900 sneakers
Franck B.
I think they might go better with the work boots. Either Prada or Gucci would be a match.
But now that you mention it, On might be a better match, being genuinely Swiss and all, with several hiking styles available.
Julian Tracy
Calling Swiss Army knives “multi-tools” is curious thing, and you might as be referring to shop vacs as 5hp too. Marketing speak at its worse. You have so many knife aficionados here, I’d bet not a single one refers to the basic Swiss Army knife as a multi tool.
Stuart
Here’s the problem. If Vic SAKs have their own Swiss Army Knife category, what do you call a SAK-like tool from another brand that’s not made by the Swiss brand? Is that still a Swiss Army Knife?
That said, Coke, Pepsi, Fanta, etc. are soda. “Pop” is what happens to balloons when you touch them with something sharp.
MM
Personally I’d call them “pocketknives” or “SAK clones/copies/knockoffs” if you needed to be more specific, and I’d reserve the term SAK for that style of knife produced by Victorinox, Wenger, or one of the earlier iterations of those two companies.
Julian
Exactly – Swiss Army Knife is either a Victorinox or Wenger.
And Pop is what we call carbonated beverages like Coke, 7up, Dr.Pepper, etc.
Might as well be calling shop vacs “dust collectors”, LOL.
Franck B.
“or one of the earlier iterations of Victorinox”.
There’s really only one company now. 🙁
Robert
Just the sneaker/knife combo to go through TSA screenings. I’m surprise they didn’t have Richard Reid endorse it, since the blade is probably less than 3 inches.
Franck B.
I think they will see the blades when they run your shoes through the machine, unless you’re a PreCheck/GlobalEntry customer (or are over 75).
I recommend a WheelsUp card so that you generally don’t have to deal with TSA at all!
Andrew Wagner
I know a lot of people will roll their eyes at this being a marketing gimmick but, that’s exactly the point. A lot of times, products/collabs like this are produced knowing that there are few if any core customers who will purchase the product but at the same time, it will appeal to an entirely new audience who then gets introduced to the normal product line.
As a fan of knives AND a sneaker head (comes with spending your entire adult life around pro athletes), I’m pretty excited for this little collab.
MFC
I want my Redwing boots to have a pop out knife blade when I stomp in a certain way. Make it happen Redwing/Benchmade.