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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Best Small Multi-tool
- Thread starter Triton
- Start date
It doesn't impress me. The tool set is barely adequate for something that size, falling exactly between the Squirt and the Power Pint. It has no file and the phillips is 2D. It tries to appear tech oriented with its sim card removal tool and yet it still lacks the type of small precision screw drivers which would actually be useful for small electronics. The wire cutters are a joke too. They're smaller than the ones on the squirt, and they don't work as well. The plier head reminds me of the one on the Gerber Vise, which was also kinda garbage. They look very much the same.
Similar to the SOG Power Pint and Power Litre, the quality control just isn't there with the Nextool Mini Sailor. It may be even worse although that's hard to imagine based on my experience with the Power Litre.
Olight is selling a rebranded version of the Mini Sailor with black scales. People are saying that it's probably best to get that version since you'll get olight's warranty on it, which likely ensures better QC.
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It's on sale right now. I believe the current sale price only lasts through the 8th (one more day).
vwb563
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Iāve been using this little guy for a few months now. Itās a very capable little tool. I did modify the end of the cap lifter into a flat screwdriver. Theyāre quite strong for their size especially the pliers. I cut a coat hanger into with mine. I figured it would have broke before it cut the hanger but it suffered no damage at all. Theyāre definitely not as high a quality as a Leatherman but theyāre not bad. I thought they were China made but come to find out theyāre built in Taiwan which is good. All the tools work. The scissors cut, the file files, the awl is quite sharp and makes a good hole in about anything, the Phillips screwdriver works quite well on most screws, the can opener will open cans, the serrated blade is very sharp, and I absolutely love the plain edge blade shape. It is great for opening boxes and stuff. Hereās a couple pics of mine and with the screwdriver mod.
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That is incorrect. Retailers which list the country of origin for the PowerPint list it as China. Even SOG's own online store plainly states the country of origin for the SOG PowerPint is China. I don't know where you got your information from, but it's flat out wrong. It is trivial to debunk and will take anyone only a minute or two to do so.
Triton
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Its okay everyone makes mistakes I know I do. Sad that its Chinese made and so off my list
vwb563
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My apologies for the incorrect information. I stand corrected. There was no intention to mislead. The Powerpints big brother, the Poweraccess, is made in Taiwan so I guess I just assumed it was too. Itās still a good tool though and every bit as well made as the Taiwan built Poweraccess.
Its okay everyone makes mistakes I know I do. Sad that its Chinese made and so off my list
Sorry, I might have come across a little harsh there. I personally would encourage more people to get products manufactured in Taiwan if they can. Taiwan is awesome. Obviously it would be ideal to manufacture things locally, but... it is what it is.
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I respect your choice and the Victorinox Spirit is a higher quality tool for sure.Its okay everyone makes mistakes I know I do. Sad that its Chinese made and so off my list
Politics aside, if you would consider an American companyās legit design produced in China, the SOG PowerPint is a really nice and capable āsmallā multitool. While I am a huge Leatherman fan and consider most of its offerings the best in their categories, I think that as an overall package this SOG tool is in many ways equal to and in some ways better than the comparable size Leatherman tools available right now.
vwb563
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Agreed. For its size the Powerpint (PP) is a surprisingly capable little tool. Iāve done a few things with mine that I actually figured would break it but it survived unscathed. I love my Leathermans but mine are full size tools ( Wave, Free P4, Surge) and are quite heavy. The Vic Spirit is a very nice, high quality tool but itās also heavy for pocket carry. Iām not a big fan of belt carry so I usually carry my multitools in my pocket with a pocket clip. My Leathermans are just too heavy. (I wear jogging pants a lot) I have a Squirt but itās kinda small and is very limited as to what it can do. The PP performs about like a full size tool at about half the size of a full size tool. All I can say is try one for yourself and youāll see why some people like them so much.
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Your jogging pants must be made of sturdier material than my jogging pants. 4.2 ounces is definitely way too heavy for them to carry clipped to a pocket. I do not consider 4.2 ounces to be a light weight for the size of the PowerPint. It's more than double the 2 ounce weight of the Squirt, even though it's not fully double the size, and the Squirt already feels a little heavy for its size as it is. That's actually one thing that bothers me about the PowerPint and the PowerLitre. They both feel a bit heavy compared to how small they are. That sort of thing is usually a sign of cheapness. Generally better quality gear tends to weigh less, not more.
The PowerPint and PowerLitre are full of signs of cheapness. The plier tips don't always meet when fully closed (unless you got a good one, and this is luck of the draw), the phillips driver is rounded instead of having sharp edges, the tools bend easily, and so does the frame itself to some extent. You can bend most everything with your bare hands aside from the pliers. Honestly, they're charging way too much for what you're getting. I got lucky and was able to get mine with a 30% discount directly from SOG, but I still got bad quality. Other people are just buying them from ali express at a cheaper price than US retail.
The quality just isn't there. Unless you get lucky, I guess.
More than anything, I want people to know what they're getting into. Don't pay full price for these things. It's a gamble and it's not worth it. At least find yourself a good discount. If you get lucky and get a decent quality one, then good for you. You took a chance and you won.
edit: to be fair, I love my Leatherman Juice XE6 and it's a brick. It's really pushing the limit in terms of its weight for the size. It's just on the borderline for tolerability with a pocket dangler clip. I wish they had taken a cue from Victorinox and made the liners from aluminum instead of steel. They made the scales from aluminum, but not the liners for some reason. Maybe it has something to do with the way the springs rest against the outside of the liners. Aluminum is probably too soft to hold up to the spings pressing against it without bending.
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vwb563
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Funny how people are just, different. 4.2 oz doesnāt bother me at all. Itās so light and unnoticeable in the pocket that I sometimes have to feel for it to make sure that I havenāt lost it. Itās certainly easier to carry than a 8oz + tool. The reason the PP might seem heavy for its size has nothing at all to do with cheapness. The reason is itās packed full of tools (5 fold out tools on each side) and itās made of stainless steel. Itās actually light in weight for its size since itās a little OVER half the length of a Leatherman Wave but UNDER half the weight of the Wave. āLuckyā you say,,, well I must have got lucky twice since I own two and both are fine. Funny how some people expect ABSOLUTE PERFECTION in anything they buy. These are tools and meant to be used so who cares if theyāre not absolutely built to perfection. If you donāt like them, donāt buy them. But just because one didnāt meet up to your expectations doesnāt mean they wonāt for everyone else. As I said, I own two. Both are built fine, work fine, and serve their intended purpose quite well. Have a nice day!
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I agree with vw563.
I also have bought 2 (one as a present) and both were fine.
I didnāt find anything flimsy about it. Itās not a full size tool, but itās overbuilt for its size.
Its 4.2 oz weight is 2/3 of the 6.9 oz weight of the Leatherman Juice XE6.
Based on your logic the Juice is a lower quality gear because it is heavier.
I bet I can bend many implements on the Juice as well and the Phillips driver isnāt much different either.
I am not saying the Juice is worse tool, but itās also more expensive, while not so much better.
The SOG PP is an excellent value both price wise as well as a user. Just my opinion though.
I also have bought 2 (one as a present) and both were fine.
I didnāt find anything flimsy about it. Itās not a full size tool, but itās overbuilt for its size.
Its 4.2 oz weight is 2/3 of the 6.9 oz weight of the Leatherman Juice XE6.
Based on your logic the Juice is a lower quality gear because it is heavier.
I bet I can bend many implements on the Juice as well and the Phillips driver isnāt much different either.
I am not saying the Juice is worse tool, but itās also more expensive, while not so much better.
The SOG PP is an excellent value both price wise as well as a user. Just my opinion though.
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I wonder if the passing of the squirt has caused some kind of power vacuum in the mini multitool market? The lifestyle direction of multitools seem to be spawning small multitools recently but nothing yet has been quite striking for me.
Or is the small multitool world still just a very niche market in the game of serious big boy multitools?
Or is the small multitool world still just a very niche market in the game of serious big boy multitools?
vwb563
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My opinion is itās a very niche market. Thereās just not a lot of multitools available to the market in this medium size range but it seems to growing because of new medium size tools like the Powerpint being born. And itās definitely not the perfect size tool for every occasion in my opinion. I carry mine around the house mostly in case I have a small task arise like tightening a screw or other small task but if Iām out and about on my cycle I usually carry a full size multitool. For me and my needs the Powerpint serves me quite well.
vwb563
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To my understanding the Squirt isnāt dead. Only the older P4 version is being discontinued. The newer PS4 is still being manufactured. I could be wrong but this is what I remember reading somewhere.
Let's get this out of the way first...
So yeah... not exactly comparable. The PowerPint Phillips is noticeably rounded. The difference is even more striking in person. It's also a weird size. The Juice Phillips is actually useful for common Phillips screws and you can feel the difference in how well it engages, but the one of the PP really isn't as usable. It's a weird size on top of being a weird shape as well. It's not a full Phillips shape but it's not exactly a 2D Phillips either... it's like a skinny 3D Phillips.
As for the rest of the Juice, if you actually have it side by side with a PP then you can see the difference in quality is night and day. It's obvious. And you can't really bend the thing with your bare hands like you can with the SOG. It's pretty solid. You can obviously bend the saw because, well it's a saw and saws are thin. With some effort and a vise or clamp of some kind, you could also bend the scissors, but it's not as easy. I know because I did it with a set of scissors on a Juice CS4.
The problem is of course that the Juice line is completely discontinued, so it's not a viable alternative.
My goal is not to try and convince you or anyone else who's intent on being stubborn. I just hope this is useful information to anyone still on the fence. If you take nothing away from this, at least don't ever pay full price for a PowerPint. Look for discount codes and sale prices. Never pay full price for a PowerPint or a PowerLitre. These things are cheaply produced and overpriced. I'm going to go ahead and link to my review of the PowerLitre for anyone who is interested: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/sog-powerlitre.1913438/
As always, try to get all the information you can before making a purchase.
Hickory n steel
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They're currently out of stock and a lot of people have declared it dead based on some " proof " that isn't very concrete , but it's still not official per the discontinued models page on leathermans website.
The same people did this when the crunch was out of stock for a long period but it returned just as the leatherman squirt likely will.
Personally I believe the little " keychain sized sized " multitools like the squirt are quite popular with the average person, way more popular than the knife/ gear crowds many trends would suggest.