Stroller, and car seats, and diaper bags oh my,

C

Clang!

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Jul 26, 2010
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As you may have guessed from the title, I'm anticipating the arrival of little ones. This means lots of BSG (baby support gear) that has to be kept working regardless of where it breaks down. I'm going to be carrying the usual compliment of duct tape and paracord, but what multi tool or SAK should I carry?

I usually carry a LM micra on my keyring, but I'm looking for a NKP friendly wrench/pliers + bit driver for diaper bag carry. Right now the top contenders are the CRKT Guppy, Pockettool X Pirhana, or a combination Pocketwrench ii and Craftsman four way pocket screwdriver. Weight is a big factor since it's sharing the diaper backpack with enough gear for the little ones and my EDC.
 
Congratulations! I have two kids, 3 and 6 years old.

My suggestions is to look at the specific gear you have or will have shortly, because there is quite a wide range of functionality and potential problems.

I would recommend pliers for stuck zippers, which can happen on diaper bags, sleep sacks, attaching stroller canopies, pack n'play carry cases, and of course pants. Nothing is more frustrating than getting your baby stuck in a sleep sack because of a cheap or jammed zipper. Especially when you can smell what is waiting for you inside.

I wouldn't worry about weight. If your wife has access to the diaper bag, it will soon weigh 50 pounds no matter what pocket tool you put in it.

One of the only emergency repair jobs I can remember with the gear was having to cut open some fabric on a Pack n'Play so I could get to a jammed locking connector. And the jammed sleep sack zippers.

Good Luck!
 
Congrats:) My daughter just turned 2 yesterday. I warmly remember those heavy gear days of infancy.
My suggestion would be a pair of pliers with wire cutters. Snipping fasteners off of toys is way easier with a good pair of wire snippers.
Also, while it has caused me great headache in the past, bringing along a leatherman with interchangeable bits has really come in handy. 1) Pretty much all baby products that require batteries (ie EVERYTHING) have their battery compartments screwed down with teeny tiny philips screws. Either pack a tool with a small enough bit or carry a screw driver (they sometimes give those away with massive packs of batteries) and keep it in the bag. You'll need it.
2) keep those Allen wrenches they give you for baby furniture handy. Never throw one away, and my Surge having a bit that fit my daughter's crib really saved me some time more than once.

Beyond that, regular stuff like philips, flatheads, and scissors are all really helpful. One of the main things I have to do currently for my daughter is cut down the full size straws they give with the drinks at fast food places. Scissors or a sharp knife are always handy:)

Congrats, again, and remember: there is nothing wrong with being an overly-prepared tactical daddy:thumbup:
 
Check out the Swiss Tech Micro Max. It has the pliers, screwdrivers, and a whole bunch more.

With our first kid, we had the fully loaded diaper bag and a whole lot of other paraphernalia. Second one, not quite as much. Third one, a little less. Fourth one, if I had an extra diaper in the car I was good to go.

Ric
 
Steely_Gunz said:
Congrats:) My daughter just turned 2 yesterday. I warmly remember those heavy gear days of infancy.
My suggestion would be a pair of pliers with wire cutters. Snipping fasteners off of toys is way easier with a good pair of wire snippers.
Also, while it has caused me great headache in the past, bringing along a leatherman with interchangeable bits has really come in handy.
1) Pretty much all baby products that require batteries (ie EVERYTHING) have their battery compartments screwed down with teeny tiny philips screws. Either pack a tool with a small enough bit or carry a screw driver (they sometimes give those away with massive packs of batteries) and keep it in the bag. You'll need it.

2) keep those Allen wrenches they give you for baby furniture handy. Never throw one away, and my Surge having a bit that fit my daughter's crib really saved me some time more than once.

Beyond that, regular stuff like philips, flatheads, and scissors are all really helpful. One of the main things I have to do currently for my daughter is cut down the full size straws they give with the drinks at fast food places. Scissors or a sharp knife are always handy:)

Congrats, again, and remember: there is nothing wrong with being an overly-prepared tactical daddy:thumbup:
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The micra handles zip ties easily. I have a freebie set of precision drivers (#0, and #1 phillips, 1/16, 3/32, and 1/8 flat drivers) that fit the eyeglass screws. They weigh 1.7 oz with the case, so I may throw those in. The rest could be covered with either a Gerber MP400 or a LM fuse. I'm accident prone and have the scars to prove it, so scissors are my preferred cutting tools.
 
my best Dad gear is my maxpedition bags. Diapers, wipes, snacks bottles, all kept where I want them. Just so happens to carry my Glock22 or .357 and some reloads and flashlight as well!
 
I would recommend pliers for stuck zippers, which can happen on diaper bags, sleep sacks, attaching stroller canopies, pack n'play carry cases, and of course pants. Nothing is more frustrating than getting your baby stuck in a sleep sack because of a cheap or jammed zipper. Especially when you can smell what is waiting for you inside.

Good Luck!
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Father of five, quoted for truth and because it made me laugh. :)

Congrats!
 
Steely_Gunz said:
Congrats:)
My suggestion would be a pair of pliers with wire cutters. Snipping fasteners off of toys is way easier with a good pair of wire snippers.
Click to expand...

The two tools I kept going back to were the small Wire nips to open the toy wire ties and a multi-screwdriver that had large and small phillips and regular bits to get to the battery compartments. I also bit the bullet and went with rechargeable AA batteries. All of that lived in the kitchen junk drawer for easy access.
 
Have two, expecting 3rd, always carry a Leatherman Skeletool CX, and a Victorinox Adventurer.
 
Been through 2 kids now 8 and 13. Been through diaper stages through Cub Scouts for the 8yo boy and up to the Girl Scouts/Diva/texting boys for the 13yo girl.

3 in my EDC take care of everything we have needed

Everyday a Leatherman Juice S2 with a Buck 382 Trapper. For the third I rotate, depending upon the days chores/activities, with either a Benchmade Ambush or a Kershaw Vapor.

It is nice to be opening presents or someone needs something cut and you are the guy they go to because you always have a blade or tool and they are always sharp and handy.

It is amazing the number of screws, bolts, nuts...that need attending to on a weekly basis. The daughter gets embarrassed when I pull out the Juice and tighten a screw that I noticed was loose.

Good Luck.
 
Yeah, you will find yourself paring down to save weight and room in the bag. Check out (Diaperdudes.com), they have stuff for Dad's. My bag is very well made, and sports the woodland camo pattern. I just keep a Vic Recruit and a Fenix E15, I like the idea of the small MT's though. Congrats!
 
Just for everyone's information. The actual site is diaperdude.com. Putting an s at the end of dude brings up a gay porn site. Just FYI. I just wanted a camo diaper bag man!
 
medicevans said:
Just for everyone's information. The actual site is diaperdude.com. Putting an s at the end of dude brings up a gay porn site. Just FYI. I just wanted a camo diaper bag man!
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Lol I ended up on an adult-baby fetish site. Good lord the internet is weird..

OP, maybe consider a Vic Classic, the tweezers might come in handy for splinters eventually.
 
IN addition to above noted ya gotta have a FLASHLIGHT. Gotta have a flashlight for items/soreness/irritation in ears/noses/throats, and also for the items dropped/thrown/lost in and around the car/house/anywhere without waking said child.

I have found AA versions that have a low/moonlight setting in addition to "tactical" work well. I use the 10-15 CP light way more than the 100 CP. Kiddos (and mommas) don't take too kindly being blinded.
 
Streamlight has a single mode, 24 lumen, single AAA light that is great. It would be wonderful for dbc (diaper bag carry). I am going to pick one up as well.

Also, if you can get a friendly doc to teach you, grab an otoscope from Walmart. They are great for self diagnosing ear infections and looking up noses. Not necessary for dbc, but nice for home use.
 
Not only are flashlights useful and needed. The kids are going to want to play with them.

You need your emergency around the house lights. You need your own personal lights. You need lights for each of the kids. You need backup lights because you know the kids will lose theirs and the wife and kids will misplace the emergency ones. Then you will need a couple extra because when you go camping or the kids have a sleepover someone is going to forget theirs or you get the kid whose parents aren't into gear who sees them and wants one to use.

Sam's and Costco sell multi light packs. They are not the best nor the worst but for the kids they work great.
 
Hard H2O said:
Not only are flashlights useful and needed. The kids are going to want to play with them.

You need your emergency around the house lights. You need your own personal lights. You need lights for each of the kids. You need backup lights because you know the kids will lose theirs and the wife and kids will misplace the emergency ones. Then you will need a couple extra because when you go camping or the kids have a sleepover someone is going to forget theirs or you get the kid whose parents aren't into gear who sees them and wants one to use.

Sam's and Costco sell multi light packs. They are not the best nor the worst but for the kids they work great.
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I already have a surfeit of flashlights. Energizer high tech on my keyring, LED 2 AAA pen light for work, three 2 D cell flashlights (1 maglight + 2 no-names) converted to LED and lantern battery incandecent at home. One 2 AA in my car, also converted to LED, One 4 LED head lamp, An older model PT Attitude that is going in diaper backpack, and a non-name multi-led in my toolbox. There's a couple more around, but I forgot their specs

I'm going to be using the Dadgear diaper backpack. I'm a place for everything and everything in it's place type of packer, and (I hope) it's got more then enough pockets.

I also found that a lot of the local attractions have a penchance for security theater. I purchased a cheapie multi-tool (Coast?) and Dremeled the blades off. It'll do what I need it to do, and if it gets confiscated it'll be no big loss.
 
Hard H2O said:
...The daughter gets embarrassed when I pull out the Juice and tighten a screw that I noticed was loose.
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My Dad loved embarrassing my sister when we were younger. I'm very much looking forward to it too :)


Back to the OP, Congrats!
 
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