The Columbia River Knife and Tool company's Guppie is an unusual design. In a field almost entirely dominated by plier-based, scissor-based, and knife-based options, the Guppie is based around an adjustable wrench.
The tool is 5.1oz (144g), 3 5/8" (92mm) long, 1 7/8" (48mm) wide, and 1" (25mm) thick with the bit kit, or 1/2" (12mm) thick without. The main tool is all metal, with a black coating (which I believe is paint). The bit kit is probably FRN or similar.
Here is a picture of the Guppie.
Here's the Guppie with wrench jaw open, blade deployed, bit in socket, and bit holder/flashlight detached.
The adjustable wrench head opens to 1/2" (12mm). This seems to limit the size of bolts it will handle, but the short handle will limit the torque you can apply, so I am guessing the two functions are fairly well paired. There is a fair amount of play between the moving wrench jaw, and adjustment screw. I don't think it would affect function. Unfortunately, I can't find many things around the house to test the wrench on. I used it to unscrew a piece of coaxial cable in the basement. I couldn't find another use for it.
The blade has a hole for one-hand opening. It has good retention closed, but not so much that I found it difficult to open. It is also positioned to allow reasonable use right or left handed. The blade doesn't lock, but does retain well in the open position. The cutting surface is just under 2" (51mm), but only 1 1/2" (38mm) of this protrudes beyond the wrench jaws. The blade's stock seems reasonably thick, and gives the impression of a sturdy tool. There is just a very slight side-to-side play in mine.
On the side of the tool away from the wrench head is a hex bit socket, with a magnet inside for bit retention. Both with the 4 bits that come with it, and other standard hex bits I have around the house, the bit holder worked very well. The wide body of the tool allows great torque with minimal effort. I did find myself occasionally accidentally gripping the carabiner gate, and having it 'collapse' instead of having a firm handhold on the tool. This was only a minor problem.
The carabiner has a very solid feel, with a sturdy, spring-loaded gate. Unfortunately, I don't have a bottle to test the cap lifter function, but it looks like it would work well.
The final feature of the main tool is the belt clip. If the bit kit is removed, the Guppie is fairly comfortable for pocket carry. With or without the bit kit, the tool carries well on the belt. the clip feels incredibly sturdy, and has impressive stiffness to the spring, while still being well shaped to catch on a pocket.
In addition the the main tool, there is a combination bit kit/LED flashlight that attaches to the side of the Guppie. It comes with four standard size hex bits (#1 and #2 philips, and #3 and #5 flat head). The kit is held to the main tool by two strong magnets, and two plastic 'pins' the stick into the Guppie's frame. Those same magnets hold the hex bits securely in place. The LED flashlight is fairly dim. I would guess a few lumens max.
However, while it's not terribly bright, the connector system of the flashlight and tool means you can flip the bit kit around, to point the light either toward the wrench/blade end, OR the hex socket end, ensuring a little pinpoint light right were you would need it.
One last trick up the bit kit's sleeve, it has a lanyard hole, if you wished to hang the light around your neck, or simply keep tabs of it while not attached to the main body of the Guppie.
There's this terrible problem I have in writing this review. There are some simply great ideas on this tool. The pinpoint light, the magnets used to retain things in place, the excellent bit socket. The problem is that the feature that the tool is built around, an adjustable wrench, just doesn't seem as useful as (for instance) pliers. I had to go LOOK for something to use it on.
However, I think the good considerably outweighs the bad. I'm going to give a thumbs up to this fascinating little tool. I think it might not be the best single-tool option, but I bet there would be some fantastic tool combos it could be used in.
A Final Note: I want to again thank Columbia River Knife and Tool for their generous donation of this tool which I won in a giveaway for MTO's 8th Anniversary Review Contest. Also, I want readers to understand this is a 'first impression' of the tool. It's been in my hands for less than 2 hours. My impression of it may change over time, with additional use.
Pros
Great ergonomics as a screw driver
Very useful LED
Good one-hand open on blade left or right handed
Cons
Kind of heavy for what you get
Adjustable Wrench has limited use
Awkward pocket carry with attached bit kit
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