Sorry, my photography skills suck. This is the first time I've ever tried to write a detailed review of anything. Hopefully someone finds it usefull... please let me know any thoughts you may have.
I picked this up used off of ebay.
Initial ImpressionsUpon opening the package, one of the first things I noticed is that this is smaller than I expected. It's not much bigger than a pocket knife. The second thing I noticed was that it feels extremely solid. There's almost no side movement in the pliers at all. I was very impressed.
Pocket CarryOne thing I did not like is that, in my opinion, the pocket clip is on the wrong way. When you clip it in your pocket the pliers are pointing up, and it feels like half the tool is sticking out of your pocket. If the clip had been reversed, the tool would sit deeper in the pocket and feel more secure. After carrying it for a few days though, I haven't had any trouble with it falling out or catching on things, and it's very comfortable.
Using the ToolIf you have meaty hands like me, you need to be careful how you hold the tool when using the pliers.
If you hold it with the body of the tool in your palm (pictured above) everything is fine. If you hold it with plier handle in your palm (pictured below) you can end up pinching your hand between the body and the handle.
The pliers feel very solid. Very little movement can be felt, even when twisting. The pliers are small, and anything over about 3/4" becomes difficult to hold secure. With their small size, I would have preferred the pliers to be needle nose for smaller tasks. Overall, the pliers work very well.
There is a wire cutter at the base of the pliers. This is one part I'm somewhat dissapointed with. On mine, there is a small gap between the two sides. If used for cutting small wire, sometimes the wire will rotate and wedge between the blades, rather than the blades making a clean cut.
Inside the body are a plain knife blade, a serrated blade, and a flat screwdriver that has a file on one side. None of the tools lock open, so they can close if you're not careful with how your using them. I tried doing a little prying with the flat blade screwdriver and it closed on me a couple times while I was using it. I attribute this more to operator error than any flaw in the tool. Still, it would be nice if the tools locked open.
The plain knife edge seems to be pretty standard. This is a used tool and the blade was a bit dull. There were no chips or dings in the blade, which seems to indicate it holds up well with use.
The serrated blade works very well for how small it is. It cut through small branches (1" - 2" diameter) rather quickly. Once again, since the blade doesn't lock, you have to be careful with how you use it. I was pushing the blade away from me and angled slightly down when the blade stuck in the branch. The movement caused the tool to close. (Don't worry, all my fingers are ok) Once again, locking blades would be very nice.
Ok, I've got to admit one thing. I don't like that there isn't a phillips head on this tool. I find I need a phillips head quite a bit.
I like the tip of the flat blade screwdriver because it allows it to work with a lot of different sizes of slotted screws. The file on the side of the screwdriver is also very handy. It's funny, a week ago I would have insisted I did not need a file on a multitool. Since I received the Toolclip, I've used the file a dozen or so times. It's definately a nice feature to have.
The Verdict is...All things considered, I really like this tool. In my opinion, the absence of a phillips head driver is a big negative. For a small pocket tool, it is very effective and very well made. I would definately recommend it to anyone that wants a small multitool to stick in their pocket for smaller jobs.
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