What you absolutely don’t want is to have a multi-tool with you specifically for the purpose of being able to handle any job that comes up and then you find your multi-tool lets you down. Of course, there are other brands that could make a good multi-tool but I can’t vouch for them and I want to make sure the multi-tools I recommend will look after you when you need them. The other reason is that Leatherman has been around for a long time after all Tim Leatherman was the inventor of the original multi-tool, and they’ve had a lot of time and practice getting their products right. Leatherman famously has brilliant after-sales service and that’s one of the reasons why you’ll see that I’ve given Leatherman more than their fair share of Best in Class recommendations. Not all of their models are great – unfortunately I know firsthand because I own a couple that aren’t – but generally they’re good. They all have good warranties as well so if something does go wrong, you have the comfort of being able to send it back to get fixed.
That’s because, usually, I trust these brands and how they go about putting together a multi-tool. You’ll see the only brands that I’ve awarded the Best in Class crown are from one of the 4 big brands – Gerber, Leatherman, SOG or Victorinox. I’m confident because I own and use most of these multi-tools myself and I’ve put them to the test under a lot of difficult conditions. They are the best in their class and I can confidently predict they will look after you for many years to come. I’ve learned that it takes experience to understand which of the hundreds of available multi-tools are actually any good – good at what they are supposed to do and good for the purpose you what it for.Īll the multi-tools on this page are multi-tools I recommend. The tough – but fun – part of multi-tools is there is a learning curve to them. I’m a full-on Multi-tool MacGyver now for sure. And wow! I’m glad I did spend the cash because from that first multi-tool I’ve turned into a big enthusiast. I’d done a fair bit of online research before deciding to take the jump because that’s the type of guy I am.
I got my hands on my first multi-tool a couple of years ago.