Overview
Despite being called Army Knife, there isn’t a single knife available in this app. (I understand the logistics of that would be impossible, but I find it ironic to name your app something that it clearly isn’t.) So if you were hoping to have a knife so you could
stab a fool cut firewood, sorry. No, this app is actually a collection of five tools that could possibly be found on an actual army knife.
Features
When you push the “on” button of the flashlight, your screen turns white, which will help illuminate dark areas, but not as much as a real flashlight would. Your screen is only so bright - when using this feature, sleep mode is disabled so your screen will stay illuminated.
This works like a normal level would. There’s an X and Y-axis, so you can use it for horizontal and vertical leveling. To calibrate, simply place your phone on something you know is level.
This one is a little tricky to use. You place your phone against that which you want to measure. You place your finger on the right side of the screen then slide your phone along the object, your finger tracing along the screen. When your finger gets to the opposite side, stop moving it, and place it back on the right side again- then repeat.
This is similar to the tape measurer. You slide the lower left jaw of the caliper to the length of that which you’re measuring. You can use arrows to make small adjustments. You can toggle between metric and standard units.
For those interested in fitness, or those with heart conditions, you can calculate your BPM. (It’s not a precise tool though, so if you’re depending on this to be accurate, you might want to invest in something else) You find your pulse and then tap the screen in sync with your heartbeat. The tool then calculates your BPM for you.
You screen will flash red SOS in Morse code. I didn’t get a chance to travel to the desert and strand myself to test it out. I promise that next time I’m on a boat I’ll hope for a maritime disaster so I can give this tool the full test it deserves.
Fortunately this app has instructions on how to use and calibrate each of the tools. I would have gotten frustrated very quickly if I didn’t know how to use things like the caliper. For the record, I figured out the flashlight all on my own. Go me! I deserve a cookie.
Breakdown
The Good:
All of the tools work and are pretty accurate, although achieving the results isn’t as easy as using the real tool. I’d much rather use an actual tape measurer or ruler because it would be a lot faster.
You get six tools for the price of one. Well, I guess there are free apps you can find, like the flashlight- but these are all here in one app for your convenience. You can also change the color of your army “knife” if you’re into that sort of thing. Red might not be your color. I get it.
The Bad:
I didn’t like having to slide my phone across surfaces to take a measurement. I’m afraid that’s going to end up scratching the back of my phone something awful. And if I still had my protective case on- my phone wouldn’t be able to slide.
I don’t know why there isn’t a reset on the caliper. Even after you exit out of that tool, the measurement is saved. You have to completely leave the app for it to reset to zero. I know I can just slide the jaw back over, but the other tools have resets. I don’t know why it’s missing from this one.
Verdict
If you ever find yourself in a place where you desperately need to measure or level something and you don’t have the proper tools- then this app could come in very handy. And it’s only a buck.
