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Call it “survival of the fittest” or “trial and error” but it all boils down to one conclusion- Evolution is a wonderful thing. Anyone who spends any time reading my various ramblings and ratings of various tools knows that I am more fascinated with what didn’t work than what did, and more importantly, how the oddball ideas evolved into the successful tools of today. The Mini Tool is another fascinating example of what didn’t work, but played an important part in the design of some of the tools Leatherman is currently producing. Marlon Perkins would be proud!
Like it’s Squirt brethren the P4 and E4, the Squirt S4 is a very handy, bright tool that functions well beyond it’s size. It is closely matched to the predecessor of the Squirt line, the Leatherman Micra in that it’s main tool is a set of very capable scissors. Despite not being a large tool, the scissors are quite functional, and the handles are very comfortable to use.
For all those places when you need or want a tool handy, but can’t carry a full sized tool for whatever reason, Leatherman offers the Squirt series, which consists of three models- the E4 with wire strippers, the S4 with scissors and the P4 with pliers, which is the model we are looking at in this review.
When I first laid eyes on this little tool in a discussion on our forum I thought it looked interesting enough. A few months later I decided to give it a shot and added it to an order I had placed with EDCDepot
There are a few multitools out there that define an evolutionary niche. Some are successful like Leatherman’s one handed opening Wave or locking Crunch pliers, and others were not, like SOG’s SwitchPlier or Leatherman’s MiniTool. The Pro Lock is firmly entrenched in the latter category but is no less important for it. As with most things, the successes can really only be measured by the not so successes.
The FROG tool by Gatco/Timberline is another interesting tool that defines and represents a whole section of the market. Like the Frosch tools, the FROG is a single piece of steel, cut and carved in such a way as to have multiple features, and let me tell you, it would be hard to add any more features to this one!
Once in a while, there’s a tool that comes along that is so different from any other, that no other manufacturer could hope to successfully incorporate any good points into their own designs. The Spyderco SpyderWrench and ByrdWrench are just that kind of design. Unlike any other tools, the Spyder and ByrdWrenches are hard to classify.
The Coast Fishing Multitool is a different type of tool than we normally think of when the term is used. It isn’t a plier based tool- in fact, it doesn’t seem to have a “primary” tool of any sort. It is merely a convenient tool that has several functions in a compact package. What more could one want? Oh yeah, and it’s fairly inexpensive too!
The SOG ToolClip is another one of those fascinating designs that help define what we know today as the “multitool.” It is one of the more successful permanent mount plier type multitools, but unfortunately was apparently not successful enough since it was discontinued some time ago. Made in Seki City, Japan for SOG, the ToolClip and Micro ToolClip are extremely well built, sturdy tools that every collector should experience at least once.
Anybody ever handled one of these NaviTools? They are kinda big and clunky. Certainly not the sort of thing you could carry around unnoticed.
The Nautilus is one of those tools that's discontinued, but you can find them everywhere, due to the large amount produced. I got mine off eBay for about 20 American dollars after shipping, and that's the average cost you see, so price isn't a problem. I was very excited when it came, but disappointed as well, because it was almost 9PM when I saw the package. The next day, I put it to work, but backing up, I got it because I use flashlights all the time at work, and was getting tired of carrying around a Mag-Lite in addition to a Wave or Swisstool, so I decided to sacrifice the pliers and get the small Nautilus.
Gerber has kind of a soft spot in me even though I don’t own a lot, I own more Victorinox than anything else. But what got me started was a Gerber Multi-Lite; then later on I graduated to a Compact Sport 400. I was content with the 400, the one hand opening was cool and the tool suited my needs. Then one day I go into the hardware store and I was introduced to the new breed of Gerber tools, the Gerber Legend. The Legend and it’s brother the Urban Legend set a benchmark in Gerber’s life where they wanted to try something different and play with ergonomics as well. I saved up and paid more than I care to admit on that tool and I thought it was the hottest thing out there (this is before I found out about the LM Wave).
Buck has been involved in the multitool market for a while now; ever since their release of the Buck Tool and the Buck Mini Tool they have kept a strong footing due to its brand name. Not many companies make a knife/tool that becomes a brand of its own, how many people you know call any lock back style knife a Buck Knife? Because of this iconic branding and their dedicated customer base their tools although discontinued have remained popular to this day. The Buck Tool simply didn’t take off like it should have, trying to get a piece of the market that is Leatherman, it sometimes takes a lot to get noticed. The Buck Tool is a fantastic tool and very underestimated in spite of what design problems it did have. This is round two and Buck has decided to produce a new multitool for the market that they feel will not only be easier to use but easier on their pockets as well.
It's been a little while since the Guppie was “officially” released. Retailers are still having problems getting it and the Zilla in stock. I received the Guppie just before it's release date and have not reviewed it because I did not have enough opportunity to use it. The problem is, it's such an odd tool that I just didn't feel comfortable carrying it. There was always something better in size comparison that I could carry that would beat the Guppie in functionality. So I decided to bite the bullet and get some of this on paper so to speak. Everyone wants to know what the Guppie is like, well here you go.
What kind of people would write collect and review multitools? Quite simple really- we are designers and do-ers, outdoors types and indoor types, mechanics, doctors, problem solvers and problem makers. As such, we have, as a world spanning community, put every type, size and version of multitool, multifunction knife, pocket knife and all related products to every test we could manage in as many places and environments as there are.