Victorinox Swiss Army - Alox vs Cellidor

I’ve now had the opportunity to own and try both Alox and Cellidor Victorinox Swiss Army knives.  The Alox and Cellidor describe the type of materials used on the knife handles or scales.

Alox

Alox is Victorinox’s branding of Aluminum Oxide and are the metallic scales that were used commonly on their military issued Soldier knives to the Swiss Army from the 1960s until about 2008.  They also maintained civilian versions with the Pioneer Alox being a near perfect copy of the Soldier with addition of a key ring.

Cellidor

Cellidor is their branding of plastic scales that they’ve used for many years on their civilian knife models and famous for their red Cellidor knives.

So which is better?

Neither, both are.  Its really what you are seeking and how you plan to use the knife.  The common complaint of Cellidor is due to the inherent nature of plastic in that it’s brittle and susceptible to cracking on hard impact or disintegrating from harsh chemicals.  Alox is metal and more resistant to both.

But beyond that the knives are roughly equivalent and Cellidor has the advantages of lower weight and more tool options.  My 3 layer Climber weights about the same as a 2 layer Alox Pioneer.

For me I prefer Alox as I like the position of the awl vs. where it’s usually found on Cellidor models.  The colors are also more vibrant on the Alox scales and it just feels more of a premium product when in hand.

Alox also plays into being more of a minimalist as they tend to be simpler on tool choice and by far I’m liking the Alox Classic as being possibly one of the most ideal options for a Swiss Army Knife.