Multi tool, which one?

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Salt

Full Member
Sep 5, 2014
7
2
Pembrokeshire,Wales
I am looking to invest in a multi tool. The Letherman multi-tool side kick is most popular though the Geber also has a good write up. What's the general consensus for consideration.
 

dwardo

Bushcrafter through and through
Aug 30, 2006
6,451
475
46
Nr Chester
Swiss-tool if you can stretch to it. Quality is leagues above the others. No direct experience of SOG but they are supposed to be very good too.

Leatherman I would say is better quality that gerber. Used to be very different but these days..
 
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Woody110

Mod
Mod
Mar 8, 2009
391
146
Leeds, Yorkshire
I’m not a fan of multi tools, I have one and only use the pliers for taking a pot off the stove.
Also remember if your looking for an EDC tool with a knife, it can’t have a locking blade.
 

Nice65

Brilliant!
Apr 16, 2009
6,438
2,859
W.Sussex
My Swisstool Spirit is leaps and bounds better than my Leatherman Charge TTI in terms of comfort, build, and quality. But the Leatherman is the more versatile if you buy the bit extender and a few bits. The tiny screwdriver that fits the bit holder is ideal for little screws like on glasses. The bit extender came in handy last week to get a recessed screw out of my car door panelling to get at the electric window motor when I couldn’t shut the window.

Leatherman is in the car, Swisstool is in the kitchen drawer. Both have locking blades, which is fine if you have good reason to be carrying it. I had a Gerber Suspension and found it more comfortable in use (pliers) than the Leatherman, but Gerber quality is lacking a bit. If you’re pushed for cash, it's not a bad tool at all, just don’t use it too hard.

Worth noting the Leatherman lifetime guarantee. Problems and breakages are dealt with by Whitby and Co very quickly. More often than not they’ll send a new tool rather than repair. If you intend hard use, take that into consideration.

If you’re a scissor user, the Swisstool has far better scissors than any multi tool.
 
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Insel Affen

Settler
Aug 27, 2014
530
86
Tewkesbury, N Gloucestershire
I'm old school with my Leatherman Supertool, now over 20 years old and still going strong - not sure they still make them though. They even fixed t for me once when I snapped the very small screwdriver (my own fault).

You will probably stick with the make you choose though. My advice is to look at each item on the tool and ask yourself, would I use it?
 

Macaroon

A bemused & bewildered
Jan 5, 2013
7,209
362
73
SE Wales
I'm also old school, still using my ancient Leatherman PST II, never found anything better to replace it and if I did need to I'd search out another the same.
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,293
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
Not a fan. To many limitations.
The tools in them I do not have a use for when in nature, except the blade, which is quite weak.

I have a Leatherman somewhere in an unopened box, did carry it on me when I lived in Europe, but realized I never used it.

I have a Victorinox with the shaped handle, take that to the beach if we take a bit of food and something to eat, as it has a cork screw ( wine), bottle opener ( beer), knife ( cheese and salami), toothpick ( stuck food) and tweezers ( sea urchin and splinters).
 
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Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
Leatherman. I have a Leatherman "Squirt" on my key chain. Little fellow and very versatile with no limitations for what it is.
Was just looking at big Leatherman in the local hardware store the other day. What we get is very well machined and assembled.
Does not have the "fatness" of any SAK. I've handled a Gerber model, felt the fulcrum axle joints were sloppy.
Your models might be Pacific Rim "stuff" for all I know. Mine are USA.
 
Jul 24, 2017
1,163
444
somerset
victornox was pretty good, quite tough, good tools and usable, bit of a lump but effective, I have the leatherman raptor scissors, think the bolt and nuts could be better finished but in the main its dam good and having the lifetime guarantee say's a lot about what you are getting.
 

sunndog

Full Member
May 23, 2014
3,561
477
derbyshire
Are the Swiss tools really that much better than leatherman?
Never seen a Swiss tool in the flesh, what's their flagship model?
 

zornt

Nomad
Apr 6, 2014
273
128
70
Ohio, USA
I EDC a Leatherman crunch and a Micra.
The crunch has locking blades si I believe that it is not legal on your side of the pond. Sadly
 

Trotsky

Full Member
None? I've seen a multitude of them from childhood and never seen/found one that's genuinely useful to be worthy of its price tag. A Tinker Swiss army knife is the closest I'll get and that only comes out if I need the phillips screwdriver part of it which is hardly ever. They're one amongst many of the cons sold to bushcrafters, a frivolity at best.
 

Hodge

Forager
Aug 3, 2018
245
165
63
West Midlands
I have a sog small multi tool don't know the model. The pliers are compound action so pack a lot of grip despite the size. Easy to carry.
 

Tiley

Life Member
Oct 19, 2006
2,364
374
60
Gloucestershire
In my experience, the only different and really useful tool that a multi-tool offers is the pliers; most of the other things that get stuck on to the myriad Leathermen/Swisstools/Gerbers and whatever else are more usefully available on a Swiss Army Knife. With that in mind, I bought and very occasionally use a Leatherman Skeletool, which has reasonably serviceable pliers and not much else but it is both light and compact; all my other 'needs' are covered by my SAK and the tools I take with me to the woods and hills.

When out and about, I find that I very rarely need pliers so I do wonder if and why I need a multi-tool...
 
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Erbswurst

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 5, 2018
4,079
1,766
Berlin
For Hiking you need a Victorinox Compact.

I can't see any reason to take a multi tool in the forest. Throw a simple stone in the rucksack and you have more or less the same results!
 

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