Pliers in your pocket, from the three makers that still repair what they sold you.
No failure mode here is not also a repair. No battery, no board, no coating to wear off, no standard to age out of. What there is, is hardened steel on pivots, and pivots are the one thing that loosens with use. Every maker here will take that back and fix it.
The line this page draws is pliers. A tool that folds out into pliers is a different object from a pocket knife that folds out into a blade, and the knives live on the Everyday Carry page.
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At a glance: Multi-Tools picks compared, with buy links
The one most people mean when they say multi-tool, and the reason is the pair of blades on the outside: you can open the knife without unfolding the pliers, which is most of what a pocket tool actually gets asked to do. The wire cutters are a replaceable insert rather than part of the jaw, so the part that blunts first is the part you can change for a few dollars. Leatherman backs it for 25 years and still repairs tools older than that.
Thirty-three functions in seven layers, and Victorinox has been building this one in Ibach since 1986 with the same scales and the same spare parts. Where a plier-first multi-tool is a toolbox, this is a pocket knife that happens to contain one, which is a different object for a different pocket.
The tradesman's Leatherman: nineteen tools around the strongest pliers the company makes, with wire cutters that are replaceable rather than ground into the jaw, so the part that dulls first is the part you can swap. Made in Portland and covered by the twenty five year warranty, which is the longest on anything in this category.
Replaceable wire cutters
19 tools including crimper, stripper, saw and file
The heavy one. Twenty-one tools, full size pliers, and a blade exchanger that takes standard saw and file bits so the consumable parts are consumables rather than the end of the tool. Leatherman's warranty runs twenty-five years and they honour it on tools older than that.
A compact stainless multi-tool with spring-action pliers, a knife and scissors. It carries the same 25-year Leatherman warranty as the larger tools at a fraction of the price.
Seven tools instead of eighteen, at roughly half the weight, and that is the argument rather than a compromise. A tool left at home because it is heavy is worth nothing, and this one carries on a pocket clip with a bottle opener doubling as the carabiner. The blade is 154CM steel, which holds an edge longer than the stainless on the larger tools, and the same 25 year warranty applies.
A stainless butterfly-opening multi-tool with spring-loaded pliers and locking outside tools. It is a fraction of the price of the larger tools and covers most everyday jobs.
The one finished like a piece of cutlery rather than a piece of hardware. Every tool opens from the outside, every edge is chamfered so it does not bite the hand under load, and the whole thing is Swiss made and guaranteed against defects for life. Victorinox has made this line since 2003 and still services it.
The heavy one. Where the Wave+ spreads itself across eighteen functions, the Rebar puts the steel into the jaw: thicker pliers, a stronger pivot and the same replaceable cutter inserts, in a tool that is happier being leaned on. The tools all lock, which matters more on a tool bought for pulling and prying than on one bought for opening parcels.
The one that fixes the oldest complaint about multi-tools, which is that the screwdriver sits off to one side and twists out of the screw. Gerber put the bit driver on the centre line, so it turns like an actual screwdriver, and gave it a standard bit so you are not tied to a proprietary shape. The pliers open one-handed with a thumb slide rather than by unfolding, and it is built in Portland under a limited lifetime warranty.
The one most people mean when they say multi-tool, and the reason is the pair of blades on the outside: you can open the knife without unfolding the pliers, which is most of what a pocket tool actually gets asked to do. The wire cutters are a replaceable insert rather than part of the jaw, so the part that blunts first is the part you can change for a few dollars. Leatherman backs it for 25 years and still repairs tools older than that.
Thirty-three functions in seven layers, and Victorinox has been building this one in Ibach since 1986 with the same scales and the same spare parts. Where a plier-first multi-tool is a toolbox, this is a pocket knife that happens to contain one, which is a different object for a different pocket.
The tradesman's Leatherman: nineteen tools around the strongest pliers the company makes, with wire cutters that are replaceable rather than ground into the jaw, so the part that dulls first is the part you can swap. Made in Portland and covered by the twenty five year warranty, which is the longest on anything in this category.
Replaceable wire cutters
19 tools including crimper, stripper, saw and file
The heavy one. Twenty-one tools, full size pliers, and a blade exchanger that takes standard saw and file bits so the consumable parts are consumables rather than the end of the tool. Leatherman's warranty runs twenty-five years and they honour it on tools older than that.
A compact stainless multi-tool with spring-action pliers, a knife and scissors. It carries the same 25-year Leatherman warranty as the larger tools at a fraction of the price.
Seven tools instead of eighteen, at roughly half the weight, and that is the argument rather than a compromise. A tool left at home because it is heavy is worth nothing, and this one carries on a pocket clip with a bottle opener doubling as the carabiner. The blade is 154CM steel, which holds an edge longer than the stainless on the larger tools, and the same 25 year warranty applies.
A stainless butterfly-opening multi-tool with spring-loaded pliers and locking outside tools. It is a fraction of the price of the larger tools and covers most everyday jobs.
The one finished like a piece of cutlery rather than a piece of hardware. Every tool opens from the outside, every edge is chamfered so it does not bite the hand under load, and the whole thing is Swiss made and guaranteed against defects for life. Victorinox has made this line since 2003 and still services it.
The heavy one. Where the Wave+ spreads itself across eighteen functions, the Rebar puts the steel into the jaw: thicker pliers, a stronger pivot and the same replaceable cutter inserts, in a tool that is happier being leaned on. The tools all lock, which matters more on a tool bought for pulling and prying than on one bought for opening parcels.
The one that fixes the oldest complaint about multi-tools, which is that the screwdriver sits off to one side and twists out of the screw. Gerber put the bit driver on the centre line, so it turns like an actual screwdriver, and gave it a standard bit so you are not tied to a proprietary shape. The pliers open one-handed with a thumb slide rather than by unfolding, and it is built in Portland under a limited lifetime warranty.
Bit driver on the tool's centre line
Takes standard bits
One-handed plier deployment
Limited lifetime warranty
Made in Portland, Oregon
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Product photograph, LeathermanTop pick
Product photograph, Victorinox
Product photograph, Leatherman
Product photograph, Leatherman
Product photograph, Leatherman
Product photograph, Leatherman
Product photograph, Leatherman
Product photograph, Gerber
Product photograph, Victorinox
Product photograph, Leatherman
Product photograph, Gerber