I have been disappointed by Ganzo branded multi tools before (no problems with their knives) but still I was tempted by their new offering, a multi tool set, for under $30 with shipping, containing a full size pliers tool, a mini pliers tool and a knife.
Considering that there was a Ganzo knife in the set, for the price, it seemed quite good and worth a try. Unlike the 440C steel used in Ganzo knives and the blades of their other multitools this was advertised as having 3Cr13 steel.
So I ordered it from the usual suspect…
It arrived in a cardboard box that, like its contents, had no Ganzo markings on it. It did, however, promise on the box that I would enjoy the perfect life, by using it.
They all had matching finish, with black plastic inserts on metal, steel and what appears to be aluminium on the knife and large pliers tool.
The knife had a serious fault as one of the pivot screws was missing, and was not in the box.
It has a half serrated blade and a liner lock, that goes all the way to the right when locked, meaning that there is no room for self adjustment if there is some wear.
The only other time I saw this was in a Wenger explorer, where I believe is the way it is supposed to be and not a problem.
The blade was reasonably sharp and the knife can be attached to a belt or trousers etc via a carabineer.
The mini pliers tool was of reasonable quality, and its implements opened quite smoothly. The pliers are not designed for cutting, indicating that the whole tool is not very strong. It has no outside opening tools.
Compared to an LM squirts pliers
It has a Combo tool, like the one of the LM Micra, some screwdrivers (one
surprisingly short) a file and a knife.
It also has a weird implement with an unsharpened V shaped notch, possibly for removing fishing hooks and most unusually a folding lanyard ring, despite already having a standard one… These two implements are really wasting space in the tool.
Compared with a Squirt, a Micra and a "micra copy"
The large pliers tool was a pleasant surprise!
The tool unfolded very smoothly and the pliers came out and locked into place as you would expect in a good quality tool.
Size wise the tool is very large and the pliers are similar in size to my Supertool 300.
It is, however noticeably thicker than the supertool, but the, possibly aluminium, pliers handles are quite comfortable to use and the whole tool feels light.
The pliers come with a hard wire notch.
The finish of the, outside opening and non-locking, tools was quite good. They are nicely polished with no rough bits on them and appear to be of a good quality.
Even though some clamp together they open and set with a very satisfying “click” sound, very similar to what you would get in a Swiss Army knife. The tools were a bit tight initially but a bit of adjustment with a hex driver was all that was needed.
In addition to the knife, file-fishing hook remover, can opener, bottle opener the tool comes with 4 Screwdrivers. The problem with this is that it also comes with a set of 9 removable drivers (flat, Philips hex), which includes drivers similar to the ones attached to the tool, so you end up with doubles!
and comparing fixed screwdrivers with my other Ganzo..
and pliers heads... note that the older tool says Ganzo on it
etc..
On the whole I would have been happy with just the bigger pliers tool and see the rest as “free” extras.
Pros:
Good quality large pliers tool
Lots of screwdrivers
Light for its size
Cons:
The mini pliers tool and the knife are of lower quality
Too many screwdrivers
Untested, so longevity is unknown.
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