Picked up a Gerber Fit a couple weeks ago

[3rdpig]

I know the Fit has been reviewed and commented on multiple times already (and I've read them before I purchased), but I thought I'd post my thoughts as well.  My past experiences with Gerber have been mixed, and probably more bad than good, so my expectations of the Fit were pretty low and I was prepared to send it back to Amazon before I even opened the box. 

I have to admit I'm pleasantly surprised.  Oh, some of Gerber's long standing failings, at least IMO, are still there.  They still won't put a really good knife blade on their MT's or sharpen them properly, but at least the blade is serviceable and locks up fairly well and it's not as bad as some of their previous MT blades.  This is an issue for me since I don't carry a standalone folder.

The fit of the Fit isn't bad, nothing is loose or rattles or is overly tight.  The finish is typical Gerber, 75% finished and then just left that way or painted or anodized over.  Since this is a tool it's not a big deal, but still, how much extra labor does it take to properly round a corner, shape an edge or remove tool marks before anodizing?

The other tools are above average, the bit driver is excellent, as good the one in my Cybertool and with the standard bit size probably better for general tasks.  The scissors are excellent and strong enough to cut small plastic cable ties easily.  And the small driver blades are actually useful, the small flat driver blade fits glasses screws and astonishingly, the small Phillips fits notebook/small electronics screws, not something I was expecting from Gerber, their Phillips bits usually fit nothing well, the big failure of other Gerber tools for me.

The flashlight is the reason I bought this tool.  I'm constantly under desks and in equipment rooms and I need a light that's bright enough without being too bright and that puts out a decent flood at close range.  Also, the idea of a one handed light/tool is really attractive to me since it's often hard to get two hands where I'm working and holding my flashlight in my mouth or propping it up against a wall often doesn't work too well.

Well I'm happy to report the flashlight is excellent.  Really excellent in fact.  The switch is rubberized and can be momentary or always on and the brightness and flood is perfect.  The Fit's biggest problem is, and this isn't Gerbers fault really, is the position of the light so close to the bit driver means the driver itself casts a shadow on the screw you're trying to remove or the tie you're trying to cut.  I'm still going to work with it, but for me that's a huge drawback and there's not much that can be done about it.

The Fit is overly large for the number of tools available, but I'm willing to accept that to get a light that uses an AAA battery instead of coin cells.  But it's bigger than a Cybertool 34 and a lot bigger than a Deluxe Tinker and lacks pliers.  It's amazing how useful even small pliers like the Cybertool's are for me and how often they prevent me from going to my bag for real pliers or a plier based multitool. 

The Fit's second biggest failing in my mind is the lack of a pocket clip or a lanyard ring.  It's just too big to drop into a pocket comfortably, at least for me.  A pocket clip or even a lanyard ring would have made it a much better tool.  Yea, I can add one, but on a tool this size it should be there, or a means to easily put it there, from the factory.

My conclusions are that I like the Fit and I'll probably continue to use it (at least once I get a clip or lanyard ring on it) but it's probably not going to replace my Cybertool 34 and Nebo AA flashlight.

[Nhoj]

All I heard was you need a cybertool lite.

[3rdpig]

All I heard was you need a cybertool lite.

I played with a friends and it just wasn't very bright.  Maybe it needed a new battery, but it didn't seem any brighter than the $2 keychain lights I buy in bulk on ebay.  I don't mind lights like that for emergencies, find the keyhole, find the fusebox at night, etc, etc, but they're really not bright enough for me to work by.  And I'm not a big fan of lights that use coin cells unless they're throw away lights.  I just don't seem to have much luck with them longevity wise, even when I buy the really good ones.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I expect it has the same major problem that the Fit has, the tool puts a shadow directly at the tip of the tool where you need the light most. Not really a design flaw, just the nature of the beast when the light is that close to the base of the tool.

[mikekoz]

   I use the Fit every day at work. I am a computer tech and I also use it to find things under desks, tables, etc. The blade is like you say, not too sharp, but it does the job for me. I also like the fact the flashlight is bright and uses AAA cells. I cannot stand button cells. I have two multitools that use button cells and both came with them dead. To make matters worse, they put ones in there that no store stocks. The only issue I have had with it is the driver bit that came with it keeps falling out, and one day I will lose it! A standard bit will fit, but the one that comes with it has a ball bearing in it to keep it one place, not a magnet, so any other will not stay in. I actually use a sheath for it that came with one of my flashlights, so I keep it on my belt.

[Gareth]

Cheers for the write-up 3rdpig.

[3rdpig]

   I use the Fit every day at work. I am a computer tech and I also use it to find things under desks, tables, etc. The blade is like you say, not too sharp, but it does the job for me. I also like the fact the flashlight is bright and uses AAA cells. I cannot stand button cells. I have two multitools that use button cells and both came with them dead. To make matters worse, they put ones in there that no store stocks. The only issue I have had with it is the driver bit that came with it keeps falling out, and one day I will lose it! A standard bit will fit, but the one that comes with it has a ball bearing in it to keep it one place, not a magnet, so any other will not stay in. I actually use a sheath for it that came with one of my flashlights, so I keep it on my belt.

I'm in computer/IT work as well, I've magnetized the driver on both my Cybertool 34 and my Fit.  Yea, I know you're not supposed to.  But I went to both IBM and Compaq server schools many years ago and both of them give you a tool kit when you start and both tool kits had magnetized screwdrivers in them.  Someone in the class said something about that and the Compaq instructor said something like "You'll ruin far more equipment and cost the company far more time and money by dropping screws into servers than you ever will with a magnetized screwdriver.  Since then I've always used them and never had a problem, and that's been a long time.

[kirk13]

Nice review of an over looked Gerber

[3rdpig]

I took the Fit with me on several small jobs I had this morning and I'm getting used to coming in at an angle with the driver bit to keep the light on a screw head.

But after holding my Arc AAA light and Cybertool 34 up next to it I just fail to see why Gerber felt this tool had to be so large and not contain pliers.  Had they made the flashlight body aluminum instead of plastic, which has to be thicker to be as strong, put the switch on the end instead of on the side and made the driver tool the same size as the one on the Cybertool, they could have made the Fit 10mm - 15mm shorter and added a small plier without making it any fatter.  That and a clip on it and it would be perfect.

Maybe the Fit 2.0?  I got the Fit for $23 off Amazon brand new.  I'd gladly pay $50 for a Fit with the improvements I mentioned.  Even with all the other Gerber imperfections.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Be careful what you wish for... Gerber designers have been known to lurk on this forum and occasionally implement ideas that people here have had- coincidentally I'm sure...

The Shard actually went into production due to a great amount of support from this forum, so you never know what could happen!

Def

[3rdpig]

Sounds good to me.  They can call it the Gerber Pig and let me buy #1.   

[Grant Lamontagne]

A larger version of the Fit called the Pig!

The marketing practically writes itself! 

Def

[mikekoz]

   I use the Fit every day at work. I am a computer tech and I also use it to find things under desks, tables, etc. The blade is like you say, not too sharp, but it does the job for me. I also like the fact the flashlight is bright and uses AAA cells. I cannot stand button cells. I have two multitools that use button cells and both came with them dead. To make matters worse, they put ones in there that no store stocks. The only issue I have had with it is the driver bit that came with it keeps falling out, and one day I will lose it! A standard bit will fit, but the one that comes with it has a ball bearing in it to keep it one place, not a magnet, so any other will not stay in. I actually use a sheath for it that came with one of my flashlights, so I keep it on my belt.

I'm in computer/IT work as well, I've magnetized the driver on both my Cybertool 34 and my Fit.  Yea, I know you're not supposed to.  But I went to both IBM and Compaq server schools many years ago and both of them give you a tool kit when you start and both tool kits had magnetized screwdrivers in them.  Someone in the class said something about that and the Compaq instructor said something like "You'll ruin far more equipment and cost the company far more time and money by dropping screws into servers than you ever will with a magnetized screwdriver.  Since then I've always used them and never had a problem, and that's been a long time.

    I know what you mean. I have been using magnetized screw drivers on PC's for over 20 years and never had an issue. 

[mikekoz]

I took the Fit with me on several small jobs I had this morning and I'm getting used to coming in at an angle with the driver bit to keep the light on a screw head.

But after holding my Arc AAA light and Cybertool 34 up next to it I just fail to see why Gerber felt this tool had to be so large and not contain pliers.  Had they made the flashlight body aluminum instead of plastic, which has to be thicker to be as strong, put the switch on the end instead of on the side and made the driver tool the same size as the one on the Cybertool, they could have made the Fit 10mm - 15mm shorter and added a small plier without making it any fatter.  That and a clip on it and it would be perfect.


     Maybe the Fit 2.0?  I got the Fit for $23 off Amazon brand new.  I'd gladly pay $50 for a Fit with the improvements I mentioned.  Even with all the other Gerber imperfections.

    I also wish the Fit had a set of pliers (Needlenose). I do not understand why no other manufacturer makes a good multitool with a flashlight. The only others I am aware of are cheapies, and they use those $#@! button cells! 

[bmot]

I took the Fit with me on several small jobs I had this morning and I'm getting used to coming in at an angle with the driver bit to keep the light on a screw head.

But after holding my Arc AAA light and Cybertool 34 up next to it I just fail to see why Gerber felt this tool had to be so large and not contain pliers.  Had they made the flashlight body aluminum instead of plastic, which has to be thicker to be as strong, put the switch on the end instead of on the side and made the driver tool the same size as the one on the Cybertool, they could have made the Fit 10mm - 15mm shorter and added a small plier without making it any fatter.  That and a clip on it and it would be perfect.


     Maybe the Fit 2.0?  I got the Fit for $23 off Amazon brand new.  I'd gladly pay $50 for a Fit with the improvements I mentioned.  Even with all the other Gerber imperfections.

    I also wish the Fit had a set of pliers (Needlenose). I do not understand why no other manufacturer makes a good multitool with a flashlight. The only others I am aware of are cheapies, and they use those $#@! button cells! 

Actually, I wouldn't put a flashlight on an MT for several reasons:


- first: you want an MT to be able to take a beating. Tools fall, get used wrongly, and most flashlight aren't very shock-resistant. Long story short: I think it would break too easy.


- second: in most configurations, you can't use the flashlight while using the tools, in an useful way. In the Fit, they did put it in the correct way, but certainly with plier based tools, it'd be very hard to point the flashlight at the thing you're working on.


- third: Flashlights are fairly big, or use button cells. An AAA battery itself already doesn't fit neatly in most MT handles, let alone the whole flashlight.


- fourth: Flashlights get better faster than tools, mostly. Most manufacturers want to make a tool that lasts a lifetime. If they put a part in that's outdated in a few years, that doesn't work too well with that philosophy. (I believe that's one of the reasons the Vic MP3-player didn't work out that well)


Of course, these are just my views on it and I'm not -that- knowledgeable on this subject, this is just what I could think of with some general knowledge.

[AimlessWanderer]

I'm a fan  I keep one in the glove compartment of my car, and it's a very nice accompaniment for a pliers tool which might not have scissors or a bit driver (Craftsman ProXL in my case). Always good having a eye glasses driver handy too