Gerber Dime Review

[afi1]

Here is my long-term review of the excellent Gerber Dime multi-tool:

It wasn't a planned purchase.  I didn't even know it existed until I saw it in the display case at the Brigade Quartermaster on Ft. Stewart more than a year and a half ago.  I liked the idea of having a small tool to carry on my keys, since the Gerber MP600 I was issued was too big and bulky to carry out of uniform.  I purchased the tool for around $20.  It has been on my keys ever since. 

http://www.gerbergear.com/Tactical/Tools/Dime-Black_31-001134

The tool  is 2.75in in length, weighs 2.2oz and has 10 functions.  The example I have is black.  The finish has held up pretty well on the tools themselves, but the aluminum scales have suffered quite a bit of wear from rubbing against keys in my pocket.  It doesn't bother me though.  In fact, I really like the look.  I don’t know if its due to the finish or not, but I haven’t had any rust issues with this tool.


The main tool on the Dime is a set of spring loaded needle nose pliers.  They come to a very keen point, and can easily be used as tweezers.  There is also a wire cutter portion on the jaws.  The pliers are very useful, and have been tested multiple times.  I will warn that they are not heavy duty, and can be damaged by putting too much force on the tool.  I have twisted mine once.  I can’t remember what  job I was doing, but I remember that I was asking a bit much of the tool.  Lucky for me they went back to shape.  The A symmetric handle shape is quite ergonomic.  I use the convex side against my palm and the bottle opener gives a little extra length, aiding in control.  I can get 2 to 3 fingers on the concave side.


Easily the most used implement on the tool is the flat head driver.  I use it as a driver, a pry bar and as a scraper.  One down side to the flat head driver is its location on the hinge side of the tool.  Because of this, it cannot be extended by half opening the tool as the Philips driver can.


The Philips driver is acceptable, but not great.  It is two dimensional, short and includes a file.  Surprisingly it works fairly well when employed as a screwdriver, but still cannot compete with a proper Philips.  The file may work for fingernails, but I have used it to smooth burrs on metal and it’s cutting ability has pretty much gone away.  It’s placement on the tool is nice, as it can be extended by unfolding half of the tool to reach deeper set screws.


The scissors are/were quite good.  They have cut everything: paper, strings, zip ties, tape, small wires, 550 cord and more.  The “Thumb Ramp” of sorts is about double the thickness of the jaws and keeps things comfortable when used.  I didn't realize how much I used them until the spring broke a few weeks ago.  Originally I thought the spring just wore out, but when cleaning I found a small crack near it’s base.  I have contacted Gerber about this, and they told me to send it back for warranty repair.


The second most used tool is the knife blade.  I carry a Waved Spyderco Endura 4 as my primary EDC knife.  It is purely for emergency defensive work and I never cut anything with it.  When I need a cutting edge, I use the Dime.  I have never had anything to cut that the Gerber couldn't handle.  The blade is a short, sheep’s foot style with a double bevel edge.  It is made of 3Cr13 steel, but touches up nicely and holds enough edge to get me through my day.  I have cut cardboard, fabric, tape, paper, wood, plastic and just about anything else you can think of with it.


A unique tool is the package opener.  It has a finger choil area so you can choke up on the tool and keep it from folding during use.  It makes quick work of clam shell packaging.  It is very useful and I expect this implement will be showing up on more and more multi-tools as time goes on.  It should be noted that this tool is not original to Gerber.  It showed up many years ago in Schrade multi-tools.


The bottle opener.  What can I say?  It works.  I really like the fact that it doesn't have to be opened to use; it’s always out.  Running the key ring through it as I have slightly obscures it, but it still works.  I do this because I accidentally broke the small ring the tool came with.  Most all of the beer I drink requires an opener, so it has come in handy.


Oh, tweezers!  Near the bottle opener is a tweezers stashed under the scale ala SAK.  I can’t say much about them aside from they work.  I use them quite often at work testing illegal substances.  I haven’t ever used them to pick out a splinter because the pliers work good enough at that.


All implements aside from the pliers are accessible without unfolding the tool.  Nothing on the tool locks, but the springs are secure without being too tight- Everything opens easy enough.  I will be sending it back to Gerber for warranty repair on the scissors and I plan to replace it with a Leatherman Squirt PS4 while its away.  After carrying that for a while, I’ll try and figure out which one I like best.  Either way, this tool has more than paid me back for it’s price and I highly recommend it.  If you need a small, light, tough little tool, the Dime might be right for you.  Thanks for reading.

[rdub934]

Great review, afi1  . I tend to agree with most of your findings concerning the Dime. I don't carry mine anymore since I got my Style CS - I prefer the lighter weight, and since I almost always have pocket-sized or full-sized multitool on me so I don't need such a full featured keychain tool. I do really like the pliers of the Dime and I think the blade is excellent for such a small, inexpensive tool. I have a red Dime and all of the implements are overly difficult to open - in fact the philips/file is a nail breaker. However, my Wife has a green Dime and everything operates much easier.

At any rate, it looks like you have really gotten a lot of use from your Dime, and that is the most telling factor.

[Mr. Whippy]

Fantastic review.  I really like the way the Dime has worn in.  Great tool, imo. 

[derekmac]

Fantastic review! The Dime is one MT I keep forgetting about until I see pics or read a review. I really should pick one up.


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[AimlessWanderer]

Great review  looking forward to the next one 

Another fan of the Dime here, and I would agree with much of what you had to say. It is a shame about the scissior spring. It's a very weak design that more than just Gerber are using, and it seems to have a limited (and erratic) lifespan no matter which manufacturer. My Dime has held out so far, but my LM Style PS crapped out very quickly. My Dime isn't everyday carry, but as you can tell is one that does get it's fair share of carry and use 

[Gareth]

Excellent review mate. 

[Aloha]

what a great review.   i see these around but often times pass up on them for no other reason than they seem "cute" and not so capable.  i may indeed snag one in due time again thanks for a great review.

[enki_ck]

Very well written. I quite enjoyed reading it. Looking forward to the next one.

[CanadianLMfan]

Great review  looking forward to the next one 

Another fan of the Dime here, and I would agree with much of what you had to say. It is a shame about the scissior spring. It's a very weak design that more than just Gerber are using, and it seems to have a limited (and erratic) lifespan no matter which manufacturer. My Dime has held out so far, but my LM Style PS crapped out very quickly. My Dime isn't everyday carry, but as you can tell is one that does get it's fair share of carry and use 

(Image removed from quote.)

My scissors spring on my Dime died the moment I got it.

[AimlessWanderer]

It is a very unreliable design IMHO, and I wish manufacturers would move away from it 

[firiki]

Thanks for the great review, afi1, and welcome. I hadn't taken the time to check the Dime out. Seeing your review's first pic I had an inspiration: I showed the review to my wife, for whom I've been meaning to find a small EDC tool for quite a while now. Normally, she doesn't care for them at all. However, this time her reaction was: "hey, that's useful"! So, bingo and some extra points for this review, I think.

[Gareth]

I don't carry my Dime all that often, but my wife really likes the one I got her last Christmas.  The pliers are good for jewellery repair.

[Lynn LeFey]

I got a Dime (in green) and a LM Squirt PS4 (in red) and compared them for some time. The Dime has a few categories where it wins out (blade grind, bottle opener, package cutter), but overall I thought the PS4 was better (stronger pliers, better wire cutter, scissors, file)

I liked the Dime, and thought it was a darn good tool for the money, if you didn't ask too much of it. I gave mine to my older brother, because I felt like it deserved to do more than sit in a box.

I'm not a fan of how the aluminum scales wear on the Dime (or Squirt), but i have to admit yours looks pretty sweet!

Excellent review, and thank you for sharing your experience.

[CanadianLMfan]

I got a Dime (in green) and a LM Squirt PS4 (in red) and compared them for some time. The Dime has a few categories where it wins out (blade grind, bottle opener, package cutter), but overall I thought the PS4 was better (stronger pliers, better wire cutter, scissors, file)

I liked the Dime, and thought it was a darn good tool for the money, if you didn't ask too much of it. I gave mine to my older brother, because I felt like it deserved to do more than sit in a box.

I'm not a fan of how the aluminum scales wear on the Dime (or Squirt), but i have to admit yours looks pretty sweet!

Excellent review, and thank you for sharing your experience.

I think the PS4 is better than all categories except for the knife, package opener, tweezers, and pliers.

I have those two colours too!

[Spatha]

Thanks for the great review and excellent photos.     This tool looks good in black!     I'd be interested to hear how you find the Squirt PS4 compares as I'm undecided between that and the Dime, although Lynn's assessment is already making me lean towards the Dime because the tools I'm most interested in are probably the bottle opener and the package cutter.   

At the moment I'm thinking that I'll probably get the Dime because I already have the S4, also I'd like to have the package cutter on my edc and the PS4 lacks that.  The only package cutter I have at the moment is on the Wingman and I find that to be a fairly heavy tool for it's limited functions.
   

[Cupboard]

I have both.

IMO the scissors are pretty comparable.

The Dime has a better bottle opener, a nice blade shape (although it was laughably blunt out of the box and I can't get it to hold a decent edge) package opener and tweezers.

The Squirt has better pliers, wire cutters, drivers, file, an overall better blade (worse shape, but it works) and is slightly smaller and less bulky.

When cutting anything other than tiny wire, the Dime can't cope and the pliers twist. My Squirt has chomped right through 2.5mm^2 stranded cable.

In my opinion the Squirt is a much better tool but then it had better be at 50% more than the Dime. It's more than 50% better than the Dime though.

[Stormdrane]

Good review    I finally bought a Gerber Dime and it came in today's mail.  I've searched for a cheap used one on ebay for a long time, but the used ones seem to look beat up, and end up selling so close to the cost of a new one that I just went ahead bought a new one.

Straight out of the box, the black coating wasn't perfect, looking worn on some of the corners/edges, but that's been my experience with other black coated/oxide tools, so not a big deal.  I do like the tool and its features, but I don't see it replacing my Leatherman Squirt PS4, so it'll most likely go to a friend/family member around Christmas time, if I can resist finding a place for it in the gadget drawer... 

The blue anodized titanium pocket tool in the pic was another ebay find this week.


Gerber Dime and a titanium pocket tool by Stormdrane, on Flickr

[gcninja]

Very good review for me,  I've been on the prowl for a while to get something I can easily carry at work.  The pics and performance description are good enough for me to add this to my Xmas list on Amazon... annnnd it appears the jolly fat guy in the red suit might have one in my stocking.  Don't anyone say a word to my wife about security access increased on her laptop.   

[Gareth]

The Dime really is a good mini tool IMO, I'm sure you'll like it.

[gcninja]

Late to reply but I've been carrying it daily and it's been fun and useful.  Great to use at work for box opening and removing pallet shrink wrap.  At home the uses are endless, tag removal from kids clothes/animals, box cutting opening or breakdown, scissors for kids crafts.

It's been such a hit the wife asked what other colours they come in..... Is there a pink model?


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[Lynn LeFey]

Red and black, with stainless tools.
Green and black, with stainless tools.
And black handles, black tools.

Those are the only options currently. 

[Vo1lok]

Hate thatand that