CRKT‘s new multitool is a departure from the typical multi bladed tool design which most of us are familiar. This tool has a blade and screw drivers, but also features a saw and box wrenches. It will be priced at $49.99, but doesn’t seem to be available just yet. What do you think? Would you carry this tool? The design looks interesting, but I’m not so sure the handle would feel very comfortable in your hand while actually using the tools.
Gadgeteer Comment Policy - Please read before commenting
Where’s the pliers??????
More importantly- is there a Skinth for that?
I will stick w/my Skeletool by Leatherman
Julie, i think you know better than others, that all this tools made for carrying and not for using =)
For me, the deal breaker is not being able to attach the screw driver bits onto the multi-tool itself. I’d prefer something that I can carry as a single unit.
With the lack of pliers, i wonder if comparing it to a SAK would be more appropriate.
It’s just that a pliers is so often useful, I won’t get a multi-tool that lacks them. My current favorite is a Leatherman Juice CS4 – it’s the smallest multi-tool I have found with really good pliers. It also has scissors, screwdrivers, and a corkscrew I have actually used.
i do have a carbon skeletool (with pliers) that i throw into my man-purse for just-in-case… but to be honest, i can’t remember the last-time that a situation arose that i exclaimed “ooh, i’m glad i had pliers with me”. My go-to is usually my Cold Steel AK-47 (mini) clip-knife for my regular “un-boxing/un-packaging” situations.
My EDC is a Leatherman Squirt PS4, and even in an urban environment I find the pliers useful for all sorts of jobs from pulling scraps of paper out of printers, crimping things, holding things etc.
I also have a Squirt s2 for those bigger jobs and a Skeletool for the even bigger ones.
See a pattern ?? 🙂
Oops, a Juice S2 .
And for me the most useless tool on a Multi-tool is a saw !
welp, I can’t see how those box wrenches would get enough leverage from such a short handle to be actually useful. anyone who tried to undo a jammed bike axle knows what I’m talking about.
also, the bit holder concept is fragile. Gerber did that and the odds of breaking the tool that holds the bit holder (sic) are quite high when dealing with a stubborn screw.
TL;DR: meh, I’ll pass.
I’ve had a leatherman attached to my hip since 1992. First the original, then the “ORIGINAL” wave. I still have the Wave. However this tool piques my interest. Specifically the built in wrench. It probably would not replace my Leatherman however it might replace my Buck
Not being able to the bits internally seems like a bad design decision. I see this as very much a ‘special use’ tool. Good for people that have a very narrow task at hand. One that needs special bits for example. The lack of pliers makes it too much of a uni-tasker for me. I carry a SwissTool (1st generation). And I use almost every took in it on a regular basis. I would miss them with this model.
Tetsubo: Me too! I actually use it as a hammer to drive in small nails and needles (I do book binding) 😀