Wenger Genuine Swiss Army Esquire Microlight Pocket Knife

Hard to believe all the stuff packed in this little knife...and everything works...scissors with a honken spring, tweezers, file, blade, and micro light. These were a real hit with the three nurses I gave them to at Christmas.. heck, they can practically perform surgery.

Wenger left the pocket knife business in January 2013. Some of Wenger's Swiss Army knives were re-branded and kept in production by Victorinox, but not the Microlight Esquire.

The Esquire was Wenger's equivalent of Victorinox's Classic, tiny keychain knives with a knife blade, nail file, scissors, tweezers and toothpick. Wenger's Microlight Esquire and Victorinox's SwissLite replaced the toothpick with an LED pen light. The Microlight Esquire has a 3.5 MM white LED powered by two 3V lithium button batteries (CR 1220). The batteries are mounted in a sliding tray and easy to replace.

STP is selling the Wenger and Victorinox knives for similar prices. Since you're reading this, you are probably trying to decide which one to buy. The differences in size and tools are insignificant, but Wenger has a brighter LED.

Victorinox originally used a 2 MM red LED powered by a 3V lithium button battery (CR 1025). It is useful as a keyhole finder, and the red LED can be used without waking a sleeper. In 2008, Victorinox upgraded the SwissLite with a 3.5 MM white LED powered by a 1.55V silver oxide button battery (389E). It is more than twice as bright as the red LED, but it is not bright enough to reliably show your footing over broken ground.

When powered by two 3V batteries, the 3.5 MM white LED is 50% brighter and an adequate substitute for a AAA LED flashlight. Victorinox puts a two battery LED module in some of its 91 MM pocket knives. For two batteries in a keychain knife, your choice is Wenger's Microlight Esquire and Microlight Pocket Tool Chest. Too bad they are out of production.

This knife is the perfect size and weight for a keychain, and the red color makes my keychain more visible. It has the basic tools - tiny blade, small scissors, knife file, screwdriver, tweezers and the unique built in flashlight which comes in handy getting into car or house in the dark. The flashlight button has to be held in for the light to shine - there is no fixed switch. The batteries are easily replaceable. Folks wanting a true knife blade will want a different swiiss army knife, however, since the blade is so small. But this one works just great as an inconspicuous keychain toolkit that eliminates the need for a separate microlight.

This is a perfect knife to keep on hand for executives. It is small enough to not be a burden in pockets yet versatile enough to get the job done.

I've carried a Victorinox Swiss Army knife for years -- thought I would try this Wenger with the built in flashlight. Construction and blade quality are disappointing. It appears cheap and of marginal quality.