RoverTac 12 in 1

[Adam5]

RoverTac 12 in 1



RoverTac 12 in 1 is a Chinese brand (the RoverTac trademark is owned by Shenzhen Lvxin Photoelectric Co.,Ltd) sold on Amazon. Currently, it is available with black scales and polished stainless steel implements for $19.99 or with gold or green scales and black implements for $20.99. If you don't like these options, look around at the usual sites. I have seen this tool being sold under multiple brands, including Bosch, Dremel, and Duluth Trading. Here is a picture of my Duluth Trading tool:



Weight and Dimensions

Weight                   311 g (10.97 ounces)
Weight (with pouch)       350 g (12.35 ounces)
Length (closed)          10.7 cm (4.21 inches)
Length (open)          16.3 cm (6.42 inches)
Thickness               2.5 cm (0.98 inches)
Girth                  12.3 cm (4.84 inches)
Handle splay          14.0 cm (5.51 inches)
Maximum plier opening   3.4 cm (1.34 inches)



Implements

Needle nose pliers
Bypass wire cutters
Drop point knife
Saw!? (more accurately described as a serrated knife)
Phillips screwdriver (PH1)
Small slotted screwdriver
Medium slotted screwdriver
Large slotted screwdriver
3 sided file
Can opener
Bottle opener
Box cutter

Other Notables

Reinforced nylon belt pouch (fits 2" belts)
All implements lock in place (back lock)
Implements open from the inside




Due to the back springs, the tool does not unfold smoothly. It takes a little effort to access the pliers. The pliers do work well, though the thickness of the tool did make it a little bit difficult to grab the head of a 1/4"-20 bolt that was bolted to my workbench top with the pliers and apply some torque, but it was definitely doable. There is no discernable wiggle in the pliers. The handles did not cause me any discomfort when squeezing them with force, and they exhibited very little flex.

The wire cutters appear to be separate pieces that have been attached to the plier head, but they are not replaceable (attached by rivets). They did work well, able to cut zip ties, 18 awg stranded wire, 16 awg speaker wire, 10 awg copper solid THHN, 14/2 Romex, and even 12/2 Romex (though that took a couple of passes). They could not cut a small nylon string inside the cable containing the 18 awg stranded wire. They were also able to cut paper clips, 16 gauge rebar tie wire and a coat hanger with no trouble. It could through 10 gauge steel hanger wire, but not easily or well. 6 awg soft drawn copper was too much for the wire cutters.



The drop point knife is not very sharp (tends to tear printer paper when trying to push cut) and is definitely not very pointy. I could press my finger hard enough on the point to cause an indention without drawing blood. It could not cut 0.065" weed trimmer line and required 3 passes to cut a nylon rope. It could cut 550 paracord.



The "saw" can not function as a saw. The body tapers towards the teeth and will not allow the implement to cut deeper that 0.75 cm. In reality, it is a dull serrated knife. As was the case with the drop point blade, I can press my thumb onto the blade with enough force to cause indentions without drawing blood. It could not cut the weed trimmer line and required 3 passes to cut the nylon rope badly.




The Phillips, small slotted, and medium slotted screwdrivers have been excessively polished, creating rounded edges and adversly affecting performance. However, I was able to drive a #6 x 1.25" fine drywall screw into my plywood benchtop.



One additional complaint that I have with the Phillips screwdriver is that its axis is not parallel with the central axis of the multi tool. This creates more difficulty in keeping the driver engaged with the screw.



The large slotted screwdriver engages screws better than the other screwdrivers. However, its location at the end of the file hampers its ability to transmit torque. The file simply flexes too much.

The 3 sided file is works decently, at least on the double cut and narrow sides. I was able to file and notch PVC, copper, bronze, zinc, and mild steel.



The box cutter is blunt and not very effective.



The can opener worked well for me. I had no trouble cutting around the can. The bottle opener worked, but not as well as the can opener. It did not want to hook onto the bottle cap as well as it should.

The implements have a wee bit of side to side wiggle when locked. They also have a few degrees of movement from front to back while locked. However, the back lock does keep the implements from folding while in use.

Pluses

Tool feels good in hand
Pliers and wire cutters work well
Can opener will help stave off starvation
All implements are lockable

Minuses

Screwdrivers are overly polished
Phillips screwdriver is tilted in relation to main axis of tool
Blades need sharpening

This multi tool has a 4.6 rating on Amazon. I personally think that is too high for it straight out of the box, but some work with a sharpener will help alot. By the way, the versions with the black implements may be sharper and better formed. While still not sharp enough, the blades on my Duluth Trading multitool are sharper than the RoverTac.

[ReamerPunch]

Welcome to the forum, and what a fantastic job on your first review!

I've seen this and have thought of getting it, but it looks so generic that I always decide against it. I do enjoy many off-brand multi-tools, but this one does not offer anything particularly unique, considering what's been done. With all the monster scissors, removable scissors, interchangeable blades, ferro rods, hex bit drivers, good ergonomics, compact designs, there's tons of options. If this one was compatible with the Ganzo bit adapter, I might consider it.

[Adam5]

Welcome to the forum, and what a fantastic job on your first review!

 Thanks! I have tried to follow in the steps of the excellent reviews that you and others have provided.

I've seen this and have thought of getting it, but it looks so generic that I always decide against it. I do enjoy many off-brand multi-tools, but this one does not offer anything particularly unique, considering what's been done. With all the monster scissors, removable scissors, interchangeable blades, ferro rods, hex bit drivers, good ergonomics, compact designs, there's tons of options. If this one was compatible with the Ganzo bit adapter, I might consider it.

I totally agree with your assessment. A few changes, starting with adding the ability to use the bit adapter, would make it more desirable to have. I was a bit disappointed in some ways with the Duluth Trading MT and wanted see how good or bad it was in general. But since I really like the way it looks and didn't want to scratch it up, I bought the RoverTac to be a stand-in.