At Gerber's booth we got to spend some time talking to marketing folks, designers and engineers. We look at some tools, some knives and some flashlights, and I have to say that if you have had misgivings about Gerber before, now is the time to check them out!
The Grappler is a great looking piece, and I can't wait to try it in the field.
It's quite a big tool, and I can see it standing up to some serious pounding. There are a few tradeoffs though- because the sliding plier head is on the inside, all the tools have to be on the outside, and space is limited there, so it doesn't have an impressive number of functions, but then, neither does the Crunch, the Schrade ST6 or the Kershaw a-100, so it's a drawback of the concept, not the Grappler specifically.
It does have a healthy tool compliment though- phillips screwdriver, can opener, bottle opener, file w/integrated screwdriver tip, partially serrated blade, and a ruler that also acts as a pry bar.
All the tools are easily accessible form the outside and lock open.
Each tool snaps open smoothly and locks with a liner locking mechanism which felt solid, but I thought seemed a little thin.
I can't say for sure, but they seemed like they would be flimsy, but they did lock up solidly. I'd like to see how that stands up to heavy use over a long period of time. It certainly didn't feel like there was anything wrong with it, and it was locked securely.
The locking head mechanism was effective, although I think that the adjustment screw was a little awkward to get at and adjust. Again, I'm looking forward to actually using it, and I'm trying to identify potential problem areas to look out for when I do field test these tools. The screw seemed a little unresponsive at first, but this is also a pre-production version and might need to be broken in a bit.
It's also a really complex mechanism that you can tell caused the Gerber designers a lot of sleep as they worked it out every which way!
The Octane on the other hand was a somewhat known quantity- Dave Bowen had seen/handled it at BLADE over the summer and we've seen some pictures of it before now. Today we saw the production unit and we couldn't help by be happy to see that it really does look good.
Gerber has shifted gears and wants to continue to compete in the same price points as the Suspension/EVO/Ripstop etc, however rather than cut corners on quality to offer full featured tools, they have scaled back into the minimalist tools and created a
quality inexpensive tool.
Oh yeah, and a 3D phillips too!
The odd looking little blade there is something I am glad to see on a multitool- it's a clam pack opener! Finally, a tool designed specifically to open the packaging that most tools come in nowadays!
I have to say I'm honestly not sure what to think about the Strata. It seems like a nice enough tool, but for some reason I couldn't quite get on with it. It's is, in essence, a higher quality version of some of the older, cheaper tools, like the Suspension and it's clones, although pedigree is about all there is to compare this to them- it's obvious that the Strata is a much higher quality and better tool. Maybe it's just paranoia, and I hope that I can test it out and see what it's really capable of.
Bob on the other hand had a better feeling about it than I did, so I think it's somewhat likely that I have some kind of bias based on some loose similarities. Still, at the price point it's at, there is no doubt in my mind that it's superior to the Suspension, and you can feel the better construction when you hold it or pull out a tool.
Gerber also said that the Shard is going into production in no small part thanks to the interest we showed in it, which I thought was great to hear, whether they really meant it or were just trying to make us feel good! They also assured us that they have switched gears and are more interested in bringing back quality tool lines than in competing in the discount tool market, which I think is great news, both for them and us!
There's more to Gerber, but I'll add it later!
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