A few months back I was sent a test sample of the Silca Italian Army Knife, in the “Venti” size. You’ve probably heard that word more at Starbucks than anywhere else, and while even Goggle will tell you it means “a serving of a drink of coffee measuring 20 fluid ounces”, it quite literally translates to Twenty in English. Unsurprisingly, the legendary 102 year old Italian brand packs exactly that many fittings into this multi tool…
The forged steel plate shown above manages to sneak quite a large amount of features into the tool. It attaches by sliding into the foldable set and secures via two magnets. It could be easily overlooked, but there are an additional set of magnets which can hold a spare link. Nifty.
A breakdown of the features on the plate. Not listed is the fact that it is the chain tool and, provided that you aren’t meat fisted, you could use it as a tire lever.
Weights with/without the chain breaker.
The threaded chain punch is part of the foldable set and works with standard chains for road and MTB.
Silca managed to sneak an 8mm allen into the equation by having a small extension pop on and off of the 5mm. It’s a great solution, but since the 5mm is one of the most commonly used keys, you’ll want to be very careful about keeping track of the 8mm bit.
With knurling on one side and a contoured grip on the other, the Silca is one of the most ergonomically friendly (and knuckle friendly) tools out there.
While there certainly are slightly lighter and/or smaller multi-tools out there, I haven’t used anything as tough, nor as ergonomically friendly as the Silca Italian Army Knife. It is brilliantly laid out, features every fitting you could ask for, and is built to last. I haven’t had to re-tighten the keys yet and I have absolutely harped on some pedals without any problems. For what it’s worth, I’ve twisted a couple of multi-tools with my bare hands in the past. Another thing worth pointing out is that at just $45.00, the value is pretty damn good. Just keep a close eye on that 8mm fitting.
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