Where to Run in Texas

Score: 4.2

Gerber set out to solve two main issues with multitool screwdrivers: being too short to reach into tight spaces, and the off-center nature of the driver being biased to one side of the tool. The Center-Drive was the company’s answer. It has a three-inch hex bit driver, which, when folded out, aligns with the center of the tool, making spinning the tool easier and preventing the frame from banging into the side of what you’re working on with every revolution. If you have to screw or drive fasteners often, you’ll love this feature. While there is a bit holder in the tool, the sheath has a separate pouch to hold extra bits. The other unusual feature is the slide-out pliers, with replaceable three-sided blades for the wire cutter. We did notice a little play in the pliers and sliding mechanism—we knocked it a little for that—but the pliers, cutters, and wire stripper did work well enough. Both plain and serrated knife blades were quite sharp and capable of carving and cutting into wood and branches. The bottle opener was effective, although it did cut into the cap a little, due to its slim width. Other than the plain knife and driver, the other tools require sliding open the pliers and pulling them out from between the handles, which is awkward at times. The included sheath can slip over a belt or through a backpack strap.

Score: 3.7

SOG’s diminutive, keychain-sized Snippet is built around a pair of surprisingly large and useful scissors, getting away from hard-core tool-oriented functions. The scissors, which have arms that loop around your fingers, cut intricate shapes very accurately—they were a pleasure to use. Each side of the Snippet houses three tools, all of which we found useful, although we’re a little uneasy about using a toothpick that’s been in our pocket for days. One side has a plain knife (very sharp), the aforementioned toothpick, and a bottle opener. The other side has a flat screwdriver, a pair of tweezers, and a nail file/cleaner.

Score: 4.2

The Wave+ is a capable tool with 18 functions. One of the best is the needle-nose pliers, which taper to a fairly fine point to get a grip in tight spaces. They also feature replaceable cutting edges on the wire cutters and have smooth, rounded edges on the handles. The cutters are effective on fine telephone wire or 12-gauge copper wire, as well as harder steel bailing wire. If cutting through wood is important to you, the saw blade is up to the task. As for maple branches and scrap two-inch x three-inch lumber, it cut cleanly through both. The cutting edge is wider than the trailing edge of the blade, so as the blade slices into something the sides don’t drag on the sides of the kerf. The plain and serrated knife blades were quite sharp—there wasn’t a task they couldn’t handle. While the standard file was adequate, we found the diamond-coated one specifically worked very well for fine jobs, like smoothing burrs on metal edges. The Wave+ has two screwdriver tools, one large and one small. The bits on both are reversible, with standard and Phillips tips on opposite ends. The smaller bits are perfect for emergency eyeglass repair; the larger will work for many average screws. We found the scissors worked well, although a little fickly when opening or putting them away—they need to be opened completely to store, rather than closed completely. Overall, the Wave+ is a competent multitool when it comes to all manner of cutting, grabbing, and screw driving.

Score: 3

Rovertac’s 12-in-1 initially caught our eye because users on Amazon rated it 4.5 stars, and we wanted to test some less expensive options. While it might be a little bulky and heavy, we have to admit it’s a decent value. We don’t expect it to hold up to heavy use, but in a “save your butt” kind of capacity, most of the tools functioned acceptably. The long-nosed pliers work reasonably well, as did the wire stripper, and we rated the wire cutter four out of five. The can and bottle openers worked OK, as did the various screwdrivers. RoverTac claims the tool includes a saw blade, but it’s more like a serrated knife, which worked, just not great. The plain knife blade was sharper than it looked and easily cut through rope and twine. The RoverTac multitool comes with a sewn nylon sheath to attach to your belt.

Score: 4.1

The SOG Powerlock features a clean, smooth design with rounded edges and tool frame covers. It can be opened with one hand and is very comfortable to hold. The 18 tools to choose from include five for fasteners: three sizes of flat screwdrivers, one Phillips screw driver, and a quarter-inch square drive to accept sockets (not included). The quarter-inch driver can be oriented 90 degrees from the tool body for more leverage, but the frame cover has to be popped off to use it this way. The Powerlock has a true needle-nose pliers machined down to a nice point, the jaws of which meet very tightly and accurately, making it easy to grip small things. The wire cutter and stripper also work very well, earning a 4.75 overall for the pliers. Most of the other tools performed up to snuff, with the bottle opener, can opener, awl, scissors, and ruler all scoring four. The partially serrated knife blade was very sharp and cut through several materials easily. The saw blade was a surprise—the aggressive teeth made quick work of maple tree branches. We liked the simple-to-operate locking creed, although fishing the tools out from under the frame cover was occasionally awkward. The Powerlock comes with a sewn nylon sheath that can clip on your belt while you’re wearing it, as opposed to being strung on your belt as you put it on.

Score: 4.1

The Free P2 is built with tight tolerances, evident in its smooth opening and closing action. You can open it with one hand, and it makes a gratifying click as the pliers handle locks in place. A nice feature of the P2 is tool accessibility—all of the implements can be folded out or in without opening the pliers. In fact, the only reason to open the tool is to use the pliers. We rated the pliers, with their tight pivot, strong grip, and replaceable wire-cutting blades, 4.5 out of 5. The wire stripper, included on the medium screwdriver, only really worked on wire of a specific size. However, the notch for hard wire worked well up to 12 gauge. A typical gripe of ours with can openers is that a wide tool frame can interfere with the can; but on the P2, the opener is the last tool on the row, so it’s perfectly positioned for clearance. The scissors cut well and were easy to manipulate cutting intricate shapes, while the combination plain/serrated knife blade was extremely sharp. Three flat screwdrivers were adequate, with the largest being made of thicker material to resist twisting. The Phillips screw driver is good on a wide range of sizes, and its flat stock folds into the tool frame smoothly. And finally, magnets ensure the frame stays closed when you want it to.

Score: 3.7

The Dime is one of Gerber’s smaller multitools, sized to fit on a keychain. Despite that, it’s still built around a pair of pliers, like larger multis. Those pliers and the wire cutters work well on small jobs, but be careful about trying to cut large, hard wires—the pressure it takes to cleave through may cause a sudden cut where the pliers snap closed. (There’s also the chance of pinching a little skin between the two halves of the frame when this happens. But in normal usage we had no issue.) Tiny scissors are included, and they work well, however the blade overlap is configured in a “lefty” orientation, so it’s tricky to cut accurately holding the Dime in your right hand. The tool includes flat and Phillips drivers, a plain knife blade, a wide convenient bottle opener, and tweezers. The tweezers were machined to a fine point, which made them better for digging splinters out.

Score: 4.5

Fresh out of the box, the SwissTool Spirit X impressed us with its fit and finish. The tools are packed into the frame very closely, like scientific instrumentation. With the exception of the pliers, all the tools deploy from the outside of the frame. You only need to open it to use the pliers, which eliminates wasted time fiddling with opening and closing it repeatedly if Victorinox had placed the 22 tools/functions on the inside. For the record, the company claims 24, but one is a coupling for a corkscrew that doesn’t come included with this model, and the other is a point to connect a lanyard. We’re not faulting Victorinox for this, though, because the tool is still great without counting those. While the needle-nose pliers with wire cutters, scissors, standard screw drivers (in three sizes), and the can opener were good, it was the others tools that really impressed us. This is the first multi we’ve tested that has a metal saw. The teeth run along the edge of the file, so we didn’t expect much, but it cut through mild steel hardware surprisingly well. And the file itself did a nice job cleaning up the edges when we were done. The Phillips screwdriver shank flares out at the end, so that all four points on the head are the same size, making for very solid engagement. The wire stripper and scraper both work effectively. Although we usually resort to using wire cutters as strippers, this open-sided notch, when used as a stripper, is sharp enough to quickly spin around a wire and pull back the insulation. The Spirit X’s bottle opener is made from wider stainless steel stock which keeps it flatter on a bottle cap, helps it engage more securely, and makes it less likely that the tip cuts into the cap. The combination reamer-punch efficiently opens up holes in wood, leather, and soft metals, and is capable of drilling holes through three-quarter-inch pine board. One last thing to note, the Spirit X is plus or minus one ounce lighter than several other multi tools with similar spec lists.