It looks good, is small and ergonomic and offers a great selection of little tools that may be helpful on a day to day basis, particularly in an urban or office environment. Jouwen Lee · October 25, 2016 Still won't pass airline security: scissors, sharp, pointy parts are still there.

The rest of the tools fold out from the outside of the body, and include a sheepsfoot straight-edge blade, which does still cut quite well but, lacking a lock-out device, has limited utility. Long version - I already own various Gerber tools that I'm happy with including a couple of MP600 that have both lasted me over twenty years and a Dime (with knife). In addition to stainless steel pliers, wire cutters, a fine edge blade, spring-loaded scissors, flathead screwdriver, crosshead driver, tweezers and file, the Dime includes a unique blade designed to safely cut and score plastic packaging and a bottle opener that is exposed even when the tool is closed. The rest of the tools and functions are all found on the outside of the Gerber Dime without opening it, which I found to be quite useful as it means getting to a tool takes next to no time. If choosing an alcohol brew kit for day walks, Three Points of the Compass is usually carrying a Toaks burner.The multi-tool doesn't skimp on elegant design either, with a smooth butterfly open, ergonomic handles and a slim folded profile. Based on the same mini keychain design the Dime Travel has, you guessed it, more features ideal for use during travel. Pliers are not too convincing in their strength, but time will tell and they are good enough for her use for now. The rest of its tools are intact, which include pliers, scissors, and a variety of drivers and openers that fold into its butterfly-opening handles. Any attempt to snip metal will cause the jaws to deform, forcing you to use the wire itself to pry open the jaws.

I have not had any issues with rusting of the various exposed edges, even those which came coated, so unless you try to fight a Balrog with it, the Dime should stick around for a while. One was a new purchase while another has rarely been outside any gear list I have compiled over the past decade. The packaging looks to be fairly cheap, which checks out, considering the device inside is a budget-level pocket multitool. This is where the file is also found, on either side of the Phillips driver are a hatched, and double-hatched file, neither of which have been found to be useful. As I mentioned, it’s been the better part of a decade since I received the Dime as a Christmas gift from my wife, and I have carried it every day.The Dime has a small blade and a package opening tool, as well as scissors and screwdrivers; which makes it perfect for most tasks around the house or even when I am out. It suspends neatly from a keychain and provides resource for a wide swath of problem-solving potential. Finally, the tweezers are more useful than any of the others I’ve seen in my day, such as those found in a Victorinox, and I’ve pulled bee stingers and splinters out with no issue as to their ability to grasp. The most ingenious of which is the evolutionary zipper hook, which attaches to and make opening a broken luggage zipper super easy.

Long-term, daily carry of this tool for six years included countless packages sliced open plus hundreds of small jobs, all of which perhaps put this tool to its longest endurance test, though certainly not its most grueling. If there is a fault with this tool it is that the scissors could be sharper - they will cut paper easily, but they tend to chew through items like paracord, leaving a ragged edge. Bustling with a wide variety of implements, including a pair of spring loaded needle nose pliers as its central appliance. That said, the Dime does provide the most basic of necessary tools with a little extra functionality and could be a handy little keychain tool for urban EDC. The cutting edges are sprung due to the inclusion of an effective, if small, torsion bar that runs into the body of the tool.he Dime Travel is a bladeless mini multi-tool, capable of being attached to keychains, lanyards, and more. Positioned at the same end of the tool, the lanyard ring will not fold away or retract if not required, this can be annoying. Unboxing this tool was likely super fun, and may have involved fireworks and a shirtless warrior riding in on a stunning, shimmering unicorn, but I cannot for the life of me remember it, as I unboxed this tool well over six years ago. As 2023 comes to an end, Three Points of the Compass takes a glance at a handful of items of gear that accompanied me on trail. If used on heavier work, cutting thick cable ties, thick wire etc, then the jaws will twist apart and clamp rather than cut.