Multi-Tools..are they still relevant?

What they all said - I carry a leatherman Micra almost all the time- basically for the small size and array of tools
Revvie
 
An example from today...
I repaired (actually, dismantled the whole darn thing) my momma's coffe macchine. She put a wrong capsule on her Nespresso (non-compatible brand) and it got stuck, leaking hot water everywhere and blocking the opening lever.

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After cleaning, I was able to have my little reward :)
 
Definitely! I've carried one for years and dont know why not to carry one. I use it all the time as do the people around me sadly as many dont carry their own. I think I use the scissors on my leatherman for than anything. Ive clipped my nails, trimmed my nose hair and so on
 
Got a "Wave" waiting at the post office for me. Plan to keep it in the car.
Got it with bank "reward"points.
Always carried a Leatherman on the flight line to avoid a long trip back to the
hanger on 110° days. Dont use it much at home since i have $10,000 worth of
tools at home since i retired.
 
I picked up a Leatherman Style CS yesterday to add to my Squirt and Style PS accumulation. This is a pink one and discounted 50%. Figured what the heck? Yeah, they're still relevant.
 
I think what is very relevant in our modern society is, to be able to deal with phillips screws. For the past couple of decades anything and everything I've had to mess with tinker with, to get going again was fastened together with small phillips screws. They seem to be the current world standard for fasteners.
 
I believe that the multitool was a popular item because it was newly well executed by Leatherman and then sent in droves to soldiers in Operation Desert Shield. A top TV show was Macguyver. In the plus 25 years since, there have been pushes in reliability in cars and the most coveted items are electronic gadgets and watches that require little service or cannot be serviced by most folks.

Unless you're a diehard outdoors person or live in a remote area where self-reliance is more than a way to puck up a date, or a gadget nerd you probably have about as much need for a multitool as most people have for a boom box.

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jackknife said:
I think what is very relevant in our modern society is, to be able to deal with phillips screws. For the past couple of decades anything and everything I've had to mess with tinker with, to get going again was fastened together with small phillips screws. They seem to be the current world standard for fasteners.
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SAKs and multi-tools work on phillips screws but certainly not strong ones or ones similar to used in decks (4-5" screws). These are very common. An electric drill works lot better.

The square headed screws are becoming more common. I believe they are called Roberson screws.
 
Anyone have one of the Gerber mini mult-tools (sized like the Leatherman Micra, Style, Squirt etc.)? Saw them in a store and was wondering about quality.
 
22-rimfire said:
Anyone have one of the Gerber mini mult-tools (sized like the Leatherman Micra, Style, Squirt etc.)? Saw them in a store and was wondering about quality.
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My Gerber is extreme heavy compared to the competition and feels like lesser quality.

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The quality control on the keychain Gerber tools is pretty bad. The scissors on my dime are junk, but the package opener is one of the best tools.
 
I kind of liked the Gerber Dime pricing. They are all displayed in those people proof plastic displays, so you can't really play with one in the store. My thought was since it is small, you aren't likely to be trying to rebuild and engine or cut down any big trees. So, strength is kind of relative. So far, I have stuck with the key chain sized Leatherman's.
 
22-rimfire said:
I kind of liked the Gerber Dime pricing. They are all displayed in those people proof plastic displays, so you can't really play with one in the store. My thought was since it is small, you aren't likely to be trying to rebuild and engine or cut down any big trees. So, strength is kind of relative. So far, I have stuck with the key chain sized Leatherman's.
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Scissors on the Dime are junk, as is the file. Blade is OK, as the tweezers and drivers.

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The Clutch is worthless, as all other Gerber mini tools.

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Their MP400, 600, Legend etc. are awesome. Their good old USA big MTs are great, their chinese ones (Flik, Strata, etc.) not so much.

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The only mini multitool I find worth it from them is the Dime, I've got two now but have had at least 4.

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If you can get it on the cheap, it's passable. But PS4, Squirts, Micras, etc. are much much better, nothing comparable.

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And in any case, a SAK will be a much better option for the price.
Any of the keychain sized ones, more quality, nicer implements, better F&F and much ligher.

Dime is really heavy for its size, and not strong pliers-wise.

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Micra and Squirt much slimmer, lighter and better built.
Just not worth it, even though it's got an awesome package opener, and many of them present extremely tight tools, nail-ripping on occasion, and overall quality/functional issues. (seen on Multitool.org and Amazon reviews dozens of times)

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Just a brief writing on it.

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Thanks for the info Peasant. The pliers being junk pretty much kills it for me. Seldom use a scissors on these things and my regular SAK does not sport a scissors. But I did just purchase a Leatherman Style CS which has a scissors like the Micra. It was cheap. Couldn't resist.
 
22-rimfire said:
Anyone have one of the Gerber mini mult-tools (sized like the Leatherman Micra, Style, Squirt etc.)? Saw them in a store and was wondering about quality.
Click to expand...
I carry a Bear Grylls gerber multitool (ok, make fun of me, I bought it when I was young and inexperienced), it serves me quite well even after seveal years, in light works like repairing IT products, cutting boxes, picking up dirty things, pulling splinters, etc.
 
I keept a Leatherman Rebar on my belt for a few weeks. Last week I was away working and found some use for it, the most important was the philipsdriver to fix my bag so that I could go home.
 
The reasons I do not carry a multitool is the size, and I don't use most of the implements. I don't often need pliers, and, if I do, needlenose usually don't fit the bill. Channelock-type, occasionally vice grips, and stubby slipjoint pliers get used much more often, but even then, that's not that often. The only times I use a set of needle nose pliers are when I'm pulling staples out of wood, for the yearly Xmas and Halloween lights, or when I step on a thorn, and I can't extricate it from my shoe with my fingers. Truly, with what I use on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis pretty well comes down to scissors, phillips driver, blade, and nail file, which I get out of the small SAKs or the Micra. I'm not 'in the field', or repairing things often; I'm a desk jockey.
 
I've been stuck about two hours from home for the past week. A bug old tolling tool chest sits there packed with most of what I would normally need. But from adjusting screws on my safety glasses to opening a can a soup to slicing open a plastic bag, I was happy that my Leatherman was was riding in my bag.

I believe multitools are a great gadget that pack most of what you might need in a compact grab and go package.

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Micra in right front pocket.
Folding knife of the day in my right rear pocket.
Leatherman Blast in my day pack.
 
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