IDL T10 MultiTool Review

[Lynn LeFey]

Lost in a sea of better known competition, the T10 Multitool by IDL Tools is a lesser known, but not lesser quality, contender.

The tool is all stainless steel constriction, and held together with peened pins. The tool is 2" (51mm) long, 1 1/8" (29mm) wide, and an incredibly thin 5/16" (, including pins. Without them, it's only 1/4" (6.5mm) thick. Weight is 1.7 oz (49g).

Here is the tool folded up.


Here is the tool unfolded in plier configuration


And here is the tool folded with outside folding tools deployed.


Here's the T10 next to the Leatherman Squirt PS4, Leatherman Micra, Victorinox Rambler, and SOG Crosscut for size comparison.


It is shorter, slimmer, and wider than other similar tools. Thickness seems to be the primary dimension felt in pocket carry, so this tool seems to almost disappear in the pocket.

The primary function of the T10 is as a small pair of pliers. The needle nose is less pointed than most small tool offerings. The wide tips might make getting into very small spaces problematic, but the tips meet up with great precision. The teeth of the jaws are well formed, and aggressive. Many other small plier based tools will flex frighteningly under rotational torque, but the pliers of the T10 seem a good deal more sturdy. In fact, they slightly exceed the much larger Leatherman Juice series in this regard. The wire cutters will easily manage 12-gauge solid copper wire. The abilities of the plier head of this tool is more limited by the short tool handles than the plier head itself.

And speaking of the handles, when the tool is open onto plier configuration, the rounded metal of the handles offers a fairly comfortable and ergonomic hold under light and moderate forces. Under heavy force, the ends of the handles can dig uncomfortably into the palm.

The back of the plier head has an opening that allows the tool to be clamped onto a keyring when closed.



This holds the ring fairly securely, but forces the keyring to lie nearly perpendicular to the tool body. This is less than ideal if the intent is pocket carry. While this may be a problem for some, it is also alows the tool to be quickly removed from the keyring.

All of the remaining functions of the tool are accessible while the plier head is folded shut. All of these tools also have locks to prevent folding under force. The locking tabs at the end of the arm can unlock the tools, but I find these tabs to be small and somewhat uncomfortable to use. I prefer simply deploying a second tool far enough to cause the lock to disengage. Tools all have nail nicks for extraction. These nail nicks are close to the pivots and recessed on the center tools on each arm of the tool (the nail file and philips head driver), making them difficult to open without first opening the outermost tools. Spring retention of all tools is strong, adding to the difficulty.

One arm of the tool has tweezers, a combination bottle opener small screwdriver, and a nail file. The tweezers are fairly precise, and function as expected. The small screwdriver is not quite fine enough (in my case) to fit an eyeglass screw, which is the main function of this scale driver, in my opinion. It may still find other functions, and a bit of work with sandpaper could slim it down to fit it's intended role. The nail file has a course and fine side, and functions as expected. It comes to a tip more reminiscent of an awl than a tool for cleaning under nails, and may work as an awl to some degree.

The other arm holds a flathead driver, philips driver, and small blade. The flathead is well formed and a good size for most tasks. It is also be capable of light pry duties. The phillips driver has a long, thin shaft, with a finely formed and fully three dimensional head. This driver works very well on small electronics screws. The thin shaft may make it a bit weak for use on larger tasks. In the case of all of the drivers, the wide body of the tool allows for ample grip to apply torque, and the locks mean a fair amount of force could be applied. The final tool is the plain edge, chisel ground blade. It is up to small tasks but it's size is going to limit its usefulness. It is perfectly adequate for simple day to day cutting chores.

The price on this tool seems to be in line with, or a bit lower than comparable offerings from more major brands. If you don't need scissors on your keychain sized tool, this becomes a real contender.

Final Note: This tool was originally produced as the M4 Sebertool, and there may be branded versions such as Craftsman.

Pros
Excellent pliers
Great drivers
Locking tools

Cons
Difficult to reach nail nicks
Difficult to unlock tool locks
Problematic keyring attachment

[Lynn LeFey]

I wanted to acknowledge J-Sews review on the M4 Sbertool.
http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,3088.0.html

I remember the thread, and posting in it about my IDL T10, but intentionally skipped rereading it in preparation for writing this review. I wanted any thoughts on the tool to be as unswayed by outside influence as can be in such a small field.

But at the same time, it was a good writeup and didn't want to pretend to ignore it.

[derekmac]

Great review Lynn!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[sawman]

You didn't show us pics of the inside tools.. I really was interested in seeing those 

[Lynn LeFey]

Fixed. Now the correct pic is there showing outboard tools.

[sawman]

Nice review, I like the looks of that tool.

[Lynn LeFey]

It was a real shocker to me how well made it was, and how insanely STURDY, particularly as a pair of pliers. It's a bit of a shame that it  doesn't have scissors, which are pretty much at the top of my want lost for carry tools.

Otherwise, it'd be a real contender for everyday carry (for me).

If scissors aren't your thing, I think it's great tool.

[neillcurrie]

I have a total of four of this tool, in three different versions. One Craftsman, one Seber, two IDL's. If you think the IDL's are good, then you should track down the other two, the quality of the Seber's and Craftsmen  is so much better.
They are all one of my favorite plier-based keychain tools though, overall in this category I think they are all overshadowed a little by the Leathermen Squirt P4's and PS4's for quality and functionality.
Some of the IDL/Seber/C'men tools can be nailbreakers to deploy. Beware!

[Kampfer]

where can i find one?

^that shows Lynn did a great job on her review.

[Lynn LeFey]

The IDL tools page for the T10 has a 'Buy now' button, and (currently) lists the price as $16.99. I don't know if that includes shipping.

http://idltools.e-beans.net/products/t10_multitool.html

Hope this helps. 

EDIT: Also... could a mod go in and change my typo in the initial post. Second paragraph, 7th word, 'constriction' should obviously be 'construction'. 

[N_N_R]

@Lynn,

Totally offtopic, but I like your writing style :D In the previous review, too


Okay, cool tool,too

[Lynn LeFey]

Thank you. 

I sometimes feel a bit bad, not always having the funds to support the site, but I hope my work products, reviews and such, add value.

[sawman]

Thank you. 

I sometimes feel a bit bad, not always having the funds to support the site, but I hope my work products, reviews and such, add value.

I don't always agree with your reviews but do enjoy reading them. You're contributing plenty

[Kampfer]

The IDL tools page for the T10 has a 'Buy now' button, and (currently) lists the price as $16.99. I don't know if that includes shipping.

http://idltools.e-beans.net/products/t10_multitool.html

Hope this helps. 

That helped! Thanks.
Shipping is $599 that brings to tool to $23, not a bad price from what I see from your review.
BUT, some technical issue prevented me more forward from the check out page, i contacted them about the issue, now just wait.

[enki_ck]

I hope you just forgot a , in that shipping price. Otherwise

[Chako]

the older sebertool m4 is of higher quality compared to the newer IDL tools...as is usually the case.

Good review Lynn. I much enjoyed it. 

[Kampfer]

Oops I messed up the "."

[neillcurrie]

I bought two IDL T10's for $10 shipped a while ago. From eBay, when IDL was blowing them out.

[Kampfer]

Almost two weeks gone by, I emailed them a could times, wanting to place an order, but no one seen to care enough to reply.

Oh well, their loss.

[Kampfer]

Just noticed T10 is no longer listed on their site.

[AimlessWanderer]

Nice review Lynn 

I'm a big fan of the IDL tools, particularly the T5 and T7. They are very cood companions for a SAK such as a Climber, Huntsman or Mountaineer

[freginold]

Great review!  Those pliers look strong.  I've never seen this tool before, I'll have to check it out.

[Kampfer]

Got my dirty hands on a Craftsman 45505 after reading this review, same tool but well made in USA, like it.

Thank you very much.

[Lynn LeFey]

 

It's a pretty neat little tool, and I'm sorry that it doesn't seem to be easily available any more.

[Kampfer]

Lynn, excellent review! Allow me to add in my observation?

And speaking of the handles, when the tool is open onto plier configuration, the rounded metal of the handles offers a fairly comfortable and ergonomic hold under light and moderate forces. Under heavy force, the ends of the handles can dig uncomfortably into the palm.

Yes, the sharp corners at the end of handles are indeed makes it a bit uncomfortable in both plier & folded up configuration.

The back of the plier head has an opening that allows the tool to be clamped onto a keyring when closed.
This holds the ring fairly securely, but forces the keyring to lie nearly perpendicular to the tool body. This is less than ideal if the intent is pocket carry. While this may be a problem for some, it is also alows the tool to be quickly removed from the keyring.

The only thing stops the tool unfolding itself is the friction of three pivots on pliers and handles, no detent of any sort. Fairly but not completely securely. Personally I like to see a more secure solution, for now a large O-Ring would do, but of course it will slow you down from removing the tool off key set.  You can see in below photo, the tool itself is no wider than normal automobile keys.

The final tool is the plain edge, chisel ground blade.

The knife blade on Craftsman 45505 is double grind.

[big dave]

My sebertool M4 is 20yrs old this month and still going strong.
When used a lot the rivets loosen and you lose the friction, but this is using it over decades, and being rivets they just need a couple of light taps to tighten them up.
The IDL ones are not of the same quality, and I'd replace it with a squirt when the time comes, if nothing better comes along in the next 20yrs lol

[Lynn LeFey]

I was messing with my keychain tools last night, and was once again impressed how sturdy the pliers are on this thing. Now I want to hunt down a T5 or the original Seber Tool M2.

I mentioned it in my original review, but these pliers are more sturdy than those on a Leatherman Juice. They're crazy strong for the size of the tool. This is also part of why I think the T5 /M2 would be even better. Simpler design with more solid handles.

Sorry for any thread necro. It was just on my mind.

[Lynn LeFey]

Here's a look at Kampfer's one-week off brand test drive of his Craftsman version of the tool.

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,62323.msg1162333.html#msg1162333