I fully agree on all of your points. To be honest, the magnetic system isn't really any reason why I bought this tool. The full toolset outside of the handle was my main draw. I spent the last couple of days carrying nothing but the P4 to see if I could get by with it or even prefer the tool access. I have to say, in just a couple of days it has grown on me. I was making a leather mystery braid bracelet for my wife and found my hands nearly full and my lace pulled coming loose. I was able to hold my leather strip steady with left hand and thumb open the Philips driver I needed in order to tighten it before I lost my straight cut.
I dont think the magnets on the tool are going to be difficult to keep clean from metal debris. They seem very weak. I'm sure they will attract some stuff, but the way the tool opens up, it should be easy to get into the nooks and crannies. Still, I dont fault anyone for not looking for maintenance issues passing over the tool.
I find it to be a great combo between the ST300 and something like the Wave. As I mentioned before, the loss of the replaceable bits is a personal upgrade. I dont feel I was overly hard on my Wave or Surge, but both of them suffered spring failure on the driver/eyeglass driver and needed to go back to LM. I'm just not a fan of parts and pieces. My use for a MT is to supplement my tool box. It's to be a pair of pliers and a few fast drivers/tools that keeps me from walking back to my truck. If I need a bigger screwdriver or special bit then I need to get my tools.
In short, I am plenty happy with the promises of this tool. I still think some of the tools are a bit wonky or could be replaced/tweaked to be more useful. (Why they didnt put a cutting edge on the file like all the other ones baffles me). Still, as a Toolaphile, I dont feel its answering a question no one asked. It offers a rugged one hand tool that is more feature rich (and probably more robust) than their current OHT/Gerberman. The 4 main blades work well, and I continue to absolutely love the plain blade shape and size enough to leave my dedicated folder at home for the time being. I still will admit that it doesn't completely kill the ST300 for me. It will still live in my travel bag for emergencies. The P4 is just easier to access and pack.
So, I'm satisfied with my purchase, but I would never to convince someone they NEED this tool. I like it. I'm glad I bought it. I just try to not think about spending $139 on it. Then again, I've got a drawer full of $200+ folders I have used once and left alone. This tool has basically regulated a $450 folder that I adore to be a dress knife for the time being as I can fully get along with the blade on it. I suppose I can't be too mad at the price if I am carrying/using it over other.
