A poor EDC choice and a disapointment

[bobg03]

For years as a Paid Firefighter I carried a multitool on my uniform belt, started with the Original Leatherman than got the Super Tool, overtime I found the regular Gerber Multi tool to be a more practical carry and when I retired and became a Railroader I carried the Gerber to every assignment. It's 30 years old and works great today but stays in my fishing bucket.

So I had a Micra Leatherman of older vintage on my keychain and it was getting tired so I "Upgraded" to a Gerber Dime as I had such good luck with the bigger Gerber Multi for work I thought the pliers would be an improvement that the Micra didn't have.

I am disapointed by the Dime as it is difficult for my arthritic hands to operate and would say it's not as useful as a pocket/keychain tool as I thought it would be. Guess I'll be getting another Micra.

 

[Shiftless]

A Leatherman Micra has been on my key ring for over 20 years. Once I forgot to unhook and pack it away so I lost it to TSA. I replaced it within a few days.

Occasionally I slip a Buck 112 into my jeans pocket if I’m going out for a hike in the woods or think I might need a serious knife. The Micra has a little blade that’s good enough for slicing open tape on a cardboard box or for scraping dirt out from under fingernails. But a locking folder is so much more satisfying.

(not strictly legal in some buildings and various situations)

 

[NUTTSGT]

I carry a cheaper knife on duty. I lose it, I lose it. I carried a regular Leatherman for a time but chose against.

I was never a fan of the Gerber multi-tools.

 

[JradM]

I think the Dime is a bit too small. I'm a fan of the Skeletool - but I don't EDC it because it's too heavy. I've debated trying the PowerPint, but while the size is about right, it's not enough weight savings over the the Skeletool (don't quote me, but I think it's like 4.2oz versus ~5oz for the larger Skeletool).

Skeletool on top, Powerpint on the bottom:



The SOG Flash MT is also in the running at 4.7oz, but the reviews aren't great and I do not want an assisted-opening knife.

I haven't found a truly pocketable multitool I like. I want a tool about 3oz, maybe 3.5oz max, with PowerPint-sized pliers and a trimmed-down tool loadout.

In the interim, I EDC a SOG Altair XR pocket knife (1.9oz) and toss my Cobra XS pliers (1.9oz) in my other pocket when I think I'll want them.



Love my SOG Altair by the way. Similar in design to a Benchmade bugout: a relatively full-sized knife that's thin, slicey and light.

If you use your knife for cutting and not prying, then it's plenty durable. It has an ambidextrous cross-bar lock and a deep carry clip.

 

[F-22]

Quite like my Opinel no.8 but it is slightly fat. I have a skeletool and a wave+ but they generally stay in the car. That said I wish multitools used better plier heads, the cast ones on leatherman are very easy to snap and I do not like those shear cutters (would be better to have proper crimp - type cutters).

 

[Robinson1]

All multi tools are a compromise. They’re better for randomness that crops up than trying to use them as a dedicated tool. I think the target market for multi tools are farmers and trades people. Need to take out one screw or cut one piece of wire and you’re a few hundred yards from the truck the multi tool is great. If you’re an electrician trying to replace an entire tool bag. Keep dreaming.

I prefer Leatherman over Gerber. But Leatherman has their flaws. The popular Wave model will pinch your hand if cutting larger diameter wire. The screwdrivers on the Rebar leave a lot to be desired but are serviceable. They cost too much for what they are but a cheap multitool is hot garbage. If you can swing it a 6 inch pair of slip joint pliers and a 6-in-1 screwdriver is way more useful not to mention cheaper.

I don’t know anyone who carries a multi tool that doesn’t also carry a pocket knife. That’s how annoying using a multi tool as a knife is. Even the Wave model if you’ve got a lot of cutting to do isn’t ideal.

For what it’s worth I carry a Rebar daily and use it a couple times a day on average. Carried a Wave before that. Like the Rebar better but feel like it costs about double what it’s worth. I wouldn’t mind giving a Gerber Centerdrive a try but unwilling to buy one.

One of the better pocket knives on the market for the average person is a Buck 284. Light and doesn’t take up much room
In the pocket. The 285 is a good budget knife as well if you’re looking for something a little bigger.

 

[liliysdad]

I have four or five decent quality multi tools…and I can’t recall the last time I used one. I wouldn’t call them worthless, but I sure can’t figure out why I have them.

A good pocket knife, on the other hand….

 

[JSutter]

I have a couple small multi tools. They are fragile and basically useless. Same with keychain lights.

 

[Grokew]

All multi tools are a compromise. They’re better for randomness that crops up than trying to use them as a dedicated tool. I think the target market for multi tools are farmers and trades people. Need to take out one screw or cut one piece of wire and you’re a few hundred yards from the truck the multi tool is great. If you’re an electrician trying to replace an entire tool bag. Keep dreaming.

I prefer Leatherman over Gerber. But Leatherman has their flaws. The popular Wave model will pinch your hand if cutting larger diameter wire. The screwdrivers on the Rebar leave a lot to be desired but are serviceable. They cost too much for what they are but a cheap multitool is hot garbage. If you can swing it a 6 inch pair of slip joint pliers and a 6-in-1 screwdriver is way more useful not to mention cheaper.

I don’t know anyone who carries a multi tool that doesn’t also carry a pocket knife. That’s how annoying using a multi tool as a knife is. Even the Wave model if you’ve got a lot of cutting to do isn’t ideal.

For what it’s worth I carry a Rebar daily and use it a couple times a day on average. Carried a Wave before that. Like the Rebar better but feel like it costs about double what it’s worth. I wouldn’t mind giving a Gerber Centerdrive a try but unwilling to buy one.

One of the better pocket knives on the market for the average person is a Buck 284. Light and doesn’t take up much room
In the pocket. The 285 is a good budget knife as well if you’re looking for something a little bigger.

What type of slip joint pliers, water pump (channellock, and cobras), or the typical combination slip joint (Cee tee, DHBB2208, or Talon grip)?

 

[neophyte]

Most multitool manufacturers used to make a smaller number of main models, with slight variations on the models for different users.
This tended to mean that the main bugs were sorted out on the main components, and you only got minor bugs on individual tools within the models.
At some point, multitool manufacturers seem to have vastly increased the number of models made, and individual models are very different from each other.
While sometimes the models are good, or very good, the wildly varying designs tend to mean that individual components aren’t always well thought out, and never get fixed, or sometimes the whole tool *****.

My only experience with Gerber, was a Legend 800 which promptly hot stuck in a drawer and not used.
I find Victorinox highly reliable, especially for individual tools within the multitool, and with the whole tools in general.
Leatherman seems to do a decent job, and has continuously improved individual tool models over time, fixing issues such as ergonomics with the original Wave.
I sort of dropped SOG after they stopped manufacturing a number of items in the USA, and started coming out with weird multitools, but I did consider their core multitools somewhat reliable, even though the small components were not as well thought out or made as those on Victorinox tools.

The only multitool I considered complete **** were the Swiss+Tech tools, which always seemed to use matetials and have build quality worse than the Chinese “ Q “ Swiss Army Knife knockoff I had in grade school.

 

[Robinson1]

What type of slip joint pliers, water pump (channellock, and cobras), or the typical combination slip joint (Cee tee, DHBB2208, or Talon grip)?

 

[Grokew]

@Robinson1 Thank you!

 

[Komet]

I've had mine for over 20 years:


I wonder if it was one of the first? I once forgot it was on my keychain until I was at the doors to a concert. Security didn't like it, but let me in anyway.