which multitool?

[::: :::]

i have a gerber multitool, and it is, quite frankly, awkward to use so i'm considering a leatherman skeletool but haven't handled one yet
[edit] i went back and looked; it's a gerber diesel


tell me about your multitool...
what is it?
why do you like it? weight? combination of tools? durability?

your experience and thoughts are appreciated, thanks!

[gregL]

Skeletool is not bad; knife and pliers are both burly, selection of tools is minimal but normally adequate. Bottle opener is a waste - they could have made the package quite a bit shorter by eliminating it. Unfortunately their solution to supplying a #3 PoziDrive head is to have you buy a $20 "Bit Kit" from them (and the bit is a flattened "compact" version) - I ground down a "real" one to fit.

http://www.randosaigai.com/leatherman090708_01.jpg

[::: :::]

skeletool caught my eye for not having a bunch of extra stuff...good to hear that it holds up to use well. good tip on the pozidrive

thanks gregL

[auvgeek]

Would have answered almost exactly as GregL. Like the tool, but don't know why they bothered with the bottle opener.

[XavierD]

I carry a Leatherman Wave pretty much everywhere. The tools are all get used, more so when I am in the out in the field, but quite a few get used day to day as well. Bigger scissors would have been nice. It is probably over kill if you just need it for around town.

SOG's are supper smooth, and great to use, did not have the right tool combination for me though.

I liked the Gerber Flick, just feel that it will jam up with mud or sand.

[oftpiste]

I made a gift of mine to TSA last month so shopping too. Fucker, I hope he enjoys it.

Must haves for me are burly enough screwdrivers to turn different kinds of binding screws and a corkscrew.

[auvgeek]

Must haves for me are [...] a corkscrew.

Why? I don't think I have ever used a corkscrew for anything other than opening wine, but maybe there's some mystical use of which I'm unaware.

[SimB]

I've got a Gerber Suspension, really happy with it. Really smooth to work with and feels really robust.

[XXX-er]

I never use my original leatherman ,often I do carry a swissarmy knife with the saw/scissors /lockblade /screwdriver even when I was a HW guy I passed on the leatehr man for the swiss army knife

the thing I really hate about my leatehrman is all the tools in the handle hurt my palms when I actualy want to use the thing

I always try to use a real tool instead

[skis_the_trees]

Leatherman Wave here. Very impressed with the overall quality of the tools. Real file, decent Philips head. Pliers are very high quality.

[Damon]

SOG's are supper smooth, and great to use, did not have the right tool combination for me though.

Big fan of SOG - every once in a while the powerassist shows up on steep and cheap.

[oftpiste]

Why? I don't think I have ever used a corkscrew for anything other than opening wine, but maybe there's some mystical use of which I'm unaware.

winner winner chicken dinner!

[altis]

CK Tools 6-in-1 tool set with custom bits - incl #3 pozi (86g/3.0oz):


Together with a Victorinox Mountaineers penknife that includes blade and scissors (82g/2.9oz).


No pliers though....

[hutash]

Scissors, cork screw, screw driver, pliers, blade...the short list of what is essential.

If you don't drink wine, or drink it from a box, forget the cork screw. For me it is a deal breaker.

[flipsRscary]

Another vote for the Wave for an all around tool. If you want to shave a couple grams and not give up anything, the charge is the same tool, but lighter for more money.

For a lighter tool I like the Gerber Clutch. While not ideal, the #2/#3 phillips on it has allowed me to re-adjust a Baron to trade skis a couple of times now without doing any damage to the screws.

All that said, I still like the look of the Skeletool and sort of want one. However looking at the specs objectively, it doesn't live up for me.

[Jethro]

I was in the Calgary airport hotel in April after a week of skiing out of a heli accessed hut. I had my wine, my multi-tool with no corkscrew, and a knife. I tried to screw every screw in the hotel room into my bottle's cork, but they all pulled out of the cork. After a half hour of trying to open the bottle, I went down the hall and borrowed a swiss army knife from a buddy. Problem solved. My tool is some Gerber, and it is pretty handy. It does have a shitty phillips screwdriver with interchangable tips, which have been lost, and a lack of the corkscrew. Those features would make it better

[MakersTeleMark]

I was in the Calgary airport hotel in April after a week of skiing out of a heli accessed hut. I had my wine, my multi-tool with no corkscrew, and a knife. I tried to screw every screw in the hotel room into my bottle's cork, but they all pulled out of the cork. After a half hour of trying to open the bottle, I went down the hall and borrowed a swiss army knife from a buddy. Problem solved. My tool is some Gerber, and it is pretty handy. It does have a shitty phillips screwdriver with interchangable tips, which have been lost, and a lack of the corkscrew. Those features would make it better

Why didn't you just use about anything to push the cork in? Sometimes it's not the tool, but the mechanic.

[lemonhead]

Does anybody know of a multitool that has pliers and a #3 pozi drive?

[summit]

CKRT Zilla Tool and just get a #3 pozi bit from the hardware store.

Zilla tool is the only multitool with both a GOOD LOCKING blade of usable length 3" (required to actually make use of a knife and safely), a real usable pliers that you can crank on without hurting yourself or breaking the tool, and standard interchangeable driver bits.



It's insanely burly, but at 7oz it's lighter than a Wave. One handed operation for all actions (this is important for survival). Also, at $28-40 it is very affordable! It does 3-5 things very well instead of 10-20 things so-so. Do I wish it had a saw and scissors? Yes, but I never used those anyways. The Skeletool competes with the Zilla Tool: Skeletool is 30% lighter but uses proprietary bits. Zilla Tool uses universal bits, is burlier, less expensive, more ergonomic, and has a bigger blade with serrations.

I also have a Zilla Tool Jr for lightweight. This version is smaller, lighter (3.8oz), cheaper $12-$30, but otherwise identical except needs an adapter to use standard interchangeable bits. It still has a functional 2.25" locking blade and is far burlier than any small sized tool I've ever seen... here there is no comparison. If you need a tiny tool, Zilla Tool Jr has no competition.

http://www.outdoorgoods.com/ProductD...44&click=34848
http://www.amazon.com/Columbia-River.../dp/B0017UVAOC

[hutash]

Why didn't you just use about anything to push the cork in? Sometimes it's not the tool, but the mechanic.

Sometimes the mechanic is a "tool" (FM)

Sometimes you just need to commit to drinking the whole bottle and just push the cork in.


Just an aside, but did you know it is extremely difficult to push the cork in on a bottle of riesling or gerwersterminer(sp?) That long skinny neck does not allow any air to escape.

[XXX-er]

S
Just an aside, but did you know it is extremely difficult to push the cork in on a bottle of riesling or gerwersterminer(sp?) That long skinny neck does not allow any air to escape.

that is what ski poles are for

I had to constantly adjust a bike seat on a bike I was renting in cuba with the pliers on a rostefrei and I was wishing for better pliers

AND the one tool I used MANY times in another life was a saw to make parts or enlarge holes in desks for computer cables I would never buy a swiss army (or multi tool ) without a good saw

[MakersTeleMark]

Does anybody know of a multitool that has pliers and a #3 pozi drive?

http://www.wildsnow.com/3493/backcountry-skiing-tool/

[XXX-er]

you should be able to buy a PZ3 bit to fit in any multi tool OR T-tool that will take standard bits but then you gotta make sure it is long enough to fit thru your binding

[Jethro]

Why didn't you just use about anything to push the cork in? Sometimes it's not the tool, but the mechanic.

Since I hardly ever do not finish a bottle when sharing it, good question.

[DoWork]

http://www.wildsnow.com/3493/backcountry-skiing-tool/

Fuckin beat me to it!

OP, I'll buy your gerber if you want to get rid of it. I used to have the same one and liked it.