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Most EDC pry tools are single-piece steel or titanium items with bare metal handles. Some integrate handle scales for added grip in wet conditions. Others have slightly more ergonomic designs that let you leverage the tool to accomplish big tasks despite the size. And if there’s a lanyard or keychain hole at the rear, it becomes easy to use those things as an extension of the tool's grip despite its size. Material Leatherman invented the multi tool as we know it today. As a company, they only produce multi tools. They have a laser focus on creating the best designs and manufacturing them using the best techniques. Pretty much across the board Leatherman products are better made than any other manufacturer’s at the same price point. Under use, the Shard provided the best Phillips head driver,smoothly and efficiently removing a drilled-in screw. Both Leatherman and Gerber produce high-quality multi-tools. Leatherman is known for its durable construction, premium materials, and excellent craftsmanship. Gerber also offers reliable multi-tools that are designed to withstand rugged use. Ultimately, the choice between the two may come down to personal preference and specific tool requirements.
The CRKT K.E.R.T. gives users a very specialized tool, but, unlike the other tools on this list, the K.E.R.T. is not designed for a whole ton of different EDC tasks. Bernard is known for bringing everyday carry out of obscurity and into the mainstream, having been published or featured in various publications such as GQ, TIME Magazine, The New York Times, VICE, HYPEBEAST, Outside, and many others. He has also played a part in curating, designing, and developing digital and physical products, resulting in successful crowdfunding projects or limited edition collaboration products with established softgoods brands. He stays on the pulse of the EDC industry by attending trade shows, participating in online interest communities, and actively engaging with fellow gear enthusiasts on social media. Next we’ll look at the Leatherman Squirt PS4. The Squirt and the Dime have very similar tool loadouts. The Dime does beat out the Squirt with its inclusion of tweezers and a useful little box cutter. One thing we really like about the Dime when compared to the Squirt are the removable torx bolts instead of rivets used in its construction. It’s a small thing, but we like being able to take apart our tools for regular cleanings. Gerber initially released the Shard as a trade show giveaway with no plans to sell it to the general public. As photographs of the Shard made their way out on the internet, public demand to get a production version produced grew. Finally, Gerber caved and decided to make the Shard for sale. Lastly, there’s the lanyard hole. It’s definitely a nice feature, although we’re not sure we’d call it a “tool”—but to each their own. The hole is on the larger side, so it’ll definitely fit any keychain and various lengths of rope.Features include spring-loaded needle-nose pliers and an internal wire cutter. Small handles greatly benefit from the spring-loaded design, making gripping and ripping pretty easy. In addition, you won’t have to manipulate the small handles here constantly. We’ve previously covered the Center Drive, you can get a more in depth look at it here. The Gerber Center Drive product picture
The Style PS is a great little tool designed for frequent travelers and those who often find themselves in secured buildings. It doesn’t have any blade on it at all, just a small pair of scissors, tweezers, and a nail file. Compared to the Gerber Dime it has a lot less functionality but is still an excellent specialized tool. Limited Leverage: The small size can be a limiting factor when dealing with tightly fixed screws or more demanding tasks. The Dime is similar in size to the small Leatherman trio – Micra, Juice, Style – but it offers a bigger variety of tools than the Leatherman options. It’s a folding tool based around a set of pliers, like the Juice and Style PS, offering needle nose pliers at the tip, and rounded “standard” pliers in the middle of the head, with a “last case scenario” wire cutter at the base of the head. Pliers are spring loaded like the Micra and Juice, a feature that’s sadly missing from a lot of larger multi-tools! A small set of scissors delivers some fantastic cutting potential for paper, tape, and other thin materials. Of course, you aren’t chewing through 550 cord or cardboard with this, but for a simple thing, it works. Gerber Dime Open
Features & Usage
It’s not going to replace the Craftsman in your garage, but it does work well with average, household screws that need tightening or loosening here and there. Other tools are small but well chosen, and all are inside-access only (so the tool must be unfolded to access them.) One handle holds a medium Flat/Philips driver, a pair of tweezers, and a bottle opener/small screw driver. The other handle has a small clip point blade in 420HC, a medium straight screwdriver, and a nail file/nail cleaner. There’s also ruler demarcations on the handle if you need to measure something shorter than 4.7” long. The handle with the tweezers has a built in keyring loop with a small split ring to mount to your keys. The tool set on the Micra is more similar to a Swiss Army knife than to a typical Leatherman product, but they’re all useful things for day to day life, and the whole tool takes up very little space when folded. The Gerber Shard consists of seven different tools in one: a pry bar, small flathead driver, wire stripper, larger flathead driver, bottle opener, lanyard hole, and Philips head (or cross driver, as the folks at Gerber refer to it as). And, despite its small size, it excels at doing all of these (although, is lanyard hole really a feature something can excel at?). Gerber Shard In Detroit
The Shard’s shape makes it super comfortable to use. Nothing pokes or prods when you use its wide variety of tools. Let’s be honest; there’s a lot of value in that. The Gerber Center Drive took the slide out plier system in use on most of Gerber’s full sized multi tools and added a purpose built center axis bit driver. The goal was to create something capable of fully replacing pliers and screwdrivers in the handyman’s toolbox. Overall they did a pretty good job with it. The pliers work as well as any of their multi tools and the driver is actually a pretty nice innovation. Then there’s the wire stripper. We haven’t used it specifically for wire stripping (yet!), but it can be useful for cutting loose threads or pulls on clothing. Gerber Shard Cutting StringWell, the acronym tells it all — Keyring Emergency Rescue Tool. The name guides the design philosophy. And those three hex drivers built into the handle are pretty cool tools. Not to mention, the G10 grips bring increased comfort and leverage. Overall this is a fairly nice tool with a few unique features you won’t find on other tools. The spoke wrenches in particular would be very helpful for cyclists. One thing that sets the Crater apart from the Obsidian is the carabiner/bottle opener that folds out from the handle. It can be used to clip the knife to your belt loop but we found it more useful at attaching the Crater to bags. The bottle opener works well enough but can be difficult to get open on the first try.
Granted it cannot replace a dedicated screwdriver with a long handle, but for those minor tasks like tightening or loosening an exposed screw, it works excellent. Keychain multi-tools are primarily made for two things: versatility and everyday carry. Carrying a mini multi-tool on your or even a simple lanyard will instantly allow you to jump into a DIY project. What does a keychain multi-tool do? Unlike other keychain lights, the Streamlight Nano doesn’t require you to hold a button-down constantly. Instead, you just twist the head, and it pops on and stays on. A whole 10 lumens here. At 1.0625″ wide and with a large lanyard hole for it’s 2.75″ long body, the Shard is a solid piece of [Gerber mystery] stainless steel that has become an EDC favorite for many. At only 0.6 ounces in weight, it boasts 7 functions and easily fits into your keychain EDC setup.We’ve used them while crashing at long-term AirBnbs to tighten screws on tables and drawers as a nice gesture toward the host, but also for happiness’ sake. Gerber Shard Phillips Head Screwdriver An EDC pry bar has to have the appropriate tool at one of its ends to fulfill its essential function. All others are secondary, but as many functions as can be placed in a compact tool without making it too big for EDC are welcome. Common features include a bottle opener, screwdriver, a bit driver, a hex wrench, and occasionally a knife blade.\ Length and Weight The most significant benefits of a keychain multi-tool are the functionality and small size. With a high-quality multi-tool, you can carry a box cutter, flat screwdriver, can opener, and much more. Best of all, it comes in compact form factors that you can always keep with you. The Wave Plus wasn’t without its minor qualms. The nylon sheath felt a little on the cheaper side, and I did find the ‘one-handed open internal tools’ to usually require a bit of a struggle, demanding both hands more often than not.
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