Multi - Tool Recommendation

crockett

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jul 25, 2009
Messages
47
I've lost the multi-tool I use at work. It was a Victorianox (I believe). It was absolutely unbelievable and I need a replacement. I used it for 8 years 5 to 7 times per week and multiple times each day. It's primary function was to open electrical cabinets at work with the flathead screwdriver. It was still working perfectly the last day I saw it and the only thing wrong with it was the red printing had almost completely worn off. Here is what the tool must have:

-Full size
-Quality pliers, I like the kind with a bit of a hole near the joint so you can grab small bolt head and turn it. The tool should be sturdy with little flex on the handles when using the pliers.
-Quality holster that can be worn on a standard pants belt. A snap top would be best, but I could live with velcro.
-Flat head screw drivers. 3-4 sizes would be great. From 1/8" (or even a bit smaller) to 3/8" or even a bit larger would be good.
-Phillips screw drivers. 2-3 sizes would be nice.
-Knive.
-A very good build. This will get used daily and pretty hard.
-The tools lock when extended and you need to engage some type of release to return them to the closed position.

Stuff my old one had that would be great but not totally necessary.

-All the tools with the exception of the pliers could be accessed without fully opening the tool.
-A metric ruler on one side and a standard on the other. With the tool fully open it could be arranged to give you a full 8" ruler. The markings for the ruler were stamped into the metal so it could not wear off over time.
-In addition to a standard knive it had a knife with a serrated blade.
-It could be opened fully with the screwdriver bits being offset so that the tool acted like one long screw driver with the head of the open screw driver bit centered on the axis of the opened tool. (The plier tips of course stuck out the side in this position).
-A wire cutter function would be nice but not necessary.

Stuff my old one didn't have but it would be nice:
-Some allen heads (2-3 each of metric and standard)

Of couse it had other stuff but I rarely used the other features.

Any ideas? I glanced at the skeletool but thought I would post here first.

Thanks.
 
Vic now has two different multitools. There is the SwissTool, and the Spirit (and the Spirit Plus). I love the Spirit. The fit and finish is supurb. The deluxe package comes with a little ratchet set also, which has some extra bits.
 
Well, I think I've found the ideal tool.

The PowerPlay PT-540. This thing is perfect for the work I do.

The problem is, I can't seem to find if it comes with a belt pouch. I'd be shocked if it didn't. But I'd like to see if they have an option for a snap top pouch (leather would be nice too but not necessary).

Also I'd like to see a full fledge review and see if there is any room in the pouch to add some 1/4 bits and a 4" extension bar.
 
Mine came with a leather (at least I think so) snap top case that has an elastic loop at the bottom to hold the 1/4" bit adaptor (slides out to the side, with difficulty) and you could probably work out storage for an extra bit or 2 in there. Don't know about a 4" extension bar, but if the sheath really is leather, you could probably stretch it out enough with some alcohol. Note, my tool has not made it to the EDC rotation yet, but the snap on the case is already broken. YMMV
 
Leatherman has numerous tools to meet specific needs.

IMHO, great quality and even better customer service!

I've only had one other brand multi-tool. It was an early version Buck that was less than ideal :thumbsdow( and I have been a life-long Buck user).
 
Victorinox Spirit , best build quality , best /most usable implement density .

Only drawback is lack of a one handed blade , no biggie for me , I always have an OH folder . With the exception of the Skeletool , multi's have very poor knife ergo's anyway .

Another draw back for the Vic. is the lack of a pocket clip . If thats a problem , their is an aftermarket clip available .

Chris
 
Vic now has two different multitools. There is the SwissTool, and the Spirit (and the Spirit Plus). I love the Spirit. The fit and finish is supurb. The deluxe package comes with a little ratchet set also, which has some extra bits.
Exactly my sentiments here. Hope you find what you're looking for and Enjoy! :D
 
Personally I love my Skeletool, but to meet all of your requirements, minus the ruler, I think the Gerber Suspension fits.
 
I would tend to stay away from Gerber , build quality is spotty , and I decline to say what it's spotted with !

Chris
 
I hear that sometimes, but a boilermaker friend of mine has had one for a while now, and has never had any issues...
 
Second on the Skeletool, but does not meet every requirement.

The weight and quality of the (I believe CX) was what attracted me to it. No handle flex, excellent tolerances and a nice S30V blade that I would have expected on a Blue Class Benchmade.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000XU43IC/?tag=cpf0b6-20

Personally I love my Skeletool, but to meet all of your requirements, minus the ruler, I think the Gerber Suspension fits.
 
I'm a foundry engineer who uses this guy:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001MYYO28/?tag=cpf0b6-20

the SOG power assist. a great tool. when we sit around an play "show-and-tell" with our tools, the other engineers always see my SOG mulit tool and say " i wish i had bought one of those." here's how it matches up to your requests.

-Full size
-Quality pliers, I like the kind with a bit of a hole near the joint so you can grab small bolt head and turn it. The tool should be sturdy with little flex on the handles when using the pliers. - the pliers part of this tool really stands out. very sturdy, and the double fulcrum adds power.
-Quality holster that can be worn on a standard pants belt. A snap top would be best, but I could live with velcro. - a leather holster with no snap feature, but i'll outlast the belt it's attached to.
-Flat head screw drivers. 3-4 sizes would be great. From 1/8" (or even a bit smaller) to 3/8" or even a bit larger would be good.
-Phillips screw drivers. 2-3 sizes would be nice.
- comes with 2 flat, 1 phillips, but it's customizable. you can add what ever you want.
-Knive. - included, but i carry another blade just for ease of access.
-A very good build. This will get used daily and pretty hard. - it's solid. trust me. it's outlasted a few craftsman hand tools (although we seriously put them through hell)
-The tools lock when extended and you need to engage some type of release to return them to the closed position. - it's got it.

Stuff my old one had that would be great but not totally necessary.

-All the tools with the exception of the pliers could be accessed without fully opening the tool. - nope, their guarded pretty good. you gotta open the tool and the guard.
-A metric ruler on one side and a standard on the other. With the tool fully open it could be arranged to give you a full 8" ruler. The markings for the ruler were stamped into the metal so it could not wear off over time. - it's got a standard ruler, not metric. who uses metric? are you Canadian?
-In addition to a standard knive it had a knife with a serrated blade. - comes with a partially serrated knife
-It could be opened fully with the screwdriver bits being offset so that the tool acted like one long screw driver with the head of the open screw driver bit centered on the axis of the opened tool. (The plier tips of course stuck out the side in this position).
-A wire cutter function would be nice but not necessary. - i've used the cutter to cut chain link fence.
 
I personally love my Imperial Schrade STINCP Schrade Tool. It has very high durability as I have had it for several years now and it is still holding up great. You can access all of the tools while it is open or closed and the main blades lock into place securely. With a little practice, the pliers can be deployed with one hand if needed in kind of a butterfly knife motion but the tools need two hands to open and get into place.

A quick search found it listed for about $25.00 so I am sure it could be found a little cheaper with some digging.

The only drawback you would see is the case is not leather but nylon with a velcro closure. I have had no problems with mine but I haven't used it as often as I have used the tool. I normally drop it into a side pocket on my carpenter pants and it rides for the day. I love the design of the pliers as they seem to be a great all purpose compromise between needle nose and normal pliers. Not the best for all jobs but good enough to get done what I need to do (isn't that the point of a tool like this in the first place?)

Overall, I would not hesitate to buy the exact same tool again if mine were to ever break or become lost. A leather case surely exists and could be found with a little searching if that is really what you want. Hope this helps you.
 
Wow I didn't think they still made the Schrade tool, I've had one of those for ages now.

My latest tool is a SOG Power Assist, quite like it.
 
i use multitools on daily basis for 10 years or so. i tried many.
Gerber-slide out pliers, are ok but i don't find them comfortable, you need to slide out needle nose and open it to get asses to the blade, steel quality is good.
leatherman wave, surge are the best imo, quality is great, cc is awesome. design is great too, easy asses blades, files..ect.
interchangeable cutting inserts are also great.
i wouldn't use anything else.
as for victorinox, i had one many years ago, got it for my birthday, tool looked great fit and finish excellent, but it is more of a show piece that a tool, within a week pliers wouldn't stay aligned, and got loose, so i stopped using it.
 
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On the cheaper end, I've got a Gerber Suspension that's served me well for about a year. It's pretty and has good pliers, but the holster velcro is starting to be weak, and I've had to tighten the hinge bolt (torx screwdriver, not a rivet). It's not particularly nice, but then I won't feel too bad when I inevitably drop it in a hole.
 
I've been using the leatherman charge tti now for about a month and love it. It meets all your requirements listed. You can get extra bits as well as the extender you need and it all fits nicely in the pouch. I have the nylon with velcor but it also comes in leather. A nice feature if you use the pliers alot, the tool can be holstered open as there is a hole in the bottom to allow the pliers to go through. Just my 2 cents.
 
I have long been looking for a everyday use multi tool and I was stucked by the full size and pocket size problem.
I once have my palm injured as a result of small pliers which didn't fit on the nut. So I decided not to buy a keychain model. I asked my friends who use such tools on field an other hard works and all told me to buy Leatherman (may be because such things are scarce in TR)
Now I decided to buy Leatherman Juice XE6 as a pocket size, as I sometimes need corkscrew a lot although I don't drink wine :)
If not for corkscrew, I would but Wave or other full size ones.
Regards,
TT
 
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