So, which one is the best? Bake off!!!
Just last week for a few bucks on impulse I picked up a key-sized thingy from NiteIze, which has a flat screwdriver blade, a couple of wrench sizes, bottle-opener, and ruler markings on it, with a carabiner type spring clip to snap on/off your keychain. It seems pretty handy, though I haven’t used it yet for anything but opening bottles, and opening boxes with the corner of the screwdriver.
When going through an airport, I’m reluctant to carry anything which has even the remote semblance of a knife blade on it, because who knows whether the TSA would insist I toss it. At other times, I’m usually carrying my Spyderco Stretch pocketknife which is a total luxury (limited-run, Hitachi ZDP-189 steel, carbon fiber scales) and which I lurve dearly.
Postscript: I should warn you that that Spyderco catalog is a total timesink for anybody who is interested in knives.
Looks pretty undersized for a bottle opener. The notch is way small, and the length of a key doesn’t give you a lot of leverage.
Thought. Easily removable blades, and have a supply of them.
…another idea. Blade that looks like something entirely different, possibly hidden as a part of some other assembly. Mind the x-ray signature, maybe use beryllium-based alloy.
counterpoint:
https://www.leatherman.com/brewzer-46.html
Better brand, same functionality, no moving parts, and 10 dollars cheaper.
I’ll add that I’ve owned several Leatherman tools, and (only) needed repairs a time or two.
They warranty their tools for 25 years.
You mean, like one of these:
Cuz the TSA is pretty adamantly against this exact type of device. But they have no consistent viewpoint on other useful tools lots of people carry around without even thinking about.
ETA
I used to carry one of these around:
But I got tired of having to replace the blades, instead of just re-sharpening. And also razor blades are awful as a prying or scratching tool. They’re so brittle they flake off, snap or just sorta grind into dust when you’re trying to use them for anything other than cutting stuff beautifully well.
i have one of these. works well, and just went through security at BRU, FRA, SFO, and IAD with it, no problem.
Utilikey? Yeah, mine has been around the world several times, through at least 50 different airports. As @shaddack points out:
It’s for little bottles. Obviously.
Thanks for the testimonial. Appreciated!
Isn’t that bottle opener backwards? If the hook were facing the opposite direction you could use the whole length of the tool to lever; the way it is, you’re folding the halves together trying to do that, or using the short side as the lever.
I would love it if bottle openers didn’t count toward classifying something as a multi-tool.
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