A purpose-built, specialized tool for outdoor adventure and wilderness survival, while also serving purpose around the house Leatherman understands their market, they know what their customers want, and they provide it. How many companies exist nowadays with that kind of dedication and focus? If you’re looking for just about the best multi tools available, whatever your budget, you can’t go wrong with a Leatherman.

The MP600 is without a doubt one of the most widely used multi tools in the world. This is due in no small part to its status as the standard issue multi tool of the U.S. military. It’s a big, heavy duty tool that’s designed to stand up to extreme conditions without complaint. Gerber went with a significantly different design for the MP600 than Leatherman did for the Wave+. The pliers on the Crucial are only available in a needlenose configuration, though they also have a regular plier area as well. We found the teeth on the pliers to line up well and give you a good grip. The only issue we had was with the shape of the handles. One handed opening tools are becoming more and more popular as new models are released. Gerber got into the field early and incorporated slide out pliers into a lot of their designs but Leatherman wasn’t asleep at the wheel either. They released an innovative multi tool designed to allow one handed opening of every tool. Lets see how these two, the Gerber Center Drive and Leatherman OHT, compare.

Overall Take

Users have been comparing Gerber Crucial with some of the existing market competitors. One major advantage that this product seems to have over others is the ease of usage. For instance, the blade can be accessed without using the other hand due to the presence of a well-placed thumb stud. Pliers can be used comfortably owing to the butterfly opening design. Some people have also found the bottle opener a great addition compared to other products. However, our product tester, with his big hands, found this multi-tool – the smallest of all on test – rather uncomfortable to use. So if you don’t have small hands, this is something you should perhaps consider before parting with any money. Interestingly, the Gerber Steady was commended for being the most comfortable to use in this group test. The Gerber Center Drive Plus displaces its non-Plus predecessor for this specialized award. The Plus takes all we liked about the original Center Drive and adds scissors and a larger blade, which we deem significant and worthy upgrades. The screwdriver configuration has a long extension and a handle ready for more torque. This award-winning Gerber centers the bit along the handle's long axis, vastly improving ergonomics and making it feel like a true, single-purpose screwdriver. The 12 bits that come with this model fit inside the included leather sheath along with the tool. This one mostly comes down to your own lifestyle. The Gerber Dime does have more tools than the Style PS but its general build quality doesn’t hold up as well. Some people will like the Dime more, but if you’re looking for a TSA friendly tool we definitely recommend the Style PS. The Leatherman Style product picture One feature that stood out was the bit drivers. The Wave Plus houses not one, but two different bit drivers, a full-sized one, and a micro driver, perfect for those tiny screws on my eyeglasses. Although I found the proprietary sized bits a tad inconvenient, the bit extender was a game-changer, allowing the use of standard ¼ inch bits.

But the question arises that how many tools should one carry, or how can one handle all of them all the time? Gerber has solved this problem with its huge line of multi-tools. The Leatherman Wave+ brings heaps of value to the Leatherman line-up. Leatherman takes 90% of what makes the Charge so impressive and sells it for 60% of the cost. What you get is the Wave+ and an excellent value. The Leatherman Wingman is even less expensive, by a significant margin, but has fewer features and is made with lesser quality materials (though most users may not notice the weight savings of steel vs. titanium casing). For a full-featured tool, the Wave+ is the bargain shopper's choice. A multi-tool that optimizes ergonomics and portability by reducing the tool set to the most important ones for daily use and carry Where buyers have been applauding the built quality of the product, there have been complaints regarding the design of individual tools. The screwdrivers are of fixed sizes and a bit fragile. The knife, while being sharp, is not blunt-edged. The small size of Crucial may be perfect for most, but people with large hands may find it difficult to operate. The Leatherman Micra is just about the first keychain tool to hit the market. It has been continuously available since the mid 90’s and is one of the best tools of its kind. It has a pair of scissors rather than pliers for a main tool and includes things like a knife, attached tweezers, and screwdrivers. It has all metal construction similar to the the Gerber Dime but it just feels a bit better made.There’s only a single knife blade on the Crucial, a 2.2 in combo blade with a rounded off point. It came from the factory reasonably sharp and was easy to put a new edge on but didn’t keep it for long. The steel seemed to be pretty soft compared to other multi tools and folding knives we’ve used before. As long as you don’t mind frequent sharpening it’s a functional blade at a reasonable size. Carabiner/Bottle Opener