Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/09/28/12-in-1-stanley-multitool-is-a-lot-cheaper-than-a-gerber-or-leatherman-but-its-excellent.html
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For once something advertised on Boing Boing is good!
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Is it though? It doesn’t contains any CBD as far as I can tell.
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Unfortunately, this doesn’t count as it isn’t a Stackexchange item.
Does it have a USB drive? Real multitools have USB sticks now…just in case you need to…um…you know…do something while camping in the woods.
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I have a stanley and a gerber, and can categorically say the gerber is better as a multi-tool, but the blades on the stanley are better. The gerber’s blades chipped too easily. Everything else is rock solid.
You know what else is really excellent? Air fryers. Very convenient and useful.
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Can’t knock Stanley for a drawer item myself.
However, I am a person who compulsively carries my multitool. So, it’s Gerber, Leatherman or Swiss Army all my live long life.
Others just don’t travel well for me. Dunno why.
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The Gerber multitool is issed to various units in the Canadian military. One very important factor in selecting it is that the pliers can be deployed one handed with a flick of the wrist. This becomes important when you suddenly discover that you need pliers or a wire cutter when you’ve already gone hands-on. The Gerber product isn’t perfect but doesn’t need to be as long as it gets the job done.
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Country of manufacture: China
31% of reviews are 4 and 3 star. Like in most of life, 5 star reviewers lack a critical eye.
It looks not to shabby for $20. And for what it’s worth Gerber’s budget multitools are also made in China.
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That’s why I bought mine. I got rid of them when I discovered that the fact that the handles are parallel and closed when the plier jaws are closed means you can easily pinch your hand when you use them. It’s a bad design for pliers. So there’s definitely a big trade off for that cool ability to flick out the pliar jaws one-handed. If you really need to use pliers one-handed then maybe just make a belt pouch that stores a Leatherman unfolded.
Ugh. I might get roasted for this, but here goes.
I hate multitools. They can do a thousand things, none of them well. I’d rather carry around a small toolkit with a few really good tools in it. What I actually do is carry a good pocket knife and go fetch other tools I might need.
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OT, but I’m keeping this strategy in reserve for Progeny The Youngest.
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I had a Gerber (now lost to the sands of time) and I prefer how it collapsed into a neat and tidy rectangle. The Stanley looks great, but it’s not something I could comfortably hang off my belt as I would the Gerber.
(Now you’ve got me thinking about replacing that Gerber…thanks a lot, BB! 
)
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While I understand what you’re saying, the right multitool can do some things better than an individual tool.
I have a Gerber MT800, in fact it’s my second one after my first sadly got lost. There are two tools in particular which makes it invaluable; the first is the pliers, because the cutters are replaceable tungsten carbide, and I’ve had a situation at work with hard wire security tags on car keys which needed to be removed. I had regular pliers, wire cutters for hard wire, and a pair of 8” wire cutters, all had their cutting edges badly notched and damaged by this wire, which my Gerber chopped through easily.
The other is the saw, which comes with a RemGrit blade; however, the blade is removable and I’ve got a set of Black&Decker jigsaw blades of various lengths and tooth profiles which I can swap into the Gerber, one is almost as long as the tool itself, and allows me to cut a wide range of materials without worrying about wrecking the built-in tool.
The knife blade is wicked sharp, but as has been said, quite easily notched, so I’m careful with that.
The scissors and screwdriver blades have been put to good use many times, and even the file has seen heavy use.
All carried in one small belt pouch, and available at any time - I don’t work in an office, going and fetching a tool from my bag that’s half a mile away is not an option.
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