Strata
I was in REI recently with a 25% off coupon in my pocket and I was looking for a multi that I didn’t currently own or have owned, and I saw the Strata. The price was reasonable with the coupons so I decided to buy one. The following are the features and my thoughts on those features.
The toolset on the Strata is as follows: Spring-loaded pliers with carbide inserts, CE OHO blade, scissors, flat head driver, can opener/bottle opener combo tool, wood saw, small flat head driver/clamshell opener, Phillips driver, and file.
Impressions:
Pliers: The pliers feel good in the hand and the spring loaded aspect is a nice addition. When I was working on my car over the weekend it was nice to have pliers that were easy to manipulate when I was in hard to reach places. The carbide cutters are a little different than past Gerber models (MP600), in that they are anvil instead of bypass cutters. As Bob mentioned earlier it means they will be less prone to shattering and can cut through more items easier. I tried them on a coat hanger and they went through like butter, with no signs of chipping or denting. They look to be user replaceable, just like the older MP600 style cutters.
Knife: The knife is a basic Gerber offering. The profile reminds me of the Benchmade Osbourne designed knives, which is neither good nor bad, just an observation. The knife opens fairly smooth and lockup is tight with no noticeable play in either direction. The stonewashed finish is a nice touch over the bead blasted finish on the other Gerber offerings.
Flat head driver: Basic large flat head driver/pry tip which is about the same size of driver on the 111mm Victorinox knives. Has a fingernail pull on top that could double as a bottle opener in a pinch (but only for smaller bottles).
Can opener/bottle opener: I can see this as being both good and bad on a tool like this. I can see the implement bending while opening stubborn cans, and it’s a little unwieldy to open bottles. I would have preferred Gerber adding a bottle opener to another implement (large flat head driver) and keeping the bottle opener separate.
Scissors: The scissors on my model are very stiff to use, but cut paper and thick cardstock with ease, but the stiffness is a turn off for me. They will probably break in over time due to the resistance being run off the back spring.
Wood Saw: I haven’t actually used the wood saw on the Strata yet but it seems like it would do a good job at cutting down most anything you would use a multi tool to cut.
Small flat head/clamshell opener: Again we see the clamshell opener on a Gerber tool, only this one is a little different than the one found on the Octane. This is a push style rather than the Octane’s pull style. I must say I prefer the Octane’s opener over the Strata’s, but they both get the job done. The Octane’s opener just seems like it has more uses.
Phillips driver: Finally Gerber is listening to us and putting proper Phillips drivers on their tools. This one has good length, and is also quite thick. I would not hesitate to put some torque on this driver.
File: The file is a bit of a disappointment in my eyes. It’s not very long, and I feel it could be coarser, but in a pinch it will do what you need, until you can get to a proper file. As Bob mentioned in his earlier review the end of the file could be used as a sort of needle file if one was needed.
Sheath: I really like the sheath that comes with the Strata. It is made of a padded nylon that really hugs the tool, but also doesn’t make it hard to get the tool out of the sheath. It can be worn vertical or horizontal, and features a snap closure.
Overall: Gerber is finally making some strides in a positive “non-Suspension” direction and I must say it has come at the right time. Sure the Strata has some shortcomings, but no tool is perfect. Its not the “Wave-killer” as some people let on, but it’s a serviceable tool with a solid set of implements. If Gerber keeps with this trend I feel they will win back a lot of people who maybe had forgotten about Gerber, and their uninspired designs.
Note: A Leatherman Charge Ti was used in all pictures for size comparison only.
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