Thoughts on my new Flik.

[Gareth]

The Flik is not the most popular MT Gerber ever came out with I suspect.  Have a search of the site and you'll see quite a lot of negative feedback, especially from around 2008 when the Flik hit the shops.  I haver to admit that a lot of that negativity put me off getting one, but when Chip was selling one for a good price I decided it was time for a new MT.

  I'm going to address the screwdrivers first as they do seem to be the most controversial part of the Flik.  OK, they are short.  There is no getting away from the fact.  BUT so is the bit driver on LM's Wave/Charge etc and that never seems to get the flack Gerber drivers attract.  They are also tricky to get too, being so short and being well recessed into the Flik's body.  Happily pulling back on the lock tabs lifts the tools slightly and lets you hook them out with a fingernail.  Being accessible without having to open up the pliers is definitely a bonus IMO. 
  Ah, but not all is well and happy in Gareth land.   I am perfectly OK with the shape and grind of the two flat drivers, they fitted nicely in a range of slotted screw-heads I tried, but the 'flat' Phillips is another story altogether.  At first glance it looks like Phillips driver, but after trying it out on a couple of screw I was starting to wonder what I was doing wrong.  Now I was testing this in my workshop and I have numerous different types and sizes of screws; both Phillips and Pozidriv.  This driver wouldn't properly fit in even one of them.  The reason; I hear you ask?  IT'S TOO THICK TO FIT INTO A SCREW!!  Seriously, have a look at a flange on a normal Phillips driver, it'll be about 1mm or so at the base and tapers down gently to the tip.  The flat Phillips was easily twice as thick as that and wouldn't actually fit into the slot of even the largest of screws I had.

Is it a manufacturing defect?  I don't know, it certainly looks like every other Flik driver I'd ever seem a pic of, but I cannot be sure.  As i was always planning on using this MT and I really needed to be able to turn a screw or two I decided to re-grind the driver myself.  About half an hour on my bench stone had the thickness reduced down to a point where it would actually fit into and turn a few different screw heads.  Not perfect yet, but a little more tinkering will have it up to a point I am happy with.

Enough rambling for now, more thoughts to follow.

[SolomonKane79]

Hi Gareth. Yes, the philips is the worst implement on the Flik for sure. Maybe the Gerber bit kit with the adapter could be a solution to the shortcomings of the Flik!

[AimlessWanderer]

I must admit, I never got to use my Flik due to the pliers problem I had, so I never tested the Phillips. Another of the implements which didn't look usable was the can opener. I'd be interested to hear what that's actually like in use too

I look forward to hearing the rest of your thoughts 

[kirk13]

Gareth,looks like you caught he bullet for me

I'd been looking at the Flik when Chip had been selling it....

[Gareth]

Well I've got it down to a shape that actually fits into a screw head.   I have not had a chance to try opening a can yet, but I can tell you that the opener works well as a little scraper/lifting tool. 

The scissors are excellent BTW: comfy, OHO, cuts papper, card, toweling, everything I've thrown at them so far.

I may have found a serrated blade I actually like as well!  No burring issues on mine that some folks seem to have had either.  Neither blade is easy to OHO, especially left handed, but still doable.

Pliers seem to be well done, no issues with deploying mine nor locking in place.  The V cutters are the best I have tried on a MT; sharp and meet well to make a very clean cut of multi-stand cable.

Other than the woeful Phillips I am very happy so far.

[AimlessWanderer]

Good to hear 

[colt 1911]

Well thanks for the mini review, i have been on the fence about purchasing one. Think i will just go with the MP400.

[Gareth]

I do think the MP400 is a much safer bet for a first Gerber. :

[AimlessWanderer]

I do think the MP400 is a much safer bet for a first Gerber. :

I think "safer" is a very appropriate turn of phrase. Other than suffering fat Phillips syndrome, you appear to have done very well with your specimen. I would wager that the MP400 (and 600 for that matter) are far more consistent in their build quality, and I think that's the most significant factor for me. Nobody wants to be playing a lottery with their tool purchases

If I'm buying a tool based on someone elses review, I want to know that my copy will mirror theirs in most respects. Likewise, if someone gets a duff 'un and does a review on it, it's liable to turn a lot of people off the tool. This is an area which the Swiss excel at, and where Leatherman used to excel. There certainly appears to be more reports of inconsistencies on Leatherman's modern releases than their older models - and I have definitely referred to their QC as a lottery before ... once or twice  .

Gerber have started making much better tools of late following a disapointing period of producing some utter tripe, but I don't know if they've got the consistency part there yet. I don't think they did on the Flik line - there's some obvious differences between your copy and mine, but hopefully they are getting there with other stuff

[Gareth]

Al is spot on, sadly.  I do think I've got a good example of the Flik but reading other peoples experiences I'm not totally sure it is representative.

Conversely I got a real duffer of a Octane that had issues with all three of it's screwdrivers and gritty pliers to boot.   Others seem to have had a better experience and I think I got a Friday afternoon rush-job.

Both good tools in their own way, but without seeing lots of examples it's hard to know what the average standard is.

Both my MP400 and MP450 were both excellent and I can't think of many issues that other members have reported.

[colt 1911]

I had a MP400 and sold it for swisstool which IMO is one of or if not the best MT. That being said I do miss the 400, for me it was a tool that could get down and dirty. Anyways sorry for derailing the the thread.

[Gareth]

Derail away mate.

[jekostas]

I still remember (and not fondly) my only experience with owning a Flik.  What a piece of freaking junk that thing was.

On the plus side I only paid $10 for it and traded it to a dude for an Endura 2, so that worked out okay.

[Gareth]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with yours.  Was it badly built or was it the design that you didn't like? 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I like my Flik.  For me the main problem is the complicated pawl system for opening the handles.  Occasionally it will get stuck only halfways open, which you only notice when you see that the pliers are on a slightly different angle than they should be, or more likely when you go to close them and they kind of stick a little and it takes you a moment to shut them.  Not a huge deal though.

It's not the greatest tool out there, not the greatest Gerber, but it's not without its charms.  Frankly I think more highly of the Flik than I do a certain high end tool that grinds away at itself every time you try to open it.  Yes, perhaps that other tool is somewhat nicer, but at a significantly higher price too, and while it might overall be nicer than a Flik, it isn't nicer than 2-3 Fliks.   

Def

[chip]

Glad to see you are pleased'ish with the flick.

I have owned Two and now have sold them both.
Never actually used either but thought they generally look good apart from the drivers. Not a great fan of the gerber 2D Phillips anyway based on my experience of the suspension.

The Phillips would cam out every time.
In contrast I have removed many long Phillips and pozi screws some requiring a lot of torque with my little alox vic classic.
Which proves a 2D Phillips can work very well when done well.

But my main grip with the flik which made me decide it was not for me is the  the fact that when you released the lock to fold away the your chosen blade it would make the drivers stick out a fraction, which meant that you would then have to push them back into the handle.

Now some people may not be bothered by this or even bother to do this before putting the tool away.
But i would have to if only to avoid an OCD based melt down.
My nick name at work, well one of many is OCD boy. As little things like that bug the hell out of me.

[Gareth]

While I do have a couple of OCD tendencies myself, the fact the drivers lift a little when using one of the long tools actually doesn't bother me.  Of course now you've said it..........

[Grant Lamontagne]

The drivers are supposed to lift- it helps get them out. 

Def

[chip]

Hi grant, I know but it still bugged me that this would happen when the drivers had no business doing so.

Also I have tried the Phillips driver on my diesel and it works really well surprisingly.

[jekostas]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with yours.  Was it badly built or was it the design that you didn't like?

Been a couple of years, but here's the topic:
http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,22760.msg420504.html#msg420504

[Gareth]

Well it might surprise you all to hear it but I am still carrying my Flik.  I did finally get a chance to try the can opener to other day; oh dear.  As a can opener it totally fails, I just couldn't get it to work at all right handed (simply didn't hook under the rim of the can).  Interestingly it had slightly more sucess using it left handed but it was still so bad that I gave up before I finished.

As a scraper/lifting tool it is actually ok, but if it is the only way you have to open a can of food; expect to go hungry.

[Goatlord666]

Thanks for the input...i believe that these fault will not deter me from getting my hands on a Gerber flik...because now I am armed with the knowledge to make them right

cheers

[Gareth]

Well I did manage to have a look at another Flik this weekend an it's Phillips looked better, not sure if it was any better but it did look to be thinner than mine had been and so might actually fit in a screw.

[Goatlord666]

i wish i read this thread first before I did a but it now on an MP600-ST and an MP600 Military... i have to wait another month to find out if the same issue on the philips screwdriver is true for most if not all models...but your recent observations make all the more reason to get myself a flik.

[Gareth]

Well, IF you are wiling to gamble on whether or not the Phillips will actually work I say go for it.  More than 3 weeks after getting mine and I am still carrying and using mine every day, no other MT has had a look-in at work.  Add a bit exchanger and I think you have a pretty good MT.

[Goatlord666]

I've added the flik to my Acquisition list - LM OHT, then FLIK, then OCTANE

cheerz!

[Gareth]

Holy heck, I'm still using the Flik at work.  Can't remember the last time I carried a single MT for this long without a break.   I did get to use it in a role I'd not tried before yesterday; cutting plasterboard (drywall).  Works very well, very well indeed.   It is however only a very mediocre saw for wood, at best.  Being so thick it makes for a very laborious sawing action.

[SolomonKane79]

Holy heck, I'm still using the Flik at work.  Can't remember the last time I carried a single MT for this long without a break.   I did get to use it in a role I'd not tried before yesterday; cutting plasterboard (drywall).  Works very well, very well indeed.   It is however only a very mediocre saw for wood, at best.  Being so thick it makes for a very laborious sawing action.

[Shotgundoug13]

I recently bought a flik and haven't used it yet. It's most likely going to end up in my fishing bag as a backup to one of me EDC tools or as one I would let a friend use if he forgot his. I will admit I only bought it for the outside accessible knife.

[colt 1911]

I like the Gerbers, so far I have the mp400,mp600, 600, pinchy soon to have a flick.


Swiss Army knives .