Smith & Wesson 'Classic Combo'

Smith & Wesson Classic Combo, retail approx. $26 (no website)
Manufactured by PowerTech, Inc. (Information near bottom of page; no website)
Last updated 08-20-02




It's a flashlight. It's a knife. Well, you actually get both in this package deal made by Smith & Wesson, a company normally known for its quality handguns. The "Classic Combo" consists of a fairly typical 2-AA adjustable focus flashlight, and the "Cuttin' Horse", a medium sized, double-bladed lockback knife.


SIZE:



The flashlight is vaguely reminescent of a 2-AA Mini-Mag, except that it is about an inch longer, and it has a rubber covered pushbutton switch on the barrel. Pushing the button on the barrel turns it on and off, and turning the reflector head one way or the other adjusts the beam from a wide-angle flood to a narrow-angle spot.


The Classic Combo also comes with a sturdy feeling and very sharp dual-blade lockback knife called the Cuttin' Horse. One blade is your standard issue folding knife blade, while the second blade is serrated so you can saw through rope, motorcycle tires, couch & chair cushions, condoms, doorknobs, urinal flush valves, desk phones, air mattresses, computer keyboards, bus seats, and other difficult materials. While it is pictured here being used as "The Double-Headed Tire Slasher", please, please don't go around slashing tires with it unless you're working on the set of Fox's Nastiest Pranks. You should also be aware that one of the blades is open inside the retail package this product comes in, so don't cut yourself up while getting the flashlight, batteries, or knife out of it.

The Cuttin' Horse behaves like any low- to middle-end lockback, in that it has a blade release on top of the handle that you push in with your thumb. The blades are robust and sturdy, and are on pivots made from hex head fasteners, not rivets. As far as I can tell, only the plastic or rubber handgrips are affixed to the knife body using rivets. The blades do not wobble when open, at least not yet. There's no telling if they will after a few years of use or not. I'm not a knife expert, and I don't play one on TV. So you'll need to look elsewhere for a truly technical evaluation of the knife portion of this package. Me? I'll just go slash me some tires with it. ;-)



To change the batteries in this flashlight, unscrew and remove the tailcap, dump, and refill with two new AA alkaline cells, button (+) end going in first. Screw the tailcap firmly back on, and be done with it.

The installed lamp consumes 420 milliamps, so battery life will probably be several hours tops.

A spare krypton lamp is rattling around loose inside the tailcap, just behind the spring. There is a plastic insert in there, but the bulb still rattles loose. Dropping or throwing the flashlight *just so* could possibly cause the bulb to pop, probably as the top of it flies up against the spring. So there's a slight chance it might not do you any good when you need it most - such as when you drop the flashlight and break the main lamp. Have I made myself clear, or have i just confused the hell out of all of you? :-O
A throw or a long drop that results in an impact violent enough to break the main bulb could also break the spare, leaving you in the dark. There.




I like the knife (info on the knife above) - but I'm not all that thrilled with the flashlight. The beam is dimmer and yellower than I expected, even with new batteries. And it does not focus worth a sh*t, whether you try to get a spotlight beam, or a wide-angle flood. The pictures below should tell all.

Construction is OK, though definitely nothing that could compare with Surefire, Streamlight, or Arc products. The light makes horrible, ear-splitting screeching sounds when you unscrew the reflector bezel, sounding like a rabid rat in a B movie. I guess I'll have to try to find my can of WD-40 or 3-in-1 and see if that helps.

The black glossy finish is supposed to be anodized, though it doesn't look like it to me. Whacking the barrel hard against a steel rod several times put some light dents in it, but no bare metal was exposed. However, scratching the flashlight with its own knife revealed some nice, shiny aluminum. Definitely paint, not anodizing.

The light is fitted with O-rings, but is not completely watertight. It is essentially weatherproof though, so you'll be fine if you get caught in a storm, or if the flashlight falls in a shallow creek or puddle and you fish it out right away; but if you let it go blub, blub, blub all the way to the bottom of a deeper pond or maybe even the deep end of a swimming pool, you're going to find water inside when you reel it back in. You really shouldn't need to worry about taking it camping or whatever; as long as you're not going to be near deep water you'll be fine.



On the test target 12" away, narrow and wide focus.



On a wall about 5' away, narrow and wide focus.
Yuk!!



TEST NOTES:
Test unit along with several other Smith & Wesson products was received in early August 2002, courtesy of William at Texas Tactical Supply. Texas Tactical will probably not be carrying this product line once they read my reviews of them.
Although this package is labelled as a "Professional Flashlight", I would probably just keep the knife, throw the flashlight to the kids, and go buy myself something a little bit better.

The flashlight portion of this package was manufactured by PowerTech, a licensee of Smith & Wesson.

Smith & Wesson Flashlights
360 E. South Street
Collierville, TN, 38017
901-850-9393 Fax: 901-850-9797


The knife portion of this package was manufactured by Taylor Cutlery, also under license from Smith & Wesson.

Taylor Cutlery
1736 N. Eastman Road
Kingsport, TN, 37664

If warranty service is required, send the flashlight to the Smith & Wesson address, and the knife to the Taylor Cutlery address.

Smith & Wesson does not offer this product on their website. Searching Google or other search engine for "Smith Wesson Classic Combo" will lead you right to the mouths of many hungry web merchants who offer this product. I will not endorse any single one; so just take your pick of what comes up.


UPDATE: 00-00-00



PROS:
I like the knife. If you can find this combo pack really cheaply, buy it for the knife.
Flashlight can be stood up and used like a candle with the reflector removed.
Barrel-mounted (traditional style) switch is preferred by some users.
Lifetime warranty on both knife and flashlight.


CONS:
Poor beam quality and color.
Brightness a bit less than I expected.
Average construction of the flashlight itself - you could find better.


    MANUFACTURER: PowerTech, under license from Smith & Wesson
    PRODUCT TYPE: Mini-AA incandesecent light plus a decent knife
    LAMP TYPE: Incandescent, krypton gas fill
    No. OF LAMPS: 1, plus a spare in the tailcap
    BEAM TYPE: Adjustable; blotchy and ringy
    SWITCH TYPE: Barrel-mounted pushbutton on/off
    BEZEL: Adjustable focus with clear window and smooth reflector
    BATTERY: 2x AA alkaline
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 450 milliamps
    WATER RESISTANT: Yes
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: Double-bladed lockback knife, set of batteries
    WARRANTY: Lifetime

    PRODUCT RATING:

    LIGHT: Star RatingStar Rating
    KNIFE: Star RatingStar Rating









Classic Combo *






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