What a Marvel Of Versatility!
Hard to believe today, what with how versatile, effective and ubiquitous they’ve become, but we remember a time when the multi-tools and even more elaborate Swiss Army knives were sometimes the stuff of a prior generation’s mockery.
We’ve all witnessed the trope in some mismatched-buddy-comedy movie or sitcom: the traditional hardcore outdoorsman is determined to savor wilderness survival by depending just on the most rudimentary hand tools, but harbors a seething resentment toward some thoroughly modern muckity-muck who just wants to make things easier with his new-fangled gadget that does any and all of the things better, faster, sharper, and stronger.
Well, Zippo – we know, of all the possible brands – has introduced the 4-in-1 Woodsman as an incredible, indispensable juggernaut that almost leaves little reason to carry much else.
The Zippo Woodsman’s “default” form is that of a fully assembled 15″ bow saw – and might we say, a damned fine one, at that. In folding four essential implements into a single utility tool sized for the average backpack, Zippo didn’t skimp on each component’s separate usefulness. The saw will dispense with oak up to 4 inches in diameter with little struggle, and could probably even hold its own with something even thicker.
Here, let the fascinating adaptability begin. Sheathed in the bow saw’s thick, grippable plastic is the 5″ steel blade of the hatchet, more than sharp enough to cleave any small tree or heartier log that the bow saw can’t hack.
The last two pieces are actually quite the well-oiled tag team. On the backside of the hatchet blade, you’ll find the mallet ideal for putting down tent pegs firmly into the ground. Examine the hatchet’s handle, and behold! A simple-but-effective puller to yank up the stakes when it’s time to break camp.
It isn’t elaborate or unwieldly. It doesn’t come across as unnecessarily cumbersome or complicated. In fact, it’s ingeniously adaptable and easy to transition from one tool’s use to the next, The is a marvel if only in that one wonders how a company famous for its iconically rugged, simple, but endlessly dependable lighters could be the brand to conceive it first.
Actually, we’re pretty sure we just answered our own question. Good job, us.
Source – InventorSpot
