Off Brand October

[shark_za]

Had a crazy week where I lost the tool; friend called because he found it again; off on a work trip by plane so tool is at home. Hopefully the end is soon; I hate this knife actually.


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[Etherealicer]

Had a crazy week where I lost the tool; friend called because he found it again; off on a work trip by plane so tool is at home. Hopefully the end is soon; I hate this knife actually.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ahh... got me scared for a second, good thing you have found it...
Safe trip

[zoidberg]

Sorry to hear you broke your hand.      Do tell us how you did it.   

[shark_za]

29th October

Opened a package today; wish I could carry the Hunter instead of the Zillatool   
Cut some cable ties to fix a bike mount to my mountainbike

[shark_za]

Reached for the tool on the weekend to fix two things, one a rusted flathead on a pool net and a Pozi screw on a window handle.
Both the Zillatool was outgunned.

I had to fetch my Skeletool and bit kit to handle the Pozi and the large flat handled the net.

Slight damage to the bits so I gave up ;(

[shark_za]

Summary and findings of my month with the CRKT Zillatool Jnr

The good
It is a light, compact, easy to carry tool
Very ergonomic using most functions - blade, pliers and drivers
Reasonably well constructed
Performed light electrical work really well
Cheap enough

The bad
The knife is not my cup of tea; horrible steel, horrible flipper only opening, combination edge not my favorite
Bottle opener is not functional, I can open bottles easier with the side of the tool than the designed method.
Bits are proprietary and they fell out when I dropped it


Verdict
Does not cut it as my EDC tool, but it will find a home in my car or motorcycle tool kit for electrical repairs.

[Kampfer]

How does it compare to Skeletool?

[shark_za]

How does it compare to Skeletool?

Very good question.

I would compare it to quite a few tools consisting of blade, pliers, drivers and a cap lifter.  (Octane; Mechanic SAK, Skeletool etc)

Carry
The Zillatool Jnr is easier to carry than the Skeletool, it is ever so slightly thinner and lighter



The drivers
The ergonomics of the Zillatool Jnr make it very comfortable to use, the slight offset bits are not so bad, but I do find the Skeletool works just as well with the pliers in this handle.
The quality and variety of the available bits for Skeletool make it the outright winner. (When you buy an easily found bit kit)
If you only need a small flat and phillips then its a tie.


 
Pliers
The Zillatool is really light duty, similar to a SAK in performance, maybe ever so slightly better for some tasks.
Deployment and ergonomics of the light duty pliers are without equal. Maybe the beefier Zillatool will do better; I love the pliers even though they are on the small side. Stripping wires and such, no problems. 
Skeletool a bit akward in the hand but much more capable. compromise tie.



Blade
No contest. The Zillatool has a butter soft combo edge I despise and only a flipper to get it out. If you miss the flip you have no thumb studs to finish the job and have to flick it open.
154CM for the win, even 420HC trumps the 2CR steel on the Zillatool Jnr.
Ergonomics are a tie, the Skeletool feels like a knife in the hand, the Zillatool is super comfortable.
Both have holes that clog with foodstuffs; equally bad in that regard.



Cap Lifter Bottle Opener
No contest,  the method described for the Zilletool Jnr is not even a real thing, the designer was having a laugh.


Bottom line, the Skeletool CX is still my number one light duty pliers tool, I'd take the SAK Mechanic and Gerber Octane over the Zillatool Jnr too.

[Kampfer]

Thank you for the comparison