…other than Ganzo?!
Are you referring to a “Swiss-army knife” form factor (like Victorinox) or the “Pliers based” style (like Leatherman)?
For SAK style there is a Chinese brand called “Ego-tools” which seem to only sell most of their range through Russian websites.
The build quality is good (not as perfect as Victorinox, but solid), the scales are the same red colour, seems to be quality stainless steel. They claim to import the steel from Germany, but can’t be sure. Steel is tough and polished all over. No wabble or bendiness! Each tool has its own tight back-spring like a SAK, so no clumping. Blades are very sharp out of the box, hold an edge well, and easy to sharpen.
At the moment GearBest stock the A01-18 model which is like the Swiss-Champ, with all the tools in a wide package. Comes with a nice holster too. A little shorter than Vic, and has slightly squared off corners - which makes it quite original in my opinion, rather than just a plain knockoff!
http://www.gearbest.com/survival-emergency-gear/pp_134258.html
Price is currently $24.47 but use code ‘egoa0118’ to bring total down to $19.99.
Its a great price and works well as a backup for when you don’t want to risk damaging an expensive Vic or LM, which just can’t be matched for quality by the Chinese.
Good luck,
Hirsh
Why? Is it because of shipping to Europe from the US or Canada can be expensive? Really, those cheap, low quality chinese multi-tools are very poor and not worth buying.
BS! Chinese steel is both good and bad, just like US steel etc.
Thanks. I grabbed one to see what they’re like. $20 isn’t going to break the bank.
+1
One of my EDC knifes is a Chinese made Kershaw the steel is good, the heat treatment is good. It might not be as good as the US make Kershaws with Swedish steel but at one quarter the price I wouldn’t expect it to be.
Shipping as well as price fluctuations tend to make Leatherman’s pretty expensive!
I have two LM’s and need a third full size multi tool, something around 20-30$ mark. Looks like it could be from Ganzo, given that no full size LM’s are available at that price at the moment!
Wanted to see whether there are other contenders out there with full sized tools!
Apparently there are not.
Same here, it can be either good or bad both in China, USA or Europe, sure, with Chinese overinflated claims about gazillion lumens and “super high quality” tools sold at low prices there is always risk of buying crap.
So do your research and set your expectations accordingly.
Even pricier Leathermans arent perfect, for there is no such thing as perfect tool, they all wear out with time, get scratched, bent, chipped and so on and being high carbon, they also catch rust easily, so do your cleaning and oiling, keep them neat and tidy!
I dont have problems with that though, I bought them to do actual work and not to admire them behind glass inside the cabinet :D!
Naturally I would rather get myself yet another Wingman if such would be available for 25$ shipped to my door, but those deals seems to be gone from Ebay and there are no other online places to buy them at attractive prices.
Plus, at the moment I would like to get myself all-black version of multi tool, which Leatherman has, but only starting from Rebar and up(+Wave, ST300, OHT, MUT, Surge come to mind) which is way out of my current requirements in price-performance department.
Ego tools looks like blatant copy of SAK’s, Im not sure if its worth spending 20$ on it just to get all those tools when it looks like a total ripoff :)?
I mean, you can get genuine SAK’s for around 15-25$ from Ebay shipped worldwide!
Chinese should invest more into R&D or at least work more on their design when selling items inspired by the western originals.
I’m on my fourth Leatherman, the first three are broken or worn out, it did take a lot of use to do that though.
What about the 25 year warranty?
I should send the dead ones in, maybe I’ll get a new one.
Depending on where you live, you might get either yours fixed, if you request to do so, or brand new ones or refurbished ones.