Checking out Small multitools

R

realpat

Joined
Aug 14, 2004
Messages
2
I have my eye on the leatherman squirt.

Also any other recommendations besides the squirt ? I live in NYC and don't want to carry anything bulky. I did my research and seems the squirt is the best. Or i can try the Swiss-Tech Utili Key.

Also, I'm looking for a mini light for my key chain too. what's good? just get one of those photon lights?

-Thanks
 
which photon do you have? Is it all the same? I see so many variations... i was thinking of getting the photon lights in nyc since i live here.. i think they have it all around. But yea i just ordered the squirt right now... it was spur of the moment and i know nothing about these stuff.. i hope i got a good buy.. i paid $25+$5 shipping was it worth it?
 
realpat, welcome to Bladeforums!

The Photon I is press-to-light, the Photon II can lock the light on, and the Photon III has a whole range of mostly gimmicky lightshow type capabilities. Any other little lights that look like them may not be as reliable. Inova does have some good small lights, though, too.

The batteries on the Photon last a long time, but I found them impossible to change when they did run down. Manual dexterity decreases with arthritis. :(

One Stop Knife Shop is competitive on price and has an extensive inventory. It is also the store run by the owner of Bladeforums, so its profits keep this place going! :)
 
I got my squirt at cotsto for $17.99 last Christmas season so I think you got an ok deal.
Did you get the scisors or the pliers?
Because for the scissors I prefer the micra since it's just so durable.

N2
 
I carry a Utili-key myself, but only as a last-ditch backup to my full-sized multi-tools. Its great virtue is its tiny size and weight. The Squirt is small, but still a lot bulkier than the Utili-key. It is also a lot more capable.

I think the Photons still qualify as "best of breed". If you're willing to carry something a little larger, look at the Arc AAA as a more powerful and versatile light.

Among Photons, I would recommend the Photon II as the all-around winner. It offers a lock-on option, a momentary activation switch, and no complicated circuitry that can fail or confuse an infrequent user.

My experiences with the Photon III have not been good. The controls were not well designed and the switches on mine proved unreliable.

The new Photon Freedom seems to be a much improved take on the Photon III concept. It's main benefits are that you can adjust the intensity of the light, which is not only useful for dark-adjusted eyes, but can stretch the battery life considerably. Also, the III and Freedom provide much easier access to the batteries than earlier models.

--Bob Q
 
I daily carry a SOG CrossCut and a Photon II (blue) in the watch pocket of my Levis, and don't really notice that they're there 'till I need one of 'em.
 
Hi, realpat,
this is a fun search, been looking for my ideal carry for a long time now. Good luck and have fun.
I used to use a Sebertech M4, but replaced it with the P4. (more comfortable) I've found the following to be good stuff, but your situation may be entirely different, of course, so take it all with a grain of salt.

Regardless, you might like to look for an Inova Microlight http://www.inovalight.com/site.html?ML-ov
if the Photons don't work out. I've found them to be cheaper and easier to replace batteries with the same performance. Plain old white light works fine for most stuff unless you're wearing night vision goggles or something. Just switch out the supplied spring clip with a small split-ring, fits nicely on the Squirt's keyring tab to hold everything together. Pliers are good, too. You can cut with the blade but it's hard to turn a small nut with scissors.

If you really want to get kitted out, you might want to consider a small stash pouch of some sort to carry them in. Even thought there's no real rough edges on the better pocket tools, it'll eventually save your pockets from wear, loss, bulging, and unpleasant shifting around. Toss a bandaid, couple of safety pins, 20 bucks, backup ID, dental floss, condom, and tiny bic lighter in and you're good to go for most of life's little eventualities.
 
I have a LM Squirt S4 (scissors) and Photon II on my keyring. I see no use for the additional stuff a Photon III can do (and I bet it'd be a PITA anyway, besides more expensive). The Squirt is lightyears better than a Micra. I only wish the anodizing was tougher (it does chip fairly easily from dropping or keys banging it).
 
I never leave the house without my leatherman squirt/photon II combo nestled next to a space pen in my mission wallet. I can handle most of my daily tasks with this combo.
 
Another vote to the Leatherman Squirt and the Photon II.
A great combo for urban carry.



BETO

====================
Sorry for my english :o
 
I carry a leatherman micra and a streamlight key-mate on my keychain, and don't find the combo to be too bulky. I use the pocket clip on the key-mate to carry it all comfortably. I think any smaller leatherman is a solid choice. I don't like the photons myself. They are small but I had a photon I that was made poorly and malfunctioned and before long it stopped working. This seems to be the exception since most people really like them and don't seem to have problems. But I think its hard to beat an arc AAA or a streamlight key-mate. I've been very pleased with both, and although bigger than a photon, they're really not that big.
 
I EDC a Leatherman Squirt P4 and an ArcAAA. They both sit on my lanyard, which hangs on my neck just about all the time. In my normal office work clothes they sit in my front shirt pocket; otherwise they are under my shirt.

It's a great combo - light, useful and accessible.
 
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