Around Christmas last year, I picked up a 2-pack of the Husky Medium Multi-tools. They were on sale for about $10. At $5 apiece, I figured they couldn't be that bad. And, while flawed, I personally think they ARE worth $5 apiece. Apparently, they're normally $16 for a 2-pack. That's really pushing it, IMO. $5 each... okay. $8 each? No.
So, what you get is a fairly short, VERY hefty (weight wise) tool. You get a regular blade, file, awl, philips screwdriver, 3 sizes of flathead screwdriver, can opener and saw. Of course, the blade is dull. All of the screwdrivers have that annoying over-polished roundness to them. The file is kind of bad. Surprisingly, the saw is quite good, if a bit short. Plier heads come together well. Wire cutter will cut a coat hanger, which is all the testing I did with it.
The handle is a skeletonized deal, with ridges along the handle edges I can only imagine were designed to make it less comfortable. Tool extraction is not bad, but there's a lot of tool clumping. Open tools have absolutely no sort of position retention. They do not lock or even 'snick' into place. They simply reach the end of their rotation. This makes using the screwdrivers less than fun.
So, why would anyone ever buy these things? Well, throw one in a tackle box or give it to a youth to take camping. Pliers work fine. The knife can be sharpened reasonably (Hey, if I can do it, anyone can). The saw works, and the can opener work all as advertised. At $5, you can use the large flathead as a pry tool and not feel bad if you wreck it. If a kid looses it, you're out $5.
So, having felt that $5 apiece was worth the smaller Husky, I ventured all the way up to the $10 in-stock-year-round version. I had some hopes. For one, the butterfly design allowed tool access when the pliers were closed. Okay, so, some pics...
It comes in red or plain silver (at least, I didn't keep digging to look for more)
And with the tools deployed...
The tools: regular blade 2 sizes of flathead, saw, serrated blade, awl, philips, combo bottle/can opener.
Right off the bat, high hopes! None of the tools have that crappy over-rounded look. Edges on the flatheads look really nice and crisp. There is actually an edge to the main blade! (not paper-cutting sharp, but near). Tools 'snick' into place and have modest retention. Not as good as the Leatherman Wingman. More like a well-used buck knife. it also comes wit ha pretty good nylon sheath. The velcro 'patch' is a bit small, and will probably wear out after some time, though.
Opening up the pliers, and give them a squeeze... wow... the rubber on the handles makes the experience nice and comfy.
Now... before you go thinking I'm about to sing the praises on high of this tool... wait for it...
Now, as I open and close the pliers a few times, I'm noticing oil come out of the 'axle' or whatever you call where the two pieces of the plier join. Like, dirty motor oil. Weird. I wipe it off, and give the pliers a few more squeezed. More oil. So, I figure I'd spend a few minutes, see if I could get this stuff to work out of the joint. Squeeze, squeeze... I'm noticing a LOT of 'flex' through the tool when I grip hard. So, I grip it HARD, and... the two handles touch in the middle. I can squeeze our bathroom scale to 60lbs, if that gives you an idea of my grip strength. I'm not anywhere near 'really strong'. So, what gives?
Well, take a look at this...
So, there are external (Aluminum, I think) scales in red, then the stainless steel in silver. Then, see that black portion. That's plastic. Okay... now, if you look next to the letter "Y" in Husky, you'll see a small torx head. I think the problem is that the metal piece that is supposed to hold the plier heads to the handles firmly is allowed to flex because that point is against PLASTIC. The whole stupid thing is relying on the strength of 2 small torx screws per side running through soft material.
In addition to the fact that the plier heads aren't in any way firmly attached to the rest of the tool... extracting closed tools is difficult. I bite my nails (don't judge me!
), so they're a bit short, but pretty strong. Your nails would have to be both pretty long, and rock-hard to extract any tool. Tools clump, so if you can get a hold of one, which isn't too hard, you can eventually get to the rest, in an annoying sort of way. That would not be a deal-breaker for me. That plastic liner thing certainly is. This tool is a critical malfunction waiting to happen.
The torx screw is the same thing holding the medium plier's head on, but it's metal against metal, and the screw is shorter. Also, the handles are shorter, so less pressure can be applied to the plier heads (in theory). I feel the plier heads on the mediums are probably fine for the level of work they're likely to receive.
I had high hopes for the Husky 14-in-1 tool. Those hopes, while not filled, were also not completely dashed. This thing is just a few minor redesigns away from being a pretty good tool. Final analysis... Is it worth $10? No, not in my opinion. If it's going to someone who will stick it in their glove box or tackle box, and give it light use on occasion, it's not likely to fail... at least not soon. If I had to do it over again, I'd pay $5 for it. If this thing breaks on me, and I'm somehow miraculously able to get Home Depot to honor their warranty, I'll take the pristine one and stick it in my glove box, where it may occasionally be called upon to open a package, or clean under a dirty fingernail.
Oh... one last bit of info... The Medium multitool is 6.8 oz..
The 14-in-1 multitool is 8 oz.
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