multi-tool or swiss army knife?

[mcseal2]

I have been thinking about what tools I actually use outside my belt or folding knife when working, camping, hunting, or fishing. I work on a ranch and carry a multi-tool and either a fixed blade or ZT 452 folding knife depending on the time of year and what I'm doing.

My list of what I think might be worth carrying came down to pliers, saw, scissors, and a plain edge knife blade. A phillips and straight screwdriver are bonuses, but not necessary. I don't need a bigger pliers that cuts wire well like I do for work, just something that can remove a fish hook, thorn, etc.

I did some looking at how to get those tools in the lightest package and most multi-tools Like the Leatherman Wave or P4 I use around home are 8.5oz or more. The smallest Victorinox swiss army knife that has them all is the Handyman and it's 5.5oz. For the same 5.5oz I can carry a Leatherman Squirt (2oz) and a Victorinox Fieldmaster (3.5oz) that have all those tools and more. Plus I already have those and don't have to buy anything.

Anyone know of a lighter option with pliers, scissors, saw, and knife?

Thanks for the help.

 

[dj1975232]

Multi tool. I haven’t used a SAK since I was a kid. Never liked the non locking blades/tools.

 

[tony]

Minus the saw blade leatherman wingman is a great tool
Remember your not going to be doing any heavy or large cutting with the scissors.
Skel tool is another good one.
Wave is the best seller, I have an older model.

Also have the gerber centerdrive. The screw driver is the best on the market. But the whole package is damn heavy. I never put on my belt. It just hangs around the house for quick things not needing a tool box.

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks for the replies.

I know the scissors won't do heavy cutting. I've broken or smashed toenails and they came in handy for fixing that compared to my bigger knife. My hunting knife is a custom similar to a Dozier Pro Guides knife in 3V steel, it's what I use for any heavy cutting. Scissors is for little precise stuff like I mentioned or Leukotape, Tenacious tape patches, etc.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Have had multiple leathermans and Gerbers.
Nice but to heavy and sold them all.
A Swiss army farmer or one with two blades and a small saw is way more useful.
Actually hunting i carry a bacho saw and bugout.

 

[mcseal2]

I have a couple of the Bahco saws. 6.7oz and they work on wood or bone, pretty handy item. I don't know that I need one every day in my pack, but places where ribs have to come out on the bone mine worked well.

 

[Mike 338]

I've drawered most all my knives and just carry a Leatherman. I guess any multitool is fine though. The last couple of weeks, I've used a bottle opener, the knife, pliers and both screwdrivers. I use it almost daily for something. Sometimes you just don't want to make an extra trip when all you need is an easy screwdriver or pliers for a pidly task.

Swiss Army knife... never had one. Don't know if they have pliers but pliers are a real handy thing to have close by.

 

[JollyRoger]

I haven’t used a Swiss Army knife since I was a kid. But, I’ve taken a Leatherman Wave I got for high school graduation in my pack everywhere with me for the last 20+ years. I love it, but to be honest I have only used the knife blade (for cleaning fish, cutting cord, etc), the file, pliers and maybe a screw driver just a few times. The Skeletool they make would probably be a better and lighter option. I don’t find many Phillips head screws to tighten while out on backpack hunts

 

[mcseal2]

That's kinda where I'm at too. I carry a Wave for work. Yesterday Dad used it to change needles on his syringe when we were working some calves and forgot to give it back, I reached for it a dozen times that afternoon and didn't have it.

Today I put a new float on a stock tank and used the screwdriver to tighten the hose clamp, fixed a watergap where cattle had got out with the pliers, and used the needle nose to clean a rock out of my horse's hoof when moving the next group of cow calf pairs up to wean Friday. I use it many times each day.

I use the heck out of one for work, just deciding what I need to carry in the back country.

I think my 2oz Leatherman squirt and the Swiss Army knife combo for 5.5oz total is fine for times I don't need a full size multi-tool like I do for work. Times where weight doesn't matter I like the full size Leatherman, but I don't need to carry it hunting.

Did a little searching for pliers lighter than the 2oz Leatherman and didn't come up with anything that looked usable. I think I'll stick to taking it and take either the Swiss Army knife or a folding saw when I want to have a saw blade too.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[justinspicher]

Multi tool for me. I have tried a few different SAK, but I just don’t like them as much as a multi tool.

 

[tony]

Thanks for the replies.

I know the scissors won't do heavy cutting. I've broken or smashed toenails and they came in handy for fixing that compared to my bigger knife. My hunting knife is a custom similar to a Dozier Pro Guides knife in 3V steel, it's what I use for any heavy cutting. Scissors is for little precise stuff like I mentioned or Leukotape, Tenacious tape patches, etc.

You need steel toe boots!

I’ve been in the medical field 30 years and nail injuries are the one and about only thing I check out on. Like they make me physically sick.
Guts, bones, vomit, crap, bugs no problem.
Nails no way

 

[mcseal2]

I can fix my own, wouldn't want to mess with anyone else's feet to bad!

 

[willtim]

Leatherman.

 

[bw0311]

I feel naked without my leatherman rebar. I use it almost every day for something. Saves you a lot of trips to the toolbox, and just plain handy especially when you're up on a ladder, or at someones house that have no tools.
guts deer well too, although its a bit annoying cleaning fat out of all the nooks and crannies when you get home.

 

[longspeak74]

I've carried a SAK everyday for 25 years. It just fits my needs better.

 

[tcpip95]

Leatherman Surge for me. Own 4 of them. 2 x cars, 1 x boat, and 1 x for EDC. Stainless steel is great.

 

[JR Greenhorn]

I have a recurring problem with SAK's and multi-tools: whenever I find a "Goldilocks" tool in the range, they discontinue it!

Case in point: by far the most ideal SAK I've found is the 74mm Executive. Enough bigger than the 58mm knives to be more useful, but still disappears in a pocket like no 91mm or larger model ever will. Mine is so indispensable in my daily life in polite society, that I quit fussing over knives and just started carrying it on back country trips, too. There, a tweezers is even more appreciated. Plus, you just can't beat the Victorinox scissors. Sadly, the whole 74mm line was discontinued last year, and they are quickly becoming rare.



I never carry the bulky, heavy Gerber multi-tools I've received as gifts, but I've been on canoe and bicycle trips where multi-tool pliers have saved the day. I went looking for my own, and found the Leatherman Freestyle is about the lightest, most compact multi-tool with a truly useful pliers that you'll find. It's like a Skeletool, but without the awkward clip and non-standard bit driver. Of course I got one just in time for them to be discontinued. I wish I'd have bought a couple more when they were easier to find.



For a full-size SAK, the 111mm Locksmith is the most compact model that comes with a (very good) file, which is a tool I find more useful than a saw (and most people know how good SAK saws are for their size). I don't know if they are officially discontinued or not, but the Locksmith models sure are difficult to find.

One thing I learned when I got my Locksmith, the now more common liner-lock SAKs are noticeably more heavy than the older slide-lock models (with the slider button in the scale). I have a Huntsman, and while I find its gut hook to be useless, it rides in my pack much more often due to the knife's lighter weight vs. the Locksmith. I also feel silly carrying a knife with a corkscrew into the wilderness, but it is a handy way to carry the little Victorinox screwdriver for emergency eyeglasses repairs.



I grew up in a place and an era when people still carried slip-joint pliers in leather belt holsters, so maybe that's why I'm a fan of having "real" tools when something mechanical needs to be fixed. As a more packable compromise, I like the Victorinox Bit Tool with its red plastic bit holder (it's sold with their SwissTool multi-tools, but you can buy it by itself). It's not quite as light as it could be, but it's nice to use something that feels like a normal tool. I like that I can load up the holder with standard hex bits in sizes I know fit my needs. It's nice to have the right sizes for all those little rear sight and scope mount screws on guns, instead of trying to kludge it in the field with the one-size-fits-most screwdrivers on multi-tools. I went looking to buy another Vic Bit Wrench a while back, and I'm afraid those might be discontinued now too!?

 

[Mick214]

I carry a Gerber MT on my belt every day:

 

[Axlrod]

I carry a knife and a pair of Knipex mini Cobra every day. Its all I need.

https://www.knipex.com/products/pipe-wrenches-and-water-pump-pliers/knipex-cobra-xs/knipex-cobra-xs/8700100

 

[Wildhorse]

Leatherman mut or a leatherman wave and never look back I carry a mut daily on my ranch I have the mut EOD from when I was in the service and the C4 punch that comes on it works great for splicing rope or wire when needed the regular mut has a punch for your takedown pins on your ar also useful for cotter pins and such that might break when being pulled ext ext. I normally keep my mut and my benchmark bushcraft on me at all times and have never really found to many instances where they dont get the job done. I will say though a pair of dikes is always handy and another thing that's normally in a pocket.