Gerber Crucial

cliosguy · **Reply #1 on:** January 17, 2009, 06:26:20 AM

Is just me, or do they just copy a leatherman idea?

Zack · **Reply #2 on:** January 17, 2009, 06:40:39 AM

They copied it and made a good idea really bad.

prime77 · **Reply #3 on:** January 17, 2009, 06:42:26 AM

Very Skeletoolesq. (New word I made it up)

665ae · **Reply #4 on:** January 17, 2009, 06:49:13 AM

gafftapegreenia · **Reply #5 on:** January 17, 2009, 07:22:07 AM

Its the SkeleFOOL

jzmtl · **Reply #6 on:** January 17, 2009, 07:43:22 AM

Definately prefer skeletool over this. I also hate those triangular plier head gerber have, ugly.

Sea Monster · **Reply #7 on:** January 17, 2009, 07:48:13 AM

It certainly has a rather familiar look to it.

As always, the proof is in the eating, and I never used either this or the skeletool, so who cares what I think.

EZ822 · **Reply #8 on:** January 17, 2009, 11:38:53 AM

It looks like a bad Skeletool knockoff

Mike, Lord of the Spammers! · **Reply #9 on:** January 17, 2009, 12:14:34 PM

Seem's like a bad copy of a bad idea to me

hawkchucker · **Reply #10 on:** January 17, 2009, 01:50:40 PM

Wow they really should be ashamed of themselves. Can you spank them now!

hawkchucker · **Reply #11 on:** January 17, 2009, 01:51:59 PM

Plus look at the poster under it. very broke back mountain! What happens at .... stays at...

OK I offially hate gerber again!

zepla · **Reply #12 on:** January 17, 2009, 02:04:37 PM

Now wait a minute!

There are two things that could be better on a CX (for me that is) and that is getting rid of the carabiner and a fold away driver. It looks like Gerber listened to me!

Have to handle it first of course and I heard all the bad things about Gerber but it looks to me that they took the Skeletool idea and made it better

But the looks are not even close the the look of a Skeletool though.

This could be interesting.... $:-\$

hawkchucker · **Reply #13 on:** January 17, 2009, 02:08:46 PM

Well I think it is way too close to th skeletool. look at the tool open it has the same gracefull curves, and even the same shape clip plus it really dows look like something the gerber sesign team would do.

Nikos · **Reply #14 on:** January 17, 2009, 03:01:16 PM

... yet it has some nice features I'd like to see in a Skely as well, most notable of which: (i) low-riding pocket clip, (ii) all-outside implements than can work without having to extend the handles, (iii) folding 'biner. It also looks smaller without that biner protruding from the bottom/back/whatever and I guess it will also sell for less than the Skely. I'd sure would like to get my hands on one of those...

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #15 on:** January 17, 2009, 04:04:47 PM

Actually it didn't seem all that bad. We played with it for a while, but it's still a prototype, and while it did feel a little wobbly, that's typical for pre-production as they are constantly fiddling with them. I can't say whether it will be great or not yet, but it certainly is worth watching, and at the price point they are suggesting, I'm sure it will be quite popular.

Def

665ae · **Reply #16 on:** January 17, 2009, 04:10:19 PM

A couple things I noticed were that they seemed to have put a decent plier head on it. I'm not sure what it's made of but it seemed pretty beefy for a Gerber. The folding carabiner seems like a good idea, but I'm not sure how useful it would actually be. Unfortunately, it still has that messed up phillips driver on it and I'm not a big fan of it.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the pre-production model.

I'm Still Bison · **Reply #17 on:** January 17, 2009, 05:02:27 PM

Am I alone in sensing litigation coming from Leatherman?

Leatherman123 · **Reply #18 on:** January 17, 2009, 05:32:18 PM

IMO, that's just awful! You don't see LM coming out with pliers that open with the flick of a wrist or anything! I like the look of it, but I don't think I would buy one; they definitely copied LM's idea!

hawkchucker · **Reply #19 on:** January 17, 2009, 05:37:29 PM

Yup I agree. I cant understand how this will ever come into production.

Leatherman123 · **Reply #20 on:** January 17, 2009, 05:41:19 PM

I like how the blade isn't pointed though; it's more of a sheepsfoot design! Wouldn't that be cool if LM offered a Skeletool with a fully serrated sheepsfoot blade for EMS/First Responders/LE and the like? That would sell really well, IMO!

Rodion · **Reply #21 on:** January 17, 2009, 06:18:39 PM

Quote from: Defender on January 17, 2009, 04:04:47 PM

Actually it didn't seem all that bad. We played with it for a while, but it's still a prototype, and while it did feel a little wobbly, that's typical for pre-production as they are constantly fiddling with them. I can't say whether it will be great or not yet, but it certainly is worth watching, and at the price point they are suggesting, I'm sure it will be quite popular.

Def

Look Def, I know you're a businessman so I don't expect you to take sides here.

But damn do these photos make my blood boil. One cannot blame Gerber for making folding pliers - that's like stealing blueprints for a Phillips screw head. But taking an original Leatherman design, one that probably cost the company hundreds of thousand of dollars and hundreds, if not thousands of man hours, then pretending you've made a breakthrough takes this rivalry to a cartoonish level.

This "unveiling" means Gerber is at a dead end, with nothing to offer but a cheaper price. I'm ashamed to have ever considered purchasing any of their multi-tools. Fend for Yourself my аss.

Poncho65 · **Reply #22 on:** January 17, 2009, 09:29:19 PM

I guess one could say it's faux Leather man

That is a pretty bad rip-off from a competing company that has been known to ~~steal~~ borrow ideas from other companies like (cough Atwood)

David Bowen · **Reply #23 on:** January 17, 2009, 09:35:52 PM

I agree this is pretty shaky and looks more like a LM Skeletool than I would prefer. It's almost a copy with some gerber crap throw into the mix. I seriously want to know what Leatherman things about this, would be interesting what Tim says. I think with the new replacement for the clutch they made it look ugly (with this radioactive green) and now a tool that looks like the competition, so very not cool. Somehow I have lost faith in the folks at Gerber, I agree "fend for yourself my ass"

I just thought I would edit my post and add, I guess this is the difference between made is USA and made in CHINA (oh wait...or is that TAIWAN??)

Nikos · **Reply #24 on:** January 17, 2009, 09:40:50 PM

I'll risk being called a traitor or worse, but I wonder what LM were saying when Vic came out with the SwissTools...

Poncho65 · **Reply #25 on:** January 17, 2009, 09:56:55 PM

Quote from: noth on January 17, 2009, 09:40:50 PM

I'll risk being called a traitor or worse, but I wonder what LM were saying when Vic came out with the SwissTools...

I think Bear beat them to it and they had some legal litigation with LM and i believe they lost because there Bear Jaws looked to much like a PST then Vic bought Bear and came out with a different tool based on Bears designs and patents

Or something like that

Sea Monster · **Reply #26 on:** January 17, 2009, 11:42:50 PM

I'm not going to get steamed up design similarities - That's how the world works, and presumably, we the customer, are the better for it, as multiple companies compete for our attention with their various takes on the same theme.

Especially for poor customers like me, who would need to sell their body to afford a Skeletool!

Imagine the pickle we'd be in if only one beer company was allowed to bottle their drink in long necks!

The (very few, three I think) Gerbers I have handled have not impressed me though. They are still very expensive in Aus, and they are presumably better than the $20-$30 multis I can buy at a hardware store, but they don't strike me as having the same quality as a Vic or Leatherman tool.

I'm always happy to be pleasantly surprised, and one day I might buy a Gerber and use it to my full satisfaction.

So far, not so good however.

Anthony · **Reply #27 on:** January 17, 2009, 11:59:14 PM

Wow, that's pretty bold of Gerber to blatently copy Leatherman.

I'm not commenting on the Crucial itself as I haven't handled it, and for a lot of tool users it might be just what they are looking for in a pocket clipped/light multi, but it's kind of embarassing IMO.

J-sews · **Reply #28 on:** January 18, 2009, 06:05:42 AM

Actually I am surprised that we haven't seen Skeletool knock-offs from China before now. After all, that is what they seem to do best.

Poncho65 · **Reply #29 on:** January 18, 2009, 06:14:41 AM

Yeah they would have even put the metal cutouts in the same spots

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