# best small multi-tool



## the_beast (Jan 19, 2006)

I'm looking for a small multi-tool for everyday carry, but I can't find one that fits my needs perfectly.

I want something as small as possible, but it must have pliars, scissors and a blade. A screwdriver or two would be handy too.

I almost bought the Leatherman Micra, but it has no pliars. Similarly the Squirt P4 has no scissors. The Swiss Tool Spirit is a little large and the Cybertool (the only pocket knife type tool I saw that has pliars) is a little chunky (and expensive). The pliars also look very weak. I didn't find anything from Gerber that was small either.

I've seen a few small no-name multi-tools in various shops that look like they would fit the bill, but in my experience most of these tend to be made out of a metal similar in strength to butter.

Any suggestions?


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## greenLED (Jan 19, 2006)

haven't seen a small multi-tool with scissors AND pliers; seems like the trade off one for the other. I have Micra - been on my keychain for years.


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## Lee1959 (Jan 19, 2006)

Best small tool I have found is the SAK Midnight Manager. For a tool 1/2 X 1/2 by about 2 inches long it has a knife blade, straight screw driver, nail file, scissors, can opener, wire stripper, philips screw driver, ink pen, and Red Led light. Its hard to beat for size and use. It doesnt have your pliers, but it beats those small twiswty key ring jobs in my opinion, and I have used both. 








A big step up is the SAK Cyber tool, but it has a LOT of functions, and is handy all out of proprtion to its size. I have had one since it first came out and it is too handy. But the Midmight Manager is the one I am NEVER without , even when wearing a suit and tie.


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## LouRoy (Jan 19, 2006)

You might start here:

http://www.keychain-tools.com/

They have an interesting collection of small tools.


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## eart (Jan 19, 2006)

check out leatherman's juice series. i personally ordered the CS4 version - everything you requested and more.



. The only worry is, how pocketable it really is, at about 3.5"+.. i ordered one, i'll post up my impressions here.

Here's a link to all the juices: http://www.leatherman.com/products/tools/juice.asp


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## bexteck (Jan 19, 2006)

second on the Leatherman Juice as long as it isn't too big for you.


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## not2bright (Jan 19, 2006)

Give up the scissors and go with the Squirt P4. Perfectly pocketable size (on my keyring) and the pliers work suprisingly well. Rather than the scissors the wire cutter for cutting bigger objects, and the knife works for smaller cutting tasks.

I looked at the S4 but went with the P4. Thankfully, as I find a use for the pliers far more than I would have the scissors and tweezers.

The small size of the P4 will leave more room for lights.


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## Flying Turtle (Jan 19, 2006)

I have a small Micra-sized multi with pliers and scissors, but it's pretty poor quality. I think it's made/marketed buy Coast, and I believe I got it at WalMart for around $5-6. The pliers are okay, but the scissors are too small. The other blades/tools are passable. Stopped carrying it in favor of my old Micra, mainly because of the great scissors. My measure of scissor quality is whether they can cut toe nails. The Micra passes that as does the little SAK.

Geoff


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## d'mo (Jan 19, 2006)

The mini-Buck tool has both scissors and pliers and is smaller than the Leatherman Squirt tools. I don't think it's still in production.


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## the_beast (Jan 19, 2006)

Pity - that minibuck looks exactly what i'm looking for. Shame I can't find anywhere that still has them (even eBay :mecry

Looks like it'll have to be the Squirt P4 then. Shame they couldn't have put scissors in instead of the file on the P4.

Thanks for the suggestions.


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## AngelEyes (Jan 19, 2006)

You could always carry two small multi tools like the Leatherman Squirt S4 AND the P4.


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## Deanster (Jan 20, 2006)

I'm a huge fan of my Juice S2 - MUCH slimmer than the CS4, you get decent pliers, the larger scissors, a real phillips-head, and it's very pocketable. I think it's a much better compromise between size and function than the Squirts, unless you really need it to go on a keychain.


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## Safety1st (Jan 20, 2006)

I have a Swiss Champ, complete with leather pouch and assessories...

I wasn't going to sell it..but it's in my drawer doing nothing...

$50

:wow:


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## CLHC (Jan 20, 2006)

Like some of the others here that mentioned the Leatherman Juice S2, I like it and find it very practical and functional for my needs. Of course I use it in conjunction with the Leatherman Charge XTi. . .

"*Best Small Multi-Tool*"—How about looking into the SOG Multi-Tool line or SeberTech's SeberTool M4?

http://www.knifecenter.com/knifecenter/seber/seber4.html

Hope you find what you're looking for and Enjoy!


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## offroadcmpr (Jan 20, 2006)

Is there any company that can do custom order type multi tools. There are so many times where I have a useless tool on my knife, that I would have liked to have a different one instead. It would be a design your own knife, putting what ever tools you want on it.

I can see some one like leatherman doing it.


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## bubbacatfish (Jan 20, 2006)

It's really surprising no one has tried modding multitools yet, considering what's been done with flashlights & knives in the last couple of years...


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## Planterz (Jan 20, 2006)

I'm a huge fan of the Squirt S4. IMO, it's a far superior tool to the Micra, with more comfortable handles (both open or closed), closed-position blade access (and your keys aren't in the way of the blade), and better tweezers. The only disadvantage IMO compared to the Micra is that the anodization wears very easily. My blue one looked like crap, so I replaced it with a storm (grey/silver) one, which hides wear better.

I've recently added a SwissBit to my keychain (small SAK with 512mb flash memory), so I thought of switching to the Squirt P4 since the scissors on both are redundant, but I much prefer the nail file/cleaner on the S4 (when you make hundereds of pizzas a day, your fingernails tend to get gunk under them).

A reminder; the Squirt S4 does have tweezers. Not quite pliars, but they still come in handy.

If you're willing to go bigger-than-keychain sized, I vote for either the Leatherman Juice S2 or the V'nox Cybertool 34. The Cybertool 42 is rather wide and heavy for pocket carry. There is the new Cybertool Lite for the flashaholic in all of us, which expands the 34 to include a white LED and a magnafying lens. I carry a Cybertool 29 myself (since I have scissors on my keychain and pliars, file, and saw on my LM XTi that I keep in my backpack). The interchangable bit system is 10 tools in one. 4 2-sided bits, and the driver itself is a 4/5mm hex driver. And it so happens that most of my knives have T8 or T10 TORX pivot screws, which is nice, since I'm often tightening up the swing of my balisong.


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## teststrips (Jan 20, 2006)

Found the Minibuck 350 for sale on ebay. Hard to tell what you are looking at on seller's page http://cgi.ebay.com/BUCK-MINI-TOOL-...oryZ1403QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Hard to tell what you are looking at, but you can see other pics here http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=minibuck 350&btnG=Google+Search&sa=N&tab=wi
Also found an on-line store carrying it.
http://www.onlinesports.com/pages/I,BUC-350.html


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## eart (Jan 20, 2006)

bubbacatfish said:


> It's really surprising no one has tried modding multitools yet, considering what's been done with flashlights & knives in the last couple of years...



Sure they do. I've seen people "break" micras in half and only keep the tools that they need. Kinda nifty, but why not get a SAK then? Seem there's one For everyone out there.


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## SolarFlare (Jan 20, 2006)

How about this little fella in the middle










Then it goes full size  






Unfortunately its got no scissors, however leatherman scissors are on the whole a load of crap in comparison to SAK's so get a minichamp to compliment it. It does have a blade, file, flat head screwdriver and 2 bottle openers......perfect :buddies: :drunk:


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## Kingfisher (Jan 20, 2006)

I go with the Juice.
Here's mine...


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## LouRoy (Jan 20, 2006)

Hey, Solarflare,

Could you tell us the name of that tool? Thank you!


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## AJ_Dual (Jan 20, 2006)

I know two tools isn't an answer you might want to hear, but how about this:

A Squirt S4 for the blades and scissors, AND a SwissTech Micro-Pliers on the key-ring.

http://www.quickknife.com/s22222.html It's not much bigger than a coin-cell light.


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## SolarFlare (Jan 20, 2006)

Its the leatherman mini tool LouRoy, I don't think they make them anymore, but there's plenty still available


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## Brangdon (Jan 21, 2006)

CHC said:


> How about looking into the SOG Multi-Tool line or SeberTech's SeberTool M4?


I carry an M4 but it doesn't have scissors. I actually carry a Vic Rambler as well to supply that lack, I think scissors are so important. I wouldn't want to cut my nails with a knife or wire-cutters.

The M4 isn't great. The tweezers and file are pretty useless, and the handles are not very comfortable. The other tools (screwdrivers etc) are OK though, better than on the Rambler. They all lock, and it's especially good to have a locking blade - you can unfold its leg of the handle to give 4 inches of gripping length. However, for quick jobs (like piercing the clingfilm on microwave dinners) the lock is actually a pain and I find the Rambler more convenient.

The pliers are good for use as tongs and for bending and cutting paper clips. I doubt anything this size would be good for real work. I also have two Juices and a Vic Swiss Tool, and the Swiss Tool has the only pliers I'd use by choice.


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## Coop (Jan 22, 2006)

I found something that might interest you... take a look at this 






It has the functions you are looking for, it's small, it's dead cheap... but it's black bear... a brand that always has great prices, but the quality of their products varies a lot... :thinking: but at under 7,95 euros (which is about $ 10 US) it might be worth the shot.


More info 

As the site is in german, I did a little translation of the description on that site, german cpfers, please correct me where I'm wrong 

A miniature Tool with genuine value in use: folding needlenose pliers, wire cutter, nail file & cleaner, blade, slot and phillips screwdriver, bottle/can-opener, scissors and hinged eye. chain/keyring included. Weight 63 g, complete with nylon sheath. Grip length: 6 cm (2.35").


hope this helps!


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## cy (Jan 22, 2006)

solarflare, which model leatherman is that?

edit: just figured it out. leatherman mini tool


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## leukos (Jan 22, 2006)

the_beast said:


> Pity - that minibuck looks exactly what i'm looking for. Shame I can't find anywhere that still has them (even eBay :mecry
> 
> Looks like it'll have to be the Squirt P4 then. Shame they couldn't have put scissors in instead of the file on the P4.
> 
> Thanks for the suggestions.


 
I had a minibuck on my keychain for a few weeks, but I returned it and got the leatherman P4. The minibuck has a design flaw for the pliers in that the handles twist on you when you try to use them (probably why is was discontinued). The Squirt is better made and has a better feel IMO.


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## Flying Turtle (Jan 22, 2006)

The model that MayCooper is showing in earlier post is the one I found at WalMart (I think). Like he said, it's cheap, but not the highest quality. Also, the part the keyring chain is attached to is actually a locking tab. There is not enough springiness for it to stay closed on its own. I cut it down on mine so it wouldn't stick out so much, but then there's no keyring attachment, if that's needed.

Geoff


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## eart (Jan 22, 2006)

MayCooper said:


> I found something that might interest you... take a look at this
> 
> 
> 
> ...



http://www.theknifestore.com/bearmgchome-ss2.php similar to the stuff on this page.. except for the scissors.


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## Coop (Jan 22, 2006)

eart said:


> http://www.theknifestore.com/bearmgchome-ss2.php similar to the stuff on this page.. except for the scissors.



I believe the mission was to find a minitool with pliers AND scissors


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## eart (Jan 22, 2006)

fair enough - i'm looking for something similar and figured this might be an option as well. 
i might give it a try - ordering from that german website (to canada). what are mu chances do you figure?


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## [email protected] Messenger (Jan 22, 2006)

eart said:


> fair enough - i'm looking for something similar and figured this might be an option as well.
> i might give it a try - ordering from that german website (to canada). what are mu chances do you figure?


I saw them selling at home depot for around $9 something a while ago. It came with a box and a small flaslight; the only difference is that it is made by sheffield. This applies for the home depots in toronto, i don't know about whether or not they are being sold elsewhere.


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## CLHC (Jan 23, 2006)

Brangdon said:


> I carry an M4 but it doesn't have scissors. . .I think scissors are so important. . .
> 
> The M4 isn't great. The tweezers and file are pretty useless, and the handles are not very comfortable. The other tools (screwdrivers etc) are OK though. . .They all lock, and it's especially good to have a locking blade - you can unfold its leg of the handle to give 4 inches of gripping length. However, for quick jobs (like piercing the clingfilm on microwave dinners) the lock is actually a pain. . .
> 
> The pliers are good for use as tongs and for bending and cutting paper clips. I doubt anything this size would be good for real work.




Thanks for that real world useage regarding the ST.M4. I don't have any of those, but do agree with you on the Swiss multi-tools! My particular favorite is the Swisstool Spirit. . .


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## smurf_boi (Jan 24, 2006)

maybe u should consider the swiss champ as well...


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## bdillahu (Jan 24, 2006)

Personally, I would recommend a small, folding scissor on your keyring, and a multitool of your choice for pliars... that has worked well for me.

I picked up a pair of scissors years ago at a "fabric store" that look like:

http://www.perryblackburne.com/button13.htm (third item down)

Just a few dollars. They have done it all... I have even cut (thin) metal with them and they just keep going... they are kind of sloppy now (loose), but still cut fine.

Whatever... just an idea.

Bruce


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