COOL TOOLS: MULTITOOLS FOR EVERY OCCASION

Multitools are arguably the heavyweight champs of the EDC world. They pinch, slice, snip, screw, hammer, and can even lend a hand in fire starting. Each tool on a multitool may not be the most premium one you’d otherwise own, but the multitool’s specialty is in being a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

And one of the most appealing things about multitools is that not all are created equal.

Each one may have different tools to offer, and each compilation of tools is often designed for a different lifestyle or trade. Your own set of indispensable tools may differ vastly from the guy’s down the street.

Have a look at the Multitools Buyer’s Guide 2023:

GERBER GEAR: GERBER STAKE OUT

GERBER STAKE OUT

Overall Length: 6.6 inches
Closed Length: 4.5 inches
Blade Length: 2.2 inches
Blade Steel: 5Cr15MoV
Handle Material: Stainless steel
Locking Mechanism: Liner lock
Weight: 3.32 ounces
Origin: China
Tools: Knife blade, scissors, saw, awl, stake puller, file, tweezer, bottle opener, ruler, ferro rod striker
MSRP: $55

GerberGear.com

Flexcut Carving Tools: FLEXCUT CARVIN’ JACK 2.0

FLEXCUT CARVIN’ JACK 2.0

Closed Length: 4.25 inches
Blade Thickness: 0.05 inch
Blade Material: 1095 carbon steel
Handle Material: Aluminum
Locking Mechanism: Clip lock
Sheath Material: Leather belt sheath (fits any in Carvin’ Jack collection)
Weight: 4.4 ounces
Origin: USA
Tools: Detail knife (1.5 inches), hook knife (radius 0.75 inch), gouge scorp,straight gouge, V-scorp, pelican knife
Other: SlipStrop and Flexcut Gold 6-ounce polishing compound included
MSRP: $179.95

Flexcut.com

Flexcut Carving Tools: FLEXCUT Pocket JACK 2.0

FLEXCUT Pocket JACK 2.0

Closed Length: 4.25 inches
Blade Thickness: 0.05 inch
Blade Material: 1095 carbon steel
Handle Material: Aluminum
Locking Mechanism: Clip lock
Weight: 3.9 ounces
Origin: USA
Tools: 1.5-inch detail knife, gouge scorp, straight gauge, V-scorp
MSRP: $104.95

Flexcut.com

Flexcut Carving Tools

FLEXCUT Spoon Carvin’ JACK 2.0

FLEXCUT Spoon Carvin’ JACK 2.0

Closed Length: 4.25 inches
Blade Thickness: 0.05 inch
Blade Material: 1095 carbon steel
Handle Material: Aluminum
Locking Mechanism: Clip lock
Weight: 3.9 ounces
Origin: USA
Tools: Pelican knife, variable radius hook knife (radius 0.375 to 0.5 inch), gouge scorp, hook knife (radius: 0.75 inch)
MSRP: $139.95

Flexcut.com

LEATHERMAN CURL

Talk about your jack-of-all-trades. One of Leatherman’s latest, the Curl is a pretty classic multitool, featuring 15 tools at a mid-range price of $89.95.

Weighing in at 7.5 ounces, it’s lighter than a few of its beefier brethren (such as the Wave Plus, which is the model that inspired the Curl) but gives you more bang for your buck than other more specialized multitools. You might even call the Curl a Goldilocks of multitools; it has just enough tools—no bells and whistles.

Closed, it’s a reasonable 4 inches and open, it’s 6.25. Its primary blade is just shy of 3 inches long, which is one of the longer blades offered among Leatherman’s wares. The Curl comes in one color—that of its 420HC stainless steel body— and is accompanied by a simple, black nylon belt sheath.

LEATHERMAN CURL

With the Curl, you get the basics: pliers, wire cutters, a knife, a large bit driver, a medium flathead screwdriver, scissors, a file, an awl, a can/bottle opener and a small ruler engraved into the length of one of the arms. All of these features add up to be perfect for a slightly heavier-duty EDC multitool that you can carry in your pocket with the removable pocket clip, or in the belt sheath.

My favorite thing about the Curl is the spring-action scissors, which work really well. However, my least favorite thing was getting the scissors back into their housing. If not done properly, the multitool won’t close right and the scissors will jam, but it was hard to tell whether they were actually folded into the housing correctly.

The scissors seem to fold into the housing a variety of ways, and though there really is only one way to do it properly, that one way is not immediately clear. It took some experimentation, but once I figured out that the scissors must be opened all the way before they can fold, things were much peachier. The Curl would make an ideal companion for anyone wanting a few more tools than the most basic, glorified bottle openers/package openers will offer, but fewer than an 18- or 21-tool beast.

Specifications

LEATHERMAN CURL

LEATHERMAN CURL

Closed Length: 4 inches
Open Length: 6.25 inches
Primary Blade Length: 2.9 inches
Weight: 7.5 ounces
Width: 1.24 inches
Overall Thickness: 0.6 inch
Material: 420HC stainless steel
Tools: Needle-nose pliers, regular pliers, hard-wire cutters, wire cutters, wire stripper, 420HC knife, large bit driver, spring-action scissors, diamond-coated file, can opener, bottle opener, awl with thread loop, ruler (4 inches), wood/metal file, medium screwdriver
Sheath: Black nylon
MSRP: $89.95

Leatherman.com

SOG KNIVES

SOG FLASH MT

SOG FLASH MT

Overall Length: 5.6 inches
Closed Length: 3.4 inches
Blade Length: 2.4 inches
Blade Steel: D2
Weight: 4.7 ounces
Origin: China
Tools: Compound leverage pliers, wire cutter, magnetic bit holder with Phillips and flathead bit, bottle opener, assisted-opening blade, large flathead screwdriver.
MSRP: $69.95

SOGKnives.com

Gerber Gear

GERBER LOCKDOWN SLIM PRY

GERBER LOCKDOWN SLIM PRY

Overall Length: 7.56 inches
Closed Length: 3.87 inches
Blade Length: 2.5 inches
Blade Material: 5Cr15MoV
Handle Material: Stainless steel
Locking Mechanism: Frame lock
Weight: 4 ounces
Origin: China
Tools: Knife blade, cast pry bar, bottle opener, scissors, small and large flat screwdrivers, nail puller
MSRP: $45

GerberGear.com

Victorinox

VICTORINOX SWISS TOOL MXBS

VICTORINOX SWISS TOOL MXBS

Closed Length: 4.5 inches
Weight: 10.4 ounces
Color: Black
Tools: Chisel 7 mm and scraper, wire stripper, wire scraper, screwdriver (7.5 mm), crate opener, sturdy, ruler (cm), metal saw, metal file, screwdriver (2 mm), Phillips screwdriver (½), scissors, bottle opener, screwdriver (5 mm), wire bender, large blade, can opener, screwdriver (3 mm), needle-nose pliers, soft wire cutter, hard wire cutter, wire crimper, reamer, punch
MSRP: $210
Victorinox.com

GERBER GEAR DUAL-FORCE

One of Gerber’s innovations is the center-axis driver, which is a screwdriver that extends fArther than most multitool drivers to offer more torque and rotation. If your multitool needs are less EDC-focused and more real-tool focused, Gerber Gear’s latest Dual-Force model may be worth a gander.

At 12 ounces, the Dual-Force is a bit of a chonker, but that’s not without its advantages. The extra weight is due to the layered construction of the pliers and meaty handles, not to the amount of tools included—which, if your main objective is pliers- or screwdriver-oriented, shouldn’t deter you.

GERBER GEAR DUAL-FORCE

Although Gerber claims that the Dual-Force has 12 tools, I feel that’s a bit of a stretch. After all, three of those 12 tools are features of the blunt-nose pliers, as the jaws have both small and larger fasteners. The other tools include a two-position slip-joint jaw (yet another feature of the pliers), a wire cutter/stripper (cutting, yes; I couldn’t get it to strip wire), a center-axis screwdriver and two interchangeable bits, a plain-edge blade, a saw and a fine/coarse file with a chisel edge (all of which come in that cool, tactical black). It also comes with a black nylon sheath. One of the included tools is a “frame lock,” but I don’t count this because it’s not really a tool; rather, it’s a feature that several of the tools have that enables those tools to lock/unlock.

After spending some time with the Dual-Force, a few things came to light. For one, the center-axis driver is pretty rad and definitely much more useful than your average multitool screwdriver. The handspan of the handles is also supposedly 47% narrower than other multitools, which does make for a more comfortable grip with more power behind it.

Another thing I liked was the chisel edge on the file, which is a simple yet useful addition. While the plain-edge knife is both longer than on other multitools and comes fairly sharp, the saw was underwhelming. At first glance, it looks nice and wicked, but in action, it doesn’t cut as well as the other saw featured on this list. The angle of the teeth seems to be a little boxy, as opposed to wedged, so the teeth get hung up more easily when cutting. However, if you’re more interested in grippy jaws and torque than cutting features, the
Dual-Force won’t disappoint.

Specifications

GERBER DUAL-FORCE

GERBER DUAL-FORCE

Closed Length: 4.65 inches
Open Length: 7.65 inches
Blade Length: 3.25 inches
Weight: 12 ounces
Width: 1.88 inches
Overall Thickness: 0.84 inch
Tools: Blunt-nose layered construction jaws, fastener pliers, regular pliers, adjustable two-size slip-joint jaw, wire cutters, wire stripper, 3.25-inch knife, 3.35-inch center-drive axis tech, saw, fine/coarse file, chisel edge, #1 and #2 cross drive, medium flathead driver, ruler (8 inches)
Sheath: Black nylon
MSRP: $110

GerberGear.com

Leatherman Tool Group, Inc.

LEATHERMAN RAPTOR RESCUE

GERBER DUAL-FORCE

Overall Length: 8 inches
Closed Length: 5 inches
Blade Length: 1.9 inches
Blade Steel: 420HC stainless steel
Handle Material: Glass-filled nylon, carbide
Sheath Material:  Black, injection-molded polymer
Weight: 5.8 ounces
Tools: Folding shears, strap cutter, ring cutter, ruler (cm), oxygen tank wrench, carbide glass breaker
MSRP: $89.95

Leatherman.com

Knife Center

VICTORINOX SWISS ARMY PIONEER X

VICTORINOX SWISS ARMY PIONEER X

(Knife Center exclusive)

Closed Length: 3.7 inches
Blade Steel: Stainless steel
Handle Material: Red Alox
Weight: 3.35 ounces
Tools: Large knife blade, scissors, reamer/punch, can opener, bottle opener, 3 mm screwdriver, 5 mm screwdriver, wire stripper
Origin: Switzerland
Other: Key ring
MSRP: $49.99

KnifeCenter.com

Ontario Knife Company

ONTARIO RAT-3 GOBAR

ONTARIO RAT-3 GOBAR

Overall Length: 7.81 inches
Blade Length: 3.5 inches
Blade Steel: 1075 carbon steel, phosphate coated
Handle Material: Micarta
Sheath Material: Nylon
Origin: USA
Tools: Knife blade, chisel head
MSRP: $91.95

OntarioKnife.com

Victorinox

VICTORINOX SWISS TOOL SPIRIT MX CLIP

VICTORINOX SWISS TOOL SPIRIT MX CLIP

Closed Length: 4.1 inches
Weight: 7.7 ounces
Color: Gray
Tools: Carry clip, Phillips screwdriver (1/2), can opener, screwdriver (3 mm), scissors, reamer, punch, pulling hook, large blade, lanyard hole, coupling for corkscrew, needle-nose pliers, soft wire cutter, hard wire cutter, chisel (7 mm) and scraper, cable cover longitudinal cutter, cable cover crossways cutter, wire stripper and scraper, bottle opener, screwdriver (6 mm), crate opener, wire bender, metal saw, metal file, screwdriver (2 mm)
MSRP: $162

Victorinox.com

SOG POWERACCESS ASSIST MT

SOG POWERACCESS ASSIST MT

Overall Length: 6.82 inches
Blade Length: 2.74 inches
Blade Steel: 5CR15MOV
Weight: 10.7 ounces
Tools: Inch and mm rulers, assisted serrated blade, chisel, awl, 1/4” driver, assisted saw, needle-nose pliers, gripper, soft wire cutter, assisted blade, can opener/small flat head, Phillips #2, bottle opener/large flat head, jewelry driver, assisted hook cutter, wire crimper, bevel gauge, magnetic bit holder
Other: Nylon sheath, 12-piece hex bit kit, assisted opening blades, compound leverage pliers, one-handed opening access to tools
MSRP: $99.95

SOGKnives.com

LEATHERMAN SIGNAL

Outdoorswoman that I am, I was pumped to get my hands on the Leatherman Signal. This multitool was designed specifically for use in the woods but is versatile enough to function as an EDC as well.

At 7.5 ounces, it’s only a couple ounces heavier than whatever folder pocketknife you’re likely carrying, but it has enough utility that you might opt to leave your regular blade at home (at least for shorter excursions).

Closed, the Signal is compact and feels nice in hand; open, the handles are narrow enough to be comfortable and effective. One of my favorite things about the Signal is that it comes in eight different color schemes, each more stylish than the last (dare I say Arc’teryx-stylish, even).

Some people may not like that there are a few plastic bits on this model (each in a complementary color to the body), but I didn’t find that offensive.

LEATHERMAN SIGNAL

The Signal’s EDC/versatile features include pliers, wire cutters (which can actually be replaced on this model), wire strippers, a 420HC knife with a combination plain and serrated edge, an awl with thread loop, both a can opener and bottle opener, and a bit driver.

The woodsier tools are the 1/4-inch and 3/16-inch box wrenches (for tightening camping-gear nuts), the saw, the hammer (mostly for tamping down tent stakes), a carabiner, safety whistle, ferro rod and diamond-coated sharpener, and a 1/4-inch hex bit driver with a two-sided Phillips head/flathead screwdriver bit. The multitool also comes with a black nylon sheath.

The combo knife comes very sharp from the factory, and the saw works brilliantly. Most of the other features work as expected, neither blowing me away nor giving me sad face.

The hammer is actually pretty nifty, and the carabiner is a clever addition that gives you another carry option. But despite all the little “ooh’s” I had with the Signal, it does have a few hang-ups. One is the “sharpener,” which is so small that I’m unsure how useful it would actually be if you really needed it to perform. It’s a bit more novelty than utility.

LEATHERMAN SIGNAL

Another eyebrow-raiser was the ferro rod/safety whistle. With effort, I could get it to spark using the thicker spine of the knife (but not the saw’s), but it’s so small and difficult to hold that it also borders on novelty over utility. Lastly, to this day, I haven’t been able to extract the awl from its housing without the use of another multitool’s pliers, which is a bummer but also could be just an issue with the particular tool I received.

Specifications

LEATHERMAN SIGNAL

LEATHERMAN SIGNAL

Closed Length: 4.5 inches
Open Length: 6.75 inches
Blade Length: 2.73 inches
Weight: 7.5 ounces
Width: 1.5 inches
Overall Thickness: 0.63 inch
Materials: 420HC stainless steel, DLC coating, Cerakote
Included Tools: Needle-nose pliers, regular pliers, replaceable wire cutters, replaceable hard-wire cutters, wire stripper, 420HC combo knife, saw, hammer, awl with thread loop, can opener, bottle opener, ¼-inch hex bit driver, ¼-inch box wrench, carabiner, 3/16-inch box wrench, safety whistle, ferrocerium rod, diamond sharpener
Included Bits: Phillips #1-2 and 3/16-inch screwdriver
Colors: Stainless Steel, Black, Gray, Green, Coyote Tan, Aqua, Cobalt, Crimson
Sheath: Black nylon
MSRP: $129.95

Leatherman.com

Editor’s Note:

A version of this article first appeared in the Jan/Feb 2023 print issue of Knives Illustrated Buyer’s Guide.