The best summer tool isn’t always the newest one on the shelf. It’s the one you’ll clip on before heading out and forget about until a box needs opening or a splinter needs pulling. Plenty of gear gets swapped every year for something shinier, even when the old pick still does the job. The upgrade itch is real, and it rarely lines up with what your pocket needs.
Price: $49
Where to Buy: Amazon
That’s the story with one yellow-and-black folder that’s been riding around in pockets for years. It isn’t loud about what it does. It works, and this summer is a good reason to pull it back into rotation. Before you spend on the next big thing, give a second look to a tool that already knows the job.
Why an Older Design Still Earns a Spot This Summer
Summer carry gets lighter on its own. Shorts replace jackets, bags shrink, and the stuff you haul drops to the essentials. When space is tight, every item on you has to earn its place. One tool that covers five jobs beats five tools that each cover one.
An older multitool fits that shift because it’s already proven and already cheap. You won’t baby it, and you won’t panic if it picks up a scratch at the lake. Years on the market also mean the quirks are known, the parts stay consistent, and the price has settled instead of riding launch-day hype.
Newer tools chase gimmicks you rarely touch. This one sticks to jobs you hit on a hike, at a cookout, or halfway through building something in the yard. There’s nothing to learn, and nothing to charge. You open it, use it, and drop it back in your pocket.
What the Evolution S18 Grip Gives You
The Evolution S18 Grip is a Swiss-made folder with 15 functions in a medium frame. The headline tool is a locking main blade of about 2.5 inches of stainless steel, which sets it apart from the non-locking blades on many classic Swiss Army knives. Around it sit a wood saw, a Phillips screwdriver, a can opener, and a bottle opener with a flat driver. That blade lock is the quiet upgrade, since it keeps the edge from folding back on your fingers under load.
The rest of the kit covers a wire stripper, a pair of serrated scissors, a reamer, a nail file, tweezers, a toothpick, and a key ring. It belongs to the Delémont Collection, which folded in tooling from the old Wenger lineup after Victorinox brought the two brands together. At 85mm closed and roughly 94 grams, it lands right at the point where pocketable and capable stop trading off. None of it feels like filler, and each tool sees enough use to justify the extra grams.
The Grip Is the Whole Point
The name points straight at the best part. The scales use a two-component build with rubber inlays, so the handle grabs back when your hands aren’t dry. Most folding knives use hard, smooth scales that look sharp and turn slick the moment they get wet.
That matters more in summer than a spec sheet lets on. Sweat, sunscreen, lake water, and cold-drink condensation all loosen your hold on a smooth handle. The rubber inlays give your fingers something to bite into right when a bare grip would squirm.
A knife that stays planted in your palm is one you’ll trust with a locking blade open. That confidence is the reason to reach for the Grip over a slicker classic. Control like that turns a fussy job into a quick one.
Where It Fits in a Lighter Summer Carry
If you’re trimming your everyday carry for the season, this makes a solid anchor. It handles cutting, opening, and light repair in one body, so two or three single-taskers can stay home. The key ring loop lets it live on your keys instead of claiming a dedicated pocket.
We’ve argued for paring things down before in this guide to lightening your carry for the season, and the S18 Grip fits that mindset. It also holds its own in our roundup of pocket multitools under $100, especially once the locking blade and the grip enter the math.
Who Should Skip It
This won’t suit everyone. It does pack a pair of serrated scissors, but they’re small and sit right beside the locking blade, so they can feel fiddly to open. Anyone who reaches for scissors all day may still want a dedicated pair.
The frame also runs thick, which shows up fast in a shallow shorts pocket. Fans of the slim classic Swiss Army profile may find the Grip chunky next to what they know. Slip it into a bag or a deeper pocket and the bulk mostly disappears.
And if you already carry a locking folder plus a separate multitool, this mostly consolidates rather than upgrades. That’s a lateral move, not a fresh reason to buy.
The Smart Refresh Is the One You Already Trust
Old doesn’t mean past its use. The Evolution S18 Grip earns its place with a locking blade, a useful spread of tools, and a handle built for sweaty summer hands. Value like that ages well when newer releases lean on features you’ll never open.
Price: $49
Where to Buy: Amazon
If you’ve been circling a brand-new multitool, this proven one might scratch the same itch for less. Sometimes the move is trusting what you already know. Pick it up now and it’ll be broken in by the time summer peaks.
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(as of July 15, 2026 07:24 GMT -05:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
