Multitool.org Forum
+-

Hello Lurker! Remove this ad and much more by logging in.


True Christmas Special

nelson · 28 · 4241

gb Offline nelson

  • Full Member
  • ***
    • Posts: 207
True Christmas Special
on: January 15, 2013, 10:10:33 PM
These are the tools mentioned on another thread, they were for sale in a well known home furnishings store for £6 in a waterproof plastic case. I am using the case elsewhere, it was quite good, but the tools are too embarrassing to even give away.



You'll be familiar with the little keychain tool, these have been around for a while and I really like the idea of the form factor. If there was a well engineered version around I would consider getting one. The carabiner tool looks ok at a glance with anodised sides...



...and at first you think you're getting a good tool load, but then you spot the useless cross head driver on the end and realise there are only 2 blades among all that metalwork!




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Wake up in the morning and piss excellence  :)           (Talladega Nights)


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

  • Head Turd Polisher
  • Administrator
  • *
  • Just Bananas
  • *
    • Posts: 65,920
  • Optimum instrumentum est inter aures
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #1 on: January 15, 2013, 10:27:05 PM
I'm glad you mentioned this- a couple of years ago we were approached by the folks at True Utility and they wanted to do some promotions here.  For some reason or another it never went anywhere, and now I guess I'm glad for that.

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


dk Offline AHB

  • Keeper Of The PowerCut
  • Admin Team
  • Zombie Apprentice
  • *
    • Posts: 16,937
  • Don't mistake lack of talent for genius.
True Christmas Special
Reply #2 on: January 15, 2013, 10:28:28 PM
I'm glad you mentioned this- a couple of years ago we were approached by the folks at True Utility and they wanted to do some promotions here.  For some reason or another it never went anywhere, and now I guess I'm glad for that.

Def
Ohh, I remember those guys.. ::) :D


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

  • Head Turd Polisher
  • Administrator
  • *
  • Just Bananas
  • *
    • Posts: 65,920
  • Optimum instrumentum est inter aures
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #3 on: January 15, 2013, 10:34:38 PM
Yeah, initially they signed up here with three different accounts and held conversations with each other about how great True Utility Tools were.  At the time I thought if they were too cheap to advertise properly then what does that say about their products?

Still, I'd give them the benefit of the doubt- I have sent emails asking if they were interested in doing something for one of our anniversary giveaways or sponsor one of the UK Meetups and I don't even get responses anymore.  I can't say as I'm surprised they don't want to hand out freebies if the products are that bad.

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


us Offline Lynn LeFey

  • Absolutely No Life Club
  • *******
    • Posts: 7,917
  • Any tool is better than nothing. Some not by much
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #4 on: January 15, 2013, 10:41:53 PM
Well... MY totally unbiased view of LYNN brand multitools is that they're SO awesome.

Isn't that right, Lynn?

It SURE IS, Lynn... and might I say, you're looking super-awesome today!

Why, thank you.

 :D

Thanks for the heads-up. I don't think we have those around here, but as I'm a sucker for cheapos, it's good to know what to avoid. The one with the carabiner looks deceptively like something useful, although swisstech got my $5 and I'll never buy another floppy scarab again.


gb Offline nelson

  • Full Member
  • ***
    • Posts: 207
True Christmas Special
Reply #5 on: January 15, 2013, 10:44:36 PM
I can add that the blades are quite blunt, the file on the small scarab tool has only a 1/2" of actual file and the star head driver is misshaped, its more like a T head really. The little pliers are not bad and are spring loaded.

These are more of a lost concept as I really like how the handles swing around and lock the pliers shut making a neat comfortable little coin shaped pocket tool. The scarab design is quite novel.. if only they hadn't made it out of cheese!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
« Last Edit: January 15, 2013, 10:46:17 PM by nelson »
Wake up in the morning and piss excellence  :)           (Talladega Nights)


england Offline DaveK

  • Zombie Apprentice
  • ********
    • Posts: 13,377
  • Sing, Michael, sing. On the route of the 19 Bus!
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #6 on: January 15, 2013, 10:44:51 PM
They are everywhere over here now. I've seen a display cabinet in a couple of different shops that must have 30 ish different products in there or so.

Mostly tat it has to be said...
I used to come here a lot.


gb Offline nelson

  • Full Member
  • ***
    • Posts: 207
True Christmas Special
Reply #7 on: January 15, 2013, 10:47:57 PM
The display cabinet is what got me. A nice lighted stand full of shiney multitools in packaging that utterly prevents you from actually handling them to see how much they suck.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Wake up in the morning and piss excellence  :)           (Talladega Nights)


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

  • Head Turd Polisher
  • Administrator
  • *
  • Just Bananas
  • *
    • Posts: 65,920
  • Optimum instrumentum est inter aures
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #8 on: January 15, 2013, 10:51:43 PM
Well... MY totally unbiased view of LYNN brand multitools is that they're SO awesome.

Isn't that right, Lynn?

It SURE IS, Lynn... and might I say, you're looking super-awesome today!

Why, thank you.

 :D

Thanks for the heads-up. I don't think we have those around here, but as I'm a sucker for cheapos, it's good to know what to avoid. The one with the carabiner looks deceptively like something useful, although swisstech got my $5 and I'll never buy another floppy scarab again.

The original Swiss Tech tools were great.  They were a victim of their own success though.  Initially they were Swiss designed and manufactured in the US, but as they got more complex in response to customer feedback they either got really expensive or moved to China.  They chose the latter and since the price stayed reasonable they sold more and more and more, which meant the company wanted to grow and started introducing different models, each one cheaper than the last.

Some of the original models are still being made and are still pretty good.  Of course, they are not terribly complex, and so hard to screw up, like the Screwzall and MicroTech.





Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


gb Offline AimlessWanderer

  • *
  • Zombie Apprentice
  • ********
    • Posts: 17,517
  • I'm not a pessimist, I'm an experienced optimist!
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #9 on: January 15, 2013, 11:04:43 PM
In my experience True Utility are a bit of a mixed bag.

I had the Scarab I think it's called (the tool on the left in the first pic) and it was utterly horrendous - completely useless. Since then I have had a range of items from them which I've really liked ... but I've not bought any more of their pliers based multitools. The successes I've had include Twistick, Telepen, Eyeglass, Slimclips ... I'm sure there was something else  :think: ... dunno ... forgot  :-\

Essentially what I'm saying is that just because it may have True Utility written on it, doesn't necessarily mean it's a complete crock


The cantankerous but occasionally useful member, formally known as 50ft-trad


gb Offline nuphoria

  • Ambidangerous Mistress of Mod
  • Admin Team
  • *
  • Zombie Apprentice
  • *
    • Posts: 15,038
  • I'm not all bad, I'm just drawn that way.
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #10 on: January 15, 2013, 11:19:34 PM
The other non-tool stuff they made isn't all bad... the Telepen isn't bad for instance.
A dyslexic man walks in to a bra...

All my music for free: http://soundcloud.com/chrissyvandyke


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

  • Head Turd Polisher
  • Administrator
  • *
  • Just Bananas
  • *
    • Posts: 65,920
  • Optimum instrumentum est inter aures
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #11 on: January 15, 2013, 11:28:51 PM
Got any photos of this Telepen?

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


gb Offline nuphoria

  • Ambidangerous Mistress of Mod
  • Admin Team
  • *
  • Zombie Apprentice
  • *
    • Posts: 15,038
  • I'm not all bad, I'm just drawn that way.
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #12 on: January 15, 2013, 11:32:53 PM
Lots here: http://www.trueutility.com/pocket-tools-store/telepen.html

It's actually quite useful despite it's size :)
A dyslexic man walks in to a bra...

All my music for free: http://soundcloud.com/chrissyvandyke


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

  • Head Turd Polisher
  • Administrator
  • *
  • Just Bananas
  • *
    • Posts: 65,920
  • Optimum instrumentum est inter aures
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #13 on: January 15, 2013, 11:35:08 PM
I had an Inka pen like that.  I hated it.  the quality wasn't bad, but it was useless to me as I just need a pen for quick notes, but I need it often.  Unscrewing the thing just to make another mark in my notebook was just too inconvenient.

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


gb Offline AimlessWanderer

  • *
  • Zombie Apprentice
  • ********
    • Posts: 17,517
  • I'm not a pessimist, I'm an experienced optimist!
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #14 on: January 15, 2013, 11:40:26 PM
The Telepen isn't like that - just grab and yank  ;)

EDIT: Here's some size perspectives ... (and where mine lives) ...




« Last Edit: January 15, 2013, 11:47:04 PM by 50ft-trad »


The cantankerous but occasionally useful member, formally known as 50ft-trad


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

  • Head Turd Polisher
  • Administrator
  • *
  • Just Bananas
  • *
    • Posts: 65,920
  • Optimum instrumentum est inter aures
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #15 on: January 15, 2013, 11:49:25 PM
Well that makes it a lot better than the Inka pen in my opinion then.  :D

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


gb Offline nuphoria

  • Ambidangerous Mistress of Mod
  • Admin Team
  • *
  • Zombie Apprentice
  • *
    • Posts: 15,038
  • I'm not all bad, I'm just drawn that way.
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #16 on: January 16, 2013, 12:00:44 AM
I got rid of my Inka pen too - as Al as kindly demonstrated, it's a different kettle of fish :)
A dyslexic man walks in to a bra...

All my music for free: http://soundcloud.com/chrissyvandyke


gb Offline AimlessWanderer

  • *
  • Zombie Apprentice
  • ********
    • Posts: 17,517
  • I'm not a pessimist, I'm an experienced optimist!
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #17 on: January 16, 2013, 12:08:43 AM
I still have my Inka Pen. I liked the fact you could pull it out and make a quick note without having to "build it", but could assemble it if you wanted to do a fair amount of writing. I also discovered another use for it - rekindling dying fires ....

... at my brother's house a couple of years back we we having a good old slurp of intoxicating beverages and had a little fire going in his back garden. We got distracted talking and left feeding it a little late. Being rather inebriated I decided to show off and used the metal tube as a blow tube to get the embers back alive and it worked really well till I spat the bloody thing into the middle of the glowing embers and reached in with my hand to grab it back  :ahhh :ahhh :ahhh


The cantankerous but occasionally useful member, formally known as 50ft-trad


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

  • Head Turd Polisher
  • Administrator
  • *
  • Just Bananas
  • *
    • Posts: 65,920
  • Optimum instrumentum est inter aures
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #18 on: January 16, 2013, 12:27:23 AM
You are absolutely right, and I did use it that way for a while, but I gave up and went back to my Fisher Bullet, which I feel is just a much nicer pen all around.

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


gb Offline nuphoria

  • Ambidangerous Mistress of Mod
  • Admin Team
  • *
  • Zombie Apprentice
  • *
    • Posts: 15,038
  • I'm not all bad, I'm just drawn that way.
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #19 on: January 16, 2013, 11:39:50 PM
You are absolutely right, and I did use it that way for a while, but I gave up and went back to my Fisher Bullet, which I feel is just a much nicer pen all around.

Def

That's the one I keep with me, mostly because of it's ability to write on more stuff. It's not my favourite ink, being a little gloopy at times, but it has never let me down.
A dyslexic man walks in to a bra...

All my music for free: http://soundcloud.com/chrissyvandyke


gb Offline tosh

  • No Life Club
  • ******
    • Posts: 3,109
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #20 on: January 17, 2013, 02:27:25 AM
As soon as I read the heading

"True Christmas Special"

I exhaled deeply, stepped in and saw the reference to True Utility  :rant:

This kind of C.R.A.P (sorry def) actually gives crap tools a bad name.

Apologies to ALL for my offensive language - but sometimes it's the only way to express ones feelings.

I think I'll step back out...phew!!
I don't claim to know it all, but what I do know is right.


cy Offline dks

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 21,691
  • Bored
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #21 on: January 17, 2013, 08:08:51 AM
I have considered buying True Utility items many times but never did... Maybe I never will now, based on the comments here..   :(
Kelly: "Daddy, what makes men cheat on women?
Al : "Women!"

[ Knife threads ]  [ Country shopping guides ]  [ Battery-Charger-Light threads ]  [ Picture threads ]


scotland Offline Gareth

  • Admin Team
  • Point Of No Return
  • *
    • Posts: 36,651
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #22 on: January 17, 2013, 08:30:13 PM
In my experience True Utility are a bit of a mixed bag.

I had the Scarab I think it's called (the tool on the left in the first pic) and it was utterly horrendous - completely useless. Since then I have had a range of items from them which I've really liked ... but I've not bought any more of their pliers based multitools. The successes I've had include Twistick, Telepen, Eyeglass, Slimclips ... I'm sure there was something else  :think: ... dunno ... forgot  :-\

Essentially what I'm saying is that just because it may have True Utility written on it, doesn't necessarily mean it's a complete crock

I have considered buying True Utility items many times but never did... Maybe I never will now, based on the comments here..   :(

I would strongly take Al's point here, some True Utility gear is fine, some seems to be utter rubbish.  Luckily enough we can read reviews on individual items rather than just writing off a whole brand because of some very ropey items. ;)
Be excellent to each other and always know where your towel is.


cy Offline dks

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 21,691
  • Bored
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #23 on: January 17, 2013, 08:38:37 PM
they keep winking at me everytime I shop from  amazon uk....   :D
Kelly: "Daddy, what makes men cheat on women?
Al : "Women!"

[ Knife threads ]  [ Country shopping guides ]  [ Battery-Charger-Light threads ]  [ Picture threads ]


gb Offline nelson

  • Full Member
  • ***
    • Posts: 207
True Christmas Special
Reply #24 on: January 19, 2013, 01:03:55 PM
Quote>> You are absolutely right, and I did use it that way for a while, but I gave up and went back to my Fisher Bullet, which I feel is just a much nicer pen all around.

Def <<Quote

It's the black Fisher Bullet that I keep in my Skinths for EDC. It's the price of a cheapo multitool though.

I've occasionally spotted the Fisher telescopic pen for sale, but have never handled one.



Is there a thread around anywhere about short pens that fit in LM type sheaths, a cheaper alternative would be nice?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
« Last Edit: January 19, 2013, 01:06:37 PM by nelson »
Wake up in the morning and piss excellence  :)           (Talladega Nights)


scotland Offline Gareth

  • Admin Team
  • Point Of No Return
  • *
    • Posts: 36,651
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #25 on: January 19, 2013, 01:12:06 PM
Zebra pens do a couple of telescopic pens that are reasonably cheap. :tu:
Be excellent to each other and always know where your towel is.


hr Offline enki_ck

  • Global Moderator
  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *
    • Posts: 20,903
  • I may get older but I refuse to grow up.
Re: True Christmas Special
Reply #26 on: January 19, 2013, 03:04:13 PM
+1 on the Zebra telescopic. Been carrying one for years.


gb Offline nelson

  • Full Member
  • ***
    • Posts: 207
True Christmas Special
Reply #27 on: January 19, 2013, 11:00:08 PM
+1 on the Zebra telescopic. Been carrying one for years.
(Image removed from quote.)

That's neat, I'll try to pick one up


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Wake up in the morning and piss excellence  :)           (Talladega Nights)


 

Donations

Operational Funds

Help us keep the Unworkable working!
Donate with PayPal!
March Goal: $300.00
Due Date: Mar 31
Total Receipts: $379.86
PayPal Fees: $19.62
Net Balance: $360.24
Above Goal: $60.24
Site Currency: USD
120% 
March Donations

Community Links


Powered by EzPortal