Home Depot now carrying Gerbers

[Lynn LeFey]

My hubby and I went to the local Home Depot today to look at riding mowers, and appliances, and, of course, while there, I had to slide past the section with multi-tools.

Until today, the only tools they ever had were the Leatherman Wingman and Wave, and a cheapo branded as 'Husky'.

To my shock, when I went through today, they no longer had the Husky, and they had 3 offerings from Gerber: The Mini Suspension P, the Crucial, and the MP600. I've never had a Crucial, but I have to say I'm VERY happy with the other two options. The Mini Suspension P, for the sub $10 pricetag, is a pretty decent keychain/pocket tool. And the MP600 is a virtually indestructible workhorse (though not sure if it's worth the $50 price they're asking).

I took this as a very positive sign, personally. Maybe home Depot has realized that the cost of replacing all those cheap Huskies wasn't worth it, and were forced by market pressures to step their game up.

[derekmac]

I wonder if they'll make it to the Canadian market?    When I was there on the weekend, they didn't have ANYTHING at all.

[RimfireNZ]

None of our big Home Depot style stores carry any real name brands. They're all $10 Sheffield knock offs of other knives. All Leathermans/Victorinoxes/Gerbers are all at the "outdoor" type shops at 300% - 400% markup over US retailers. They're a "high value" item.

I still have one of the $10 multi-tool knockoffs somewhere. It's a whole different level of "tool"

[powernoodle]

This is good to know, Lynn.  Though I almost never buy MTs from a bricks-n-mortar store, its good to know that I could if I had to.

[captain spaulding]

Thanks for letting us know. Now the long wait for them to go on Clearance. Fingers crossed. 

[Lynn LeFey]

I was at Lowes the other day, and came across another Gerber there that kind of shocked me.

A 'Clutch'. So... I'm not sure what's going on. The 'Clutch' and 'Mini Suspension P' are essentially the same tool. Just different scales.

I didn't even know Gerber was still making the Clutch. So, I'm very confused and don't know what the smurf is going on. However, Lowes has the Clutch for the same price that home Depot has the Mini Suspension P, so...

[freginold]

I just noticed the same thing.  I always look for multi tools at Home Depot, and like you said, it's always a couple of Leatherman tools (out of my price range) and an over-sized, over-priced Husky.  But last time I was there they had the Mini Suspension-P for $9.97.  I've never had a Gerber, so I bought it.  It was nice to see that kind of choice at Home Depot.

[Lynn LeFey]

I think for $10 the Mini Suspension P/Clutch is a pretty reasonable tool. Not as small as I'd like, but small enough to reasonably be carried by someone all the time.

[freginold]

I agree.  A little heavy for its size I think, but a decent tool.

[CanadianLMfan]

Two years ago I bought the Wingman from Home Depot for $25. The days of cheap(er) multitools are over now.

[freginold]

I've never paid more than $15 or $16 for a multi tool (by budget, not by choice) but I think if I saw a Wingman for $25 today I'd probably buy it.

[Lynn LeFey]

Check Home Depot, about a week before Christmas. Or, wait for a few days after Christmas. Almost guaranteed Home Depot will have the Wingman for at or around $20.

[freginold]

Check Home Depot, about a week before Christmas. Or, wait for a few days after Christmas. Almost guaranteed Home Depot will have the Wingman for at or around $20.

I will definitely do that!  Haven't seen it below $30 yet but that's out of my price range, so waiting a few months to be able to afford it isn't a bad deal at all.  Thanks!