Many Keychain-sized Pliers

[lipoff]

Here is my current collection of keychain sized pliers-based tools, including a couple generic pliers and some multitools of various vintages, from lightest to heaviest, left to right. 

Very briefly, the two small pliers are too small and flimsy to be of much utility, but they do work although the second from left is not actually a "channellock."  I put the rubber band around one to try to keep it from flopping open on my keychain.

The IDL T5 is brand new, but is too loose to keep on a keychain.  The Sebertool M2 (or is it an M3?) is great; strong and beefy, and doesn't come loose.  The micro-Phillips is impossible to extract without a pry tool and I'm not sure why.  I've even tried stoning it, but can't fix it.  The finish on the Sebertool has degraded considerably and it looks terrible but functions fine.

The Leatherman Style PS has probably the best pair of pliers of the lot, and although it lacks a blade, it makes a nice pairing with a 58mm Victorinox.  But I'm very disappointed with its overall quality: the scissors and tweezers broke almost immediately and I have to disassemble it periodically to remove rust spots.

The Swiss+Tech tools are small but feel heavier than they are.  The pliers shape makes them basically useless as pliers.  I don't carry these.

The Gerber Solstice feels as dense as the Swiss-Tech tools.  The drivers are too beefy to be your only EDC drivers.  The can opener and bottle opener are good.  The pliers are solid.  Putting it back together after deploying the pliers is difficult without pinching your fingers.  Gerber's tolerances are poor and this tool needs to be kept oiled to function.  I like this when I travel.  (Back when travel was a thing, at least!)

The Gerber Drive is basically an excellent package opener and an excellent bottle opener and okay pliers with a bunch of useless tools attached.  The main blade is okay, but dulls quickly.  The drivers are very small and difficult to extract.  The "file" is useless.  The scissors are the worst I have ever seen.  I had to oil it and adjust the torx screws fresh out of the box just to get the tension on the tools to be passably acceptable.

The NexTool Mini Flagship is heavier than it feels.  The tools are snappy --- not quite a Victorinox but definitely feels the best made of all these tools.  The main blade is fine.  The combo can opener-bottle opener is a clever design.  The Phillips is the best flat version I've ever seen.  The file is unfortunately not cut on the edge, so it can't be used for notching, but is otherwise lengthy.  The scissors and pliers are both full size and are both good, although the pliers sound gritty.  Definitely the best scissors of this lot; again not quite a Victorinox but the closest.  The only wart is that the keyring attachment point for the keyring wiggles around a little (even when I tried torquing down on the screws that hold it in) and can sometimes interfere with the closure of the scissors.

I like to keep a pair of pliers on my keychain, so I alternate among these different options.  Still haven't found the perfect one yet!  Maybe a Style PS4 is in the cards for me next?  Although I may pickup a Sheffield 12019 next week first!   

[nate j]

Nice collection!

Welcome to MT.o!   

Though a bit larger than what most would consider keychain-size, here are a few other options to possibly consider for small but capable pliers:

• Knipex Cobra XS - Perhaps the smallest serious real tool pliers available
• Victorinox 91mm pliers - I feel these are more capable than they sometimes get credit for.  One negative is that the smallest current production SAK to include them is the four-layer Deluxe Tinker.

[Max Stone]

That's a great collection lipoff 

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[Max Stone]

Nice collection!

Welcome to MT.o!   

Though a bit larger than what most would consider keychain-size, here are a few other options to possibly consider for small but capable pliers:

• Knipex Cobra XS - Perhaps the smallest serious real tool pliers available
• Victorinox 91mm pliers - I feel these are more capable than they sometimes get credit for.  One negative is that the smallest current production SAK to include them is the four-layer Deluxe Tinker.

I find pliers essential, I often carry a Knipex Cobra with my custom Detective which gives me an inline Phillips. The Knipex gives me something with good strength/twisting/gripping power, while the Victorinox pliers are a type of super tweezers, often used for retrieving things that slip between cracks, or manipulating small items.

I built the unnamed 1.3623 (Mechanic with corkscrew), but as I wear mostly jeans, the extra couple layers of the mechanic or even Swiss Champ (on a belt clip) is really not a problem (although I prefer the centered Phillips on the Detective).

[SteveP]

 
Nice collection, lipoff!

The IDL T5 is IDL's version of the Sebertool M2. From what I've seen online, the IDL versions aren't as well made as the original Sebertech ones.

If your Sebertool M2 has flip out mini Phillips and slotted screwdrivers, then it's an M3. (There was also an M4 - bigger and with a whole bunch of things that flipped out of the handles.)

I have just three key chain sized pliers-based tools (from left to right):

• Sebertool M2
• Swiss+Tech Micro-Plus 8-in-1 Keyring Tool
• Swiss+Tech Micro-Plus EX 9-in-1 Keyring Tool

I've carried the M2 for years. Would love to get a backup (or an M3), but prices are crazy. So I picked up the two Swiss+Techs. The EX 9-in-1 is too big and heavy, but I like the size and extra mini screwdrivers of the 8-in-1.

[jag-engr]

The IDL T5 is brand new, but is too loose to keep on a keychain.

I have one, and it locks down really solid.  You might have gotten a bad one.  It reminds me of the Sebertool that I lost, and I thought there was some relationship between the two companies, but I don't recall why I thought that.

The Swiss+Tech tools are small but feel heavier than they are.  The pliers shape makes them basically useless as pliers.  I don't carry these.

I gave up on Swiss+Tech a long time ago.