Impressions of a Squirt. Update at one month.

[jackknife]

Thanks to a very generous forum brother named Robert, (AreBeeBee) I now have a squirt to play with and tryout against the Leatherman micra. It's going to be interesting.

It arrived yesterday, so I've had a day and a half to put it to some use, trying it on philliups screws, plastic blister packages, and a few other things. Side by side with the micra, it's almost the same size, close enough that in the pocket there is no real world difference. On an old Weight Watchers scale, they seem to both weigh in at 2 ounces. The Squirt knife blade is a tad bigger. The screw drivers are definitely smaller. I may take a file to the squirt flat phillips to blue it out a bit for a better bite on regular size phillps. The scissors on both cut pretty well on fine paper, as well as tougher stuff like material and cardboard.

Compared to the tools on the alox SAK's, all the smaller Leatherman's seem a bit wimpy. The Leathermans are built sturdy, so it may be a moot point. Remember, I'm coming from a view of not liking Leatherman's, but grudgingly admitting they are better than I thought.

I tried the pliers on a few things, and the wire cutters seemed to do okay on like copper wire. With the Leatherman mirca the scissors seem to work okay on thin copper if you open the scissors all the way and put the wire all the way back agains the jaws closest to the hinge. I've done this with the Victorinox scissors as well and got away with it.

All in all, the squirt seems like a competent piece of kit, as our British cousins would say, if a bit weak in the knife department. But then, I will always have a dedicated pocket knife on me.

The heart of the matter, pliers on one, scissors on the other.

Screwdrivers, some are more equal than others. Vic definitely bigger and beefier.

Flat phillips. Some differences there too. The Squirt is the smallest, Victorinox has lots of metal backing theirs up.

For cutting open packages or other stuff, the blade on the squirt is bigger, but it dosen't have the capability to be used with the tool in the open position. An advantage that Dave (pinnah) pointed out. Both have the very sharp chisel grind blade.

I'll team the new guy up with my edc pocket knife, the Northwoods stockman, and we'll see how it goes for a month.

Both tools pack a large amount of utility into a very small pocket size package. I have to admit that I am impressed. I have been Leatherman's lost child since the beginning. I don't know if I will become a convert yet, but I can see how someone could become a fan. Lots of uses, rugged all steel construction, and a carefree attitude with no bone or wood scales to worry about cracking, or carbon steel to rust. I'm not sure where this is all going to lead, but it's going to be interesting. Life is sometimes about change, and lord knows I've done a lot of changing in my life. Looking back, I've gone from BMW motorcycles to a Harley Davidson sportster to a Vespa motor scooter, and loved every one of them. I've abandoned the Smith And Wesson .38 revolver I've used for 40 years for a Glock 9mm. Now I find myself actually carrying and using multitools, even though I give it a silent Hail Mary when I pull tout of my pocket.

We'll see.

 

[znapschatz]

My introduction to multi-tools was a Leatherman PST, although the first I actually liked was the original Super Tool. The tool set fit me perfectly, the only thing missing was scissors, but - Oh JOY! - Leatherman brought forth the Micra, with not only pretty good scissors but other useful implements that I hadn't known I needed until there they were. That coupling was my true EDC for the next nine years, during which time I sometimes did tryouts with other m-ts, finding nothing I liked better. Since then I have transitioned into more current full sized models, but the Micra remains my keychain sized Leatherman. I am convinced that with its first offering in that category, Leatherman got it right.

 

[SAKsRCool]

I'll carry my PS4 if I'm too lazy to carry my Pulse or Juice S2. It's been "good enough" more than once.

 

[Hacked]

Just used mine last night to help fix my wife's keyboard on her laptop, along with my Pioneer and Lumintop Tool.

 

[powernoodle]

Carl, I always appreciate your posts, and this is another good one. The PS4 has been in my pocket for a long time. The pliers come in very handy on occasion for grabbing, pulling, bending, etc., and the phillips driver works well on small screws which seem to be everywhere. The scissor spring seems to be the weak point, and Mrs. Powernoodle's scissor spring committed suicide in her purse even though she never uses the thing. [I put one of those cable rings in her purse with a PS4, Fenix AAA, Fox Micro whistle, etc., which gets used about once a year.]. But overall its a good use of 2 ounces in your pocket, and I think its is a large leap ahead of the Gerber Dime in design and construction though that is a usable tool as well.

 

[pinnah]

My introduction to multi-tools was a Leatherman PST, although the first I actually liked was the original Super Tool. The tool set fit me perfectly, the only thing missing was scissors, but - Oh JOY! - Leatherman brought forth the Micra, with not only pretty good scissors but other useful implements that I hadn't known I needed until there they were. That coupling was my true EDC for the next nine years, during which time I sometimes did tryouts with other m-ts, finding nothing I liked better. Since then I have transitioned into more current full sized models, but the Micra remains my keychain sized Leatherman. I am convinced that with its first offering in that category, Leatherman got it right.

Znapchatz,

I suspect that you and I both can be "at peace" with the pliers-less Micra since we have a pliers based MT either on us or nearby. I know a lot of guys carry a full sized MT on their hip and something like the Micra either in their pocket on a key chain.

I have a cousin who works as a building superintendent and he carries a Wave on belt but also carries a smaller Skeletool on his belt loop and tells me that he ends up using the Skeletool most of the time, not the wave. Still, he does carry the larger Wave.

I would never advocate that somebody carry a day-pack/fanny-pack/man-purse just so they can carry a full-sized MT, but I've been the habit of carrying a bag of some sort daily for nearly 4 decades now so, for me, it's very natural to just drop my full sized Blast (my favorite) in my day pack. That day pack comes with me into some places and not in others. Minimally, it's in the car.


Now... If I didn't have a full sized MT nearby... that would force me to deal with the core difference that Carl highlighted in that side by side shot. As much as I love the Micra, I would have to choose between the Squirt or Juice.

What I really wish is that they would make a Legacy style pliers based tool about the size of the Juice - something between the Micra and PST. Something less than 4 oz

 

[tylosaurus]

What I really wish is that they would make a Legacy style pliers based tool about the size of the Juice - something between the Micra and PST. Something less than 4 oz

The Leatherman Freestyle is a nice set of pliers in your size/wight range. 4.5 oz. I pair one up with a SAK.

 

[mnblade]

I have a P4 that I keep in my harmonica case. It's got me and fellow musicians out of many a jam!

 

[pinnah]

The Leatherman Freestyle is a nice set of pliers in your size/wight range. 4.5 oz. I pair one up with a SAK.

I'm more interested in getting the functionality of a standard 4-6 blade SAK and a small pliers based MT in a single, sub 4 oz package.

The Squirt (and Gerber Dime) are both close, as is the Juice.

I would like to see something the size of the Juice, only thinner and lighter. I think the Micra and original PST type frame would be the way to do it.

 

[AreBeeBee]

Have fun with it, Carl!

Perhaps with thorough and heavy use, its joints and tools would open more easily than i found they did.

Just not a happy fit for this knife guy, so I'm delighted it's found a new home out in the daylight from the box at the bottom of a drawer.

 

[jackknife]

Okay, it's been 5 days now, and I'm coming to some conclusions.

After spending a few months with the Leatherman micra, I thought a small plier tool with the tools on the outside would have been much better. And it has worked out well. So far, using this tool on a day to day basis, the outside mounted scissors and bottle opener have been far more convenient than the micra. The whole point of my attachment to the little Vic classic that I love, was the scissors and small screw driver were so handy. The squirt has all that, plus the small pliers/wire cutters. And a file. And a knife blade.

But, and there's always a but, one problem I have is, I actually don't have a real need for pliers in my day to day life. I do use scissors now and then. But I can't recall the least time I needed pliers that I was out of reach of the tool kit in the car, or the one behind the seat of my pickup, or the one in the glove box of the Vespa. Or the one under the cabinet in the kitchen.

At first, I missed the tweezers on the micra and the classic. But, again there's that word, I found the end of the pliers to be so well ground that they work pretty darn well as forceps/large tweezers. So, in the end I did end a use for the pliers, if not as pliers per se.

The scissors of the squirt work okay trimming the stray beard or mustache hair. Not bad on a broken finger nail either.

So, in a nutshell, the squirt is doing a bit better than the micra at this point. It has the 'outside' tools that I like, and still has the scissors, with the added benefit of the pliers that I think of as a gripping helper for senior citizen fingers. But, again, the squirt is a little handicapped in the screw driver department compared directly with the micra. The micra drivers are longer, and the flat phillips on the mirca is a bit beefier. I have to take a file to the squirt's phillips to blunt it out a bit.

Time will tell.

 

[znapschatz]

Okay, it's been 5 days now, and I'm coming to some conclusions.

After spending a few months with the Leatherman micra, I thought a small plier tool with the tools on the outside would have been much better. And it has worked out well. So far, using this tool on a day to day basis, the outside mounted scissors and bottle opener have been far more convenient than the micra. The whole point of my attachment to the little Vic classic that I love, was the scissors and small screw driver were so handy. The squirt has all that, plus the small pliers/wire cutters. And a file. And a knife blade.

But, and there's always a but, one problem I have is, I actually don't have a real need for pliers in my day to day life. I do use scissors now and then. But I can't recall the least time I needed pliers that I was out of reach of the tool kit in the car, or the one behind the seat of my pickup, or the one in the glove box of the Vespa. Or the one under the cabinet in the kitchen.

At first, I missed the tweezers on the micra and the classic. But, again there's that word, I found the end of the pliers to be so well ground that they work pretty darn well as forceps/large tweezers. So, in the end I did end a use for the pliers, if not as pliers per se.

The scissors of the squirt work okay trimming the stray beard or mustache hair. Not bad on a broken finger nail either.

So, in a nutshell, the squirt is doing a bit better than the micra at this point. It has the 'outside' tools that I like, and still has the scissors, with the added benefit of the pliers that I think of as a gripping helper for senior citizen fingers. But, again, the squirt is a little handicapped in the screw driver department compared directly with the micra. The micra drivers are longer, and the flat phillips on the mirca is a bit beefier. I have to take a file to the squirt's phillips to blunt it out a bit.

Time will tell.

I'm approaching this comparison from a different position, having spent many years with the Micra before making any serious comparisons with a Squirt. Over time I got so used to the Micra's handling qualities that matters of inside/outside opening is off the table. My only interest is in the tool capabilities. Since most of the time I have a full sized pliers based multitool with me, I don't often need the small pliers of the Squirt and don't much care for its tiny scissors. I much prefer the more capable scissors on the Micra instead, also its longer, stronger and sharper screwdrivers. Although I have actually used the Squirt wood/metal file (once), I get more mileage out of the Micra nail file. Small as it is, the Micra ruler (none on the Squirt) gets an occasional chore, and even the bottle opener works better. Yet another plus; the Micra can be extended for any of its implements, the Squirt cannot.

All said, I do have a P4 to pair with SAKs when I roll that way. Those mini jaws work well enough for small jobs, definitely better than nothing. It also has a jeweler/eyeglass screwdriver and an awl, which the current Squirt does not.

 

[jackknife]

I'm approaching this comparison from a different position, having spent many years with the Micra before making any serious comparisons with a Squirt. Over time I got so used to the Micra's handling qualities that matters of inside/outside opening is off the table. My only interest is in the tool capabilities. Since most of the time I have a full sized pliers based multitool with me, I don't often need the small pliers of the Squirt and don't much care for its tiny scissors. I much prefer the more capable scissors on the Micra instead, also its longer, stronger and sharper screwdrivers. Although I have actually used the Squirt wood/metal file (once), I get more mileage out of the Micra nail file. Small as it is, the Micra ruler (none on the Squirt) gets an occasional chore, and even the bottle opener works better. Yet another plus; the Micra can be extended for any of its implements, the Squirt cannot.

All said, I do have a P4 to pair with SAKs when I roll that way. Those mini jaws work well enough for small jobs, definitely better than nothing. It also has a jeweler/eyeglass screwdriver and an awl, which the current Squirt does not.

I agree with you that the micra has a better array of screw drivers. The squirt just has the one medium size flat driver that is a very short stubby little thing. I've yet to even try the bottle opener, but it's soooo short that I am wondering if it even will work??

And as I said, I very rarely need pliers, but the micra scissors are some very good scissors.

We'll see.

 

[znapschatz]

I agree with you that the micra has a better array of screw drivers. The squirt just has the one medium size flat driver that is a very short stubby little thing. I've yet to even try the bottle opener, but it's soooo short that I am wondering if it even will work??

And as I said, I very rarely need pliers, but the micra scissors are some very good scissors.

We'll see.

The Squirt bottle opener, worst cap lifter of them all, actually does work, but takes patience and needs a few bites. At first, I couldn't get the thing to grab the cap, but eventually figured it out. As an implement, it's better than nothing, but just.

 

[bld522]

The scissors in my Micra are the reason I carry a Multi-tool. I work in an office and I use the Micra's scissors a lot, particularly for cutting the plastic straps off cartons of copy paper and removing shrink wrap from double-flats of bottled water. I almost never use pliers or screwdrivers and on the rare occasions that I need to, I have them sitting in a desk drawer. And I also never use the Micra's knife blade because I carry a folder separately. In fact, I'm thinking of removing the Micra's blade so I can carry it when I fly. Truth be told, I could accomplish 95% of everything I need to with a Micra and pair of ordinary office shears. So while the Squirt is a nice tool, I don't think I'll be swapping my Micra for one anytime soon.

 

[powernoodle]

I regard the Classic's scissors as vastly superior to those of the Micra and PS4, but I guess it depends on what one does with them. For fine, detailed work like cleaning up skin boo boos, the Classic's scissors are in my view about as good as it gets. You can trim skin boo boos absolutely flush with the Classic's scissors. That's not possible with those of the Micra and Squirt. At least not for me. But the latter two may be better for heavier cutting needs like canvas or cardboard.

My solution? I usually carry a Squirt PS4 and a Victorinox Manager on a key ring, along with a Fenix E05. The PS4 + Manager are a scant 3 ounces. But that's still bulkier than just a Classic SD if that's what one is used to.

I agree with Mr. Carl that the pliers are not a high usage item. I just like having them with me.

 

[jackknife]

I regard the Classic's scissors as vastly superior to those of the Micra and PS4, but I guess it depends on what one does with them. For fine, detailed work like cleaning up skin boo boos, the Classic's scissors are in my view about as good as it gets. You can trim skin boo boos absolutely flush with the Classic's scissors. That's not possible with those of the Micra and Squirt. At least not for me. But the latter two may be better for heavier cutting needs like canvas or cardboard.

My solution? I usually carry a Squirt PS4 and a Victorinox Manager on a key ring, along with a Fenix E05. The PS4 + Manager are a scant 3 ounces. But that's still bulkier than just a Classic SD if that's what one is used to.

I agree with Mr. Carl that the pliers are not a high usage item. I just like having them with me.

The scissors of the small Victorinox are medical grade. You could use them in a surgical situation, they are so fine. No argument there!

I tend to use them for personal grooming, odd beard or nose hairs. Karen is determined that I not turn into one of those old guys with wild hairs coming out my ears so she trims me up suing the little scissors on her classic that she always carries. There was the one day when she drew blood. We were sitting on a log on the woods, and she said I have a hair or two that needs to be felt with, and to hold still. I'm sitting there while she trims the inside of my ear. Suddenly I feel a stab of pain and she's saying she's sorry, and I'm bleeding lie a stuck pig. You know that little flessy bit that sticks up in the middle of the ear opening? Well she got it with the SAK scissors, and the slice was so clean it was like a surgical cut. A little pressure for 15 minutes and it stopped bleeding, and healed up a perod of a some days.

It was eye opening experience as to how sharp those little scissors are. Now I make sure she has her glasses on before I let her near me with SAK scissors!

 

[bflying]

I'm a big Ps4 fan. I think I've tried just about every brand of micro multi-tool that's out there, and the Squirt is by far my favorite. The pliers are ground well enough to replace tweezers, and in my experience, the tiny scissors have held up to just about everything I've thrown at it. But it's the occasional need for small pliers that I love the little Squirt....and why I put one on every car keychain in the household.

While I don't use the pliers "every" day, the times they're needed, I'm very appreciative that they are there. There have even been times that I've had minor issues (auto/mechanical, etc) where I've needed "more" of a tool, but my wife was with me, and sure enough the second Ps4 on her keychain was a godsend.

Recently, my knives seem to change on a regular basis, and sometime I have more than one on me at any one time (sometimes even a separate pry-tool). But I've always got a Ps4 within reach no matter where I am. I guess I'd count as a fanboy now.

Thank you OP for the detailed comparison. I guess if there is anything I'd change on it would be a better philips driver. That's probably the third or forth most used/needed tool that occasionally lets me down.

 

[mnblade]

RE the pliers on a Squirt, don't forget the wire cutters. As I said above, I carry my P4 (which doesn't have scissors) in my music gear bag. Can't tell you how many times I've had to loan it to guitar players to snip off the ends of new strings. Very handy.

But I do agree that on a day-to-day basis, I prefer scissors to pliers (thus, I carry a Micra more frequently).

 

[wvriverats]

I have the ES4 Squirt. Never go anywhere without it. I find the wire strippers very useful, to the point that I can't imagine not having a pair on me at all times.