Multi-Tools..are they still relevant?

I've got several backpacks, each pre-packed for differente activities (one for the range, one for the gym, a regular EDC one, a tiny one for going light, etc.). There's a multitool in every single one of them, and they all get used quite often.

I carry a SAK in my pocket, since multitools are just too large and I don't like to have stuff on my belt. I choose the SAK model according to the tool selection on the multitool I've got in my backpack that day. For instance, today I'm using a backpck that has a Leatherman Charge Tti in it, so I put a Vic Electrician in my back pocket since it has a nice awl which the Charge lacks.
 
Today I went to visit my mother. When we got to the balcony to take some air she remembered she had to cut and trim some of her plants, but being the old lady she was she couldn't find the pruning shears.

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They were in the car, parked down in the street, because we went mushroom-collecting (or however you call that thing in English) this weekend and left'em there. I happened to have my MT on me, and just trimmed the bad plants and roots off. I could've used a kitchen Knife or my Pacific Salt, but there wasn't even the need to get inside the house to search for a tool.

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Job done, MT back in the pocket, no more than a minute in total. It took me more time to get the phone and take some pics LOL.

Random stuff like that convinces me to carry my MT wherever I go.
 
Yes they are still relevant. I don't go anywhere without at least a Vic Classic SD on my keychain.
 
As the world has gotten more advanced, I think a mulitool is even more important than ever. It seems like the whole world is now held together with small to medium phillips screws, so with needing to change batteries or fidget with something to get it going, it behooves one to carry something that enables you to deal with phillips screws. Add in that not all containers have twist off or pull tabs to open, and a opener in needed often. Bottle and cans. A knife is used on a daily basis, so I carry a knife. It cuts down on pocket junk when you can combine all these into one item like a SAK or Leatherman.

A blade to open packages and a few basic tools is always a good thing to have in a pocket. Even a tiny Vic classic or Leatherman micra will let you deal with a wide variety of situations. Dosen't have to be big, just effective.

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I stopped carrying a multi about twenty years ago because of weight. Two months ago, I decided that it was time to start carrying again, so I bought a Wave for my daily carry, a Rebar for my hunting backpack, and a Supertool 300 for my tool bag. I cannot teach myself to use them. Several times this week I've gone to my tool chest for a screwdriver or pliers, or wire cutters, when I had the tool on my belt. Maybe I didn't need them after-all.
 
Yes, I carry my SAK Tinker all the time. Don't like multi-tools that I have to unfold seven ways from Sunday before I can use a tool or blade.
Rich
 
I carry every day a small gerber keychain multitool, pliers based. it has served me well for years in many occasions, from plucking wood splinters to everyday electronic-related jobs, or cutting packages.
 
Thomas Carey said:
At one time Multi-Tools were very popular but now it seems like fewer people carry them. Do you think these are still relevant or past their prime?
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Just curious. What do you think has changed that would make them not relevant? I mean, I could see how it might not be as trendy to carry them, but that's not what makes them relevant to me.

I have an SAK silver Pioneer in my pocket right now. Keep a Leatherman Style CS on my key chain :)
 
Thomas Carey said:
At one time Multi-Tools were very popular but now it seems like fewer people carry them. Do you think these are still relevant or past their prime?
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I remember other tool fads. There was a time every working man, and some women, weren't properly dressed without a Buck 110 in its leather sheath on their belts, then not so much. Later, it was all Mini-maglights peeking they little heads above their little nylon holsters, but no more. Then came Leathermen and Gerbers. What's in or out these days, I have no idea because I stopped paying attention. To a certain extent, these trends have something to do with changing technologies that make certain tools obsolescent and others requiring different ones, but fashion and fads have more to do with people's daily lives than they really know.
 
I honestly don't care about what's 'trendy' now. My multi-tool or pocketknife's usefulness will never go out of style for me. And as is obvious, carrying a pocketknife is out of fashion for most people these days, but I'll never stop carrying one. Heck, the music I listen to (60s, 70s and 80s rock), and at least one genre of movies I like, and other things I love are definitely not trendy today.

Jim
 
i have a wingman in my car. i wear suit so i dont carry it. however there have been times when i walked out to my car to get it.
 
Cassrh,
You'll get used to having things to hand. I've carried my SAK for more than half my life. (Same knife, replaced once due to loss.)

That brings up another point, for me. All you guys who have different EDC for each day of the week, are you crazy? That's not EDC - you aren't carrying it every day, you are carrying a different set of things.

Does it not drive you nuts to never be certain you have a specific tool in the set? I know my EDC inside out and upside down, & if I lose or leave a part I notice. My carry is second nature, I can get whatever widget is needed blindfolded, & I just can't see how that could be true if you swap, say, a Leatherman Wave for a Victorinox, or whatever, on a daily basis.

Can someone explain?
 
nkt2 said:
Cassrh,
You'll get used to having things to hand. I've carried my SAK for more than half my life. (Same knife, replaced once due to loss.)

That brings up another point, for me. All you guys who have different EDC for each day of the week, are you crazy? That's not EDC - you aren't carrying it every day, you are carrying a different set of things.

Does it not drive you nuts to never be certain you have a specific tool in the set? I know my EDC inside out and upside down, & if I lose or leave a part I notice. My carry is second nature, I can get whatever widget is needed blindfolded, & I just can't see how that could be true if you swap, say, a Leatherman Wave for a Victorinox, or whatever, on a daily basis.

Can someone explain?
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There is no point in being a stickler about "True" EDC. For me, EDC is a flexible enough concept to accommodate different tool sets for different purposes. My EDC includes a pliers based multi-tool and a supplement for the implements it doesn't provide, plus flashlight. Right now, for example, I have a Rebar dangling into my LF pocket and a Rambler in the 5th pocket. Just as often, a Micra goes there. If I'm preparing for work, it could be a Charge or Super Tool 300 instead of the Rebar (but not always,) or a casual evening with a Super Tinker and a Squirt P4 for the pliers. The only constant is a micro flashlight, which is used not only for its designed purpose but as a fob for whatever keychainer is on me. Other flashlights come aboard when needed. The only other items always the same are my wallet, cell phone, hanky and keys, but it's all EDC.
 
And also would add...I agree with znapschatz. I carry what I need for the day. Could be a Wave or a Buck 505 or a skeletool or Buck 110 or all four or others. All depends on what im up to.
 
I've carried this same Leatherman Classic daily since Sept 1994. I'm never without it. It's performed countless tasks, including replacing the upper radiator hose on my Truck when it sprung a leak, assembling kids toys, blah blah.
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nkt2 said:
Cassrh,
You'll get used to having things to hand. I've carried my SAK for more than half my life. (Same knife, replaced once due to loss.)

That brings up another point, for me. All you guys who have different EDC for each day of the week, are you crazy? That's not EDC - you aren't carrying it every day, you are carrying a different set of things.

Does it not drive you nuts to never be certain you have a specific tool in the set? I know my EDC inside out and upside down, & if I lose or leave a part I notice. My carry is second nature, I can get whatever widget is needed blindfolded, & I just can't see how that could be true if you swap, say, a Leatherman Wave for a Victorinox, or whatever, on a daily basis.

Can someone explain?
Click to expand...

Same Leatherman Classic for 21 years - every day. Same Farmer for about a year now since I got it (a wonderful gift from our very own "jone" here on BF - THANK YOU jone I love it!). Both are in their own belt sheath. :)

Now my pocket knife (traditional) I occasionally switch up, but lately I don't even change that anymore, carrying the same Barlow for 6 months now. I do have about a dozen traditionals that I've experimented with over the past couple years, gradually homing in on what "works" for me. Depending on my mood or what I'm doing I'll grab one of those now and then, but lately It's been the SAK and Leatherman are my "tools" (I don't even use the blade on the Leatherman really - it's a scraper, so it's not a "Knife" in my view). To a lesser extent the SAK is also more of a tool than a knife - bottle opener/can-opener, the saw and awl are quite handy and used often.

Many here are collectors, so they accumulate these multi-tools as a hobby and passion.
 
Multi-Tools are most assuredly relevant in my world but I am either in a Suit & Tie on the 9-5 or near real tools such as my shop, a buddy's shop or my truck.

When apparel allow and accommodate I'm toting some manner of MT - typically a Leatherman of one iteration or another. The Wave seems to get the most belt time and I will carry a Skeletool or Clip LM occasionally on my weak side. Though they may not always me on my actual person, I have a plethora of MTs either in a large fixed blade's sheath pouch, in a pack, or otherwise near me much of the time.

If a LM Micra counts, I almost always have one of them on my keyring.
 
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