A dilemma of gratefulness.

[PTRSAK]

I guess the cheap and cheerful forum is the place for this.
How many have faced the "Just smile and say Thank You" situation when somebody has given you a cheapo multi tool that shows all the classic symptoms of a China manufactured item where the #1 criterion is to make it look like a multi tool.

Actual functionality comes way down the list.

Overtumbled tools with rounded edges on the drivers, a giant nail file that would fall at filing anything tougher than cheese, a couple of blades about the size of a Classic SD, a saw that is 2 inches long and a awl thing so skinny and rounded off that it is basically pointless.  No pun intended.
The pliers head looks okay but the attachment to the handle is so flimsy that I'm sure it would collapse if I tried to cut a paperclip.

I was presented with this masterpiece in appreciation for a small job I did for someone. I expected nothing but they were kind enough to give me something in return.

I appreciated the thought but I did have a job keeping an enthusiastic and grateful look on my face, especially seeing I had a Swisstool in my bag.

[Taxi Dad]

 
I feel your pain ! (most of us have been there I'm sure ? ) I dread 'surprise' Birthday and Xmas presents and the thought of having to EDC something smurfy all January !

[Royalfizbin]

You might find the bit kit useful.  The adapter piece usually will fit on top of gerber and leatherman 3d Philips drivers.

[Cupboard]

This may be premature, but I think my family have realised that there's not much point in buying me things I like and/or know about.
Some things I get given are things I've asked for (mats for my car for example for Christmas), some are things that I have little interest in or knowledge about so their purchase is much better done by my mother/other Useful Relative (I got a couple of nice jumpers for Christmas after being declared too scruffy to be seen in public).

Inversely, when my mother needed a new dog walking torch she asked me to get her one for Christmas because she knows I know more about such things than she does and know where to find more information if I don't. I like this arrangement and it seems to work well.
The next thing on my list is a decent knife for my father, who is currently forgetting to carry a really terrible Buck 110 clone with a blade that's about as sharp as a very blunt thing.

[kkokkolis]

Yeah, I use the same bit kit from a similar MT. The seath is useful also. Something (anything) is better than nothing.

[Lynn LeFey]

I waffle on this issue myself. I have not yet been the recipient of a crap MT, but then, if I were, I would gratefully accept it, then review it, and belittle it, and show what was wrong with it, or give it props if i thought it deserved them.

We, as a whole, on these boards, are focussed on the more high end tools, but I think most folks know how I feel about cheapos. Sometimes, it's all folks can afford. In any case, even really bad ones are usually better than nothing.

When it comes right down to it, it's the thought that counts.

Plus, now, you HAVE to do a full review, because bargain basement MT saws are HILARIOUS!

In truth, you might fiddle with it and realize it earns a tiny sliver of grudging respect for a few useful functions. Probably not, but maybe.

[Kampfer]

I received something like that as gift from customer, the key is to Know what they are, know what they can do and don't push them over their limits, they would be ok.
And don't try to show them off.

I can take the whole tool apart with just my finger nails without any tools.

[Cupboard]

I can take the whole tool apart with just my finger nails without any tools.

 

[Yadda]

Been here got the t-shirt.

[jsutter]

My girlfriend's grandmother got me a "Swiss" Army Knife for Christmas. One of the ones that has your name burned into the balsa wood handles.  The metal is so bad that I could see the pits throughout the blades and tools.  The cork-screw broke off when I opened it. Then for the next couple of days she kept asking me where it was when I would use another tool for anything. I was afraid to use it.

The sentiments were there, but the product knowledge was not.