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CRKT ExiTool

gb Offline Cupboard

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CRKT ExiTool
on: July 26, 2014, 01:16:12 PM
The CRKT ExiTool is not what springs to mind when someone says the word "multitool", however it does combine a handful of things in to one package that, according to the blurb, "could save your life".

I came by my ExiTool thanks to an MTO giveaway with a prize from the guys at CRKT (thanks!) and it seemed rude not to review it. I have kept a ResQMe in my car for a while now and they're obviously aimed at the same market so I will draw some comparisons.



Without further ado, these are the tools in question, the ExiTool being the bright orange thing on the right. It has three features listed: a seat belt cutter made from 420J2 stainless steel at a claimed 52-54HRC, a tungsten carbide window breaker and an LED light running from the fairly ubiquitous CR2032 battery.



Obviously any tool like this is primarily designed for emergencies, and emergencies tend not to be the most ordered situations. With that in mind, the ExiTool has been designed with a method of fixing it in your vehicle such that it's always at hand. It fastens round your seatbelt so that however you end up you'll always be able to reach it.





In practice, it always ends up down by the buckle because it doesn't grip the belt, and you can't really put it on the lap belt.

Compared to the ResQMe it's nice to see the designers have thought about how you're going to store it. The ResQMe seems to be intended to live on your key ring which isn't a desperately good place to store it in my opinion because of its size and the fact it's plastic. As a result, me ResQMe is cable tied to my gear stick:



My car doesn't look that bad in person!

Now we come to the section where I tell you that the screwdrivers are too short to open up various electrical cabinets I use, the small flat driver won't fit in terminal blocks and the wire cutters don't work properly on stranded wire. But there's a problem, I've never rolled my car over or driven it in to a river, I've never seen one that has and I'm not about to go and try. I also don't have and spare bits of seatbelt and I'm not about to go round smashing the windows in all the farm tractors.

What I can tell you is that it's possible to break glass with both sorts of tool here and the cutter blade is nice and sharp. I can test the light, and it's exactly what you'd expect from it - nothing earth-shattering but useful enough in a pinch.  In case you're wondering, it's just your average Fauxton arrangement with a Panasonic battery.

Comparing the cutters on the two they're actually slightly different. Sliding something through the jaws on the ExiTool lines it up with a section towards the middle of the blade just ripe for a bit of cutting:



Whereas on the ResQMe it ends up wedged down one end:



Whether or not that makes any difference I've no idea, they both seem to work and all the letter openers I've used work in the ResQMe style.

Whilst I can confirm the glass breaker on the ExiTool works in principle, the problem is you have to swing your arm in a rather awkward manner to actually use it if you're in a vehicle. Realistically I could only do it with my right arm (that's the side against the door) because using the other arm means a really weird swing across the body. This compares badly with the ResQMe which I can quite happily manage to press against anything with either hand.

The ExiTool comes with a small instruction sticker to be affixed to the body. The only place you can put it is on top of the battery cover, so you'd need to remove the sticker if you ever needed to chance the battery. This seems a bit silly to me and I've already lost the sticker. I don't think it said anything useful.

Edit: I found the sticker!



In conclusion, I have to say I think I'd buy the ResQMe over the ExiTool. That's not to say the ExiTool is bad in any way and the LED light is a very handy addition. It's just that for me the ResQMe is more suitable. The way I have mine mounted is less intrusive and annoying than the ExiTool, whilst being accessible to the passenger and being easier to break glass with.

For the Exitool:

Pros:
Integrated attachment method
Handy little LED light
Cutter might be marginally better than the competition?

Cons:
It's actually a bit annoying having it flapping around on the end of your seatbelt
Non spring loaded glass breaker
« Last Edit: July 26, 2014, 01:39:24 PM by Cupboard »


it Offline SolomonKane79

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Re: CRKT ExiTool
Reply #1 on: July 26, 2014, 01:42:36 PM
Great review/comparison, thank you!
Antonio


 

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