So, I ordered a Mountain Edition MT from Northern Tools for about $15 with shipping.
What I ordered, here...
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200326683_200326683And what I GOT, shown here...
Are OBVIOUSLY not the same thing.
I called their customer service, and after a bit of discussion, was told they'd send me out the right item at no cost, and no obligation to return the item they shipped me.
I strongly suspect that means I'll get ANOTHER one of these tools in 5-7 days.
So, anyway, in the mean time, here's the review of the tool I DID get.
This tool is 4 1/2" (114mm) long while closed, 1 1/4" (32mm) wide, and 3/4" (19mm) thick, and weighs
8.34oz (236g). It comes with a nylon belt pouch and an 11-piece standard size bit set. The tool and the bit set have separate compartments in the pouch.
All tools, except the plier head assembly, are outside accessible. Here's a look at the tool load...
On one side are the Scissors, and bit driver. On the other side is a plain edged blade, awl, can opener, Flathead driver/cap lifter, and file.
The scissors are what you'd expect for a bargain tool. they have a good deal of play, and don't want to cut much beyond paper and string. I didn't do a full test on them, but they refused to cut 550 paracord, and did a very poor job at cutting t-shirt.
The bit driver has a strong magnet retaining the bits.
The blade came paper-cutting sharp, but with a strangely blunted tip.
The awl has a decent edge and tip.
The flathead has a little rounding of the tip, but not too pronounced, and did a fine job with screws.
The can opener (with a major caviot I'll get to later) worked okay.
The file is 3-sided. The notching edge is not great, but would notch a pine 2x4. The single cut side is enough to file your nails. The crosscut side is actually one of the better files I've seen on bargain tools. Not great, but not utterly useless either.
The plier head has significant play side-to-side. This doesn't seem to affect the needlenose head as much as it affects wire-cutting ability. It has a hardwire cutting notch, and cut 12-gauge copper wire easily, if more by crushing than cutting.
The ruler is stamped into the tool. English on one side, metric on the other.
Overall construction: The frame of this thing is made like a frickin' tank, and held together with knurled bolts. Opened in plier configuration, the rounded edges of the tool give a comfortable hand hold. Minimum flex in the frame, and the method of attachment of the plier head make it seem like a rock-solid tool. With the plier assembly closed, the unfinished edges of the frame are painfully sharp. As it came, the can opener is in the center of the tool, and useless. The hook won't grab the rim of a can because the tool's body is in the way. A little cheap and cheerful surgery fixed that, and the fact that the tool is held together with bolts, not peened pins, allowed the mistake to be corrected with minor effort.
The tools don't lock, but because they're held in place by a backspring formed from the insanely thick metal of the frame, this tool has possibly the strongest non-locking tool retentions I've ever encountered. The bit driver and flathead are both designed also so that force on them should push them toward the locking side.
One of the unfortunate design problems with this tool is that the 3 center tools on the side with 5 tools can't be individually opened. The good (?) news is that even with washers between the tools, there's still considerable tool clumping. So... yay?
It's a little hard to get an idea of how big this tool is. I was expecting one the size of the Leatherman PST. Here's a shot of it next to my Sheffield PST clone for comparison.
So, the big question is... Is it worth it? Hmmm... If you buy it in their store, for $8, I'd say without a doubt, yes. If you tack on another $7 for shipping, it starts to look a lot more questionable.
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