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“Stay ‘unreasonable.’ If you
don’t like the solutions [available to you], come up with your
own.”
Dan Webre
The Martialist does
not
constitute legal advice. It is for ENTERTAINMENT
PURPOSES ONLY.
Copyright © Phil Elmore,
all rights
reserved.
Toollogic SL1 Survival Tool
Review by Phil Elmore
The Toollogic
SL1 (which is part of a modular SL series from the same company) is an
attempt to combine several useful survival tools into a single
lightweight implement. Specifically, the SL1 incorporates a knife
blade, signal whistle, [tiny] waterproof compartment, and LED
flashlight. The entire package is four inches long closed and weighs
2.7 ounces.
The SL1 has a three-inch cutting
blade that is serrated for slightly less than half its length. The
serrations are ground on one side only, while the unserrated edge is
ground on both sides. Steel is unimpressive and relatively soft 420 J2
steel, though this does make the blade quite rust-resistant. An oval
opening hole is provided and works reasonably well (given the strange
ergonomics of the thick, rounded handle, which actually doesn’t feel
too bad in the hand). Cutting performance is what you’d expect from
such a blade — mediocre but serviceable as long as one doesn’t demand
too much of it. The blade has a nice, shallow curve that improves its
slicing ability.
Fit and finish are pretty good.
The plastic frame is rounded to remove all rough edges and the
components line up nicely. The blade opens smoothly and locks up
without play (although the liner lock engages all the way to the right
of the blade tang, almost resting against the plastic frame and leaving
relatively little room for wear).
A metal pocket clip, which is just
the right size for the knife, is fitted to the frame for tip-up,
right-hand carry only. It is held in place with three screws. My sample
exhibited very tight tension but also some play side to side around the
screws holding it in place.
The signal whistle emits a loud, piercing wail when one blows
on the handle of the knife. The light sleeve fitted to the frame has a
lanyard hole above the whistle in the lower frame. No lanyard is
provided with the knife.
The LED light fits snugly in the plastic sleeve built into the
upper frame and can be removed to access the tiny waterproof
compartment behind it (most useful for holding extra batteries; it
isn’t big enough for much else. It runs on four #392 (AG3) 1.5V button
cells and is (nominally) waterproof, though it won’t hold up to
immersion of any depth or duration. Advertised as “brilliant,” the
little twist-on, twist-off flashlight is quite unimpressive, producing
a dim blue-tinted beam. In darkness it would serve for most utility
tasks.
The SL series from Toollogic consists of identical knives
housing different accessories. The SL2 has a plug for the light sleeve,
meaning it is simply a knife with a whistle and a waterproof
compartment. The SL3 has a magnesium firestarter where the flashlight
is housed on the SL1. Product literature for the knives claims a
Mag-Lite Solitaire can be substituted for these accessories and will
fit in the sleeve on the upper frame, but my own Solitaire would not
fit in the housing.
While not nearly worth the retail price for which I’ve seen it
listed, the SL1 is a decent little multipurpose tool that would be
handy to have in an emergency. Mine rides in my on-body minimalist survival kit
for that reason. There are better knives and there are better
flashlights, but there are few combined with a signal whistle with a
pocket clip in one simple package.
If you
can find it cheaply enough, pick one up.