this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2023
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ultralight

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Overnight backcountry backpacking/hiking in the spirit of taking less and doing more. Ask yourself: do I really need that?

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Food for thought (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by miles@lemmy.world to c/ultralight@lemmy.world
 

Original post by liveslight

Swiss Army knife vs. individual (better) items (Opinel No. 3, 2-inch Westcott scissors, titanium tweezers, nail file)

SAKs are a popular item, but given that Swiss Army knives are not allowed in carry-on I was interested in alternatives.

What do you use?

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[–] PatFussy@lemm.ee 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You saved 2g for about 50cm3 more. Congrats.

[–] Ddhuud@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

And a bag/case

[–] Lazerbeams2@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I love a good Opinel knife, but isn't the point of the Swiss Army knife that it saves space?

[–] col@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 year ago

the real question is what do you need a pocket knife for on an ultralight-style hike when you have a pair of titanium scissors?

[–] whatisallthis@lemm.ee 12 points 1 year ago

The creator of the Swiss Army knife wasn’t trying to solve a weight problem

[–] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

What about the toothpick?

[–] androidul@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

mini chainsaw does the job in this case. You can use it as tweezers, nail clipper, heck one can even shave or haircut

[–] BaldProphet@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago

You'll never have to shave again after using a chainsaw!

[–] mihnt@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Wait, what? The SAK classic is only 19 grams? How is it reading 21? Did you not zero it out for the tissue?

Besides, I personally would rather carry a multitool on my belt than either of these options, even in the spirit of this sub. It may weigh a lot more than both options but what you can do with one is leaps and bounds over what either of these kits can do. Especially with so many multitools on the market with a lot of brands allowing you to kit yours out how you like or pick different versions with different tools, you'd be able to eliminate other tools in your kit as well.

This is also one of those situations where the saying "I'd rather have it and not need it than to need it and not have it." comes into play for me.

[–] itsgroundhogdayagain@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

you may want a better pair of tweezers if that is something you use a lot. those penknife tweezers are ok but still rather flimsy.

[–] WizzCaleeba@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

Don't bring logic into this

[–] miles@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I've found mini scissors to be acceptable nail clippers, so I've never needed to carry any on longer trips.