Gerber Multiplier 600

Submitted by Jeff Hamilton

One of the first items I ever purchased out of pocket, I have used it every day on the job. The first was a blunt-nose, but from experience I highly recommend the needlenose. For those who need to avoid light glint, they do come in flat black. The nylon carry case will wear out pretty quickly with rough use, but is easily replaced. Gerber customer service is excellent - they lifetime guarantee their products; I broke the saw blade on my Multiplier on the job once and it was promptly and cheerfully replaced.

Buy a Gerber 600 here

Comments

[thadeus krehbiel]

DO NOT BUY THIS TOOL! Reason one, the plier handles come so close together that if you are not careful and slip off of what ever you are gripping you run the risk of giving yourself a massive blood blister across your palm. Reason two is the fact that it is not a very strong nor hearty tool in my time on board a submarine I have seen upwards of 20 of them break.

[Jason Cox]

I would have to diagree with our submariner friend. When I first began my time in the infantry I started with a leatherman. This tool I do admit was very handy and durable, but its form was lacking in usability in one handed situations. Then came alon a SOG made tool that I snapped into two with a simple twist of the plier trying to remove some engineers tape from a wire obstacle. Next came my Gerber multitool sold at the Local Px in black. I have now had this tool for 10 years, it has been to the jungle, desert, in the ocean, river, streams, and lakes, and many other situations. I have had some complaints: the wire cutter has bent several times (fixed it with a buddies gerber tool) and I have broken the tip off of one of the flat screwdrivers. I never tried to get it fixed but I'm sure I could if I wanted to.

[Tom]

Funny... I've been carrying a SOG for 14 years (give or take) now, and it's still going strong. Gotta tighten the hex heads once in a while, and replace the sheath once in a while though.

[WestHamUnited]

My son will be deploying soon, and a multi-tool of some sort would seem very useful. Does the Army ever issue these? (He's a medic, if his MOS has any bearing on your suggestions.) I myself have a large Leatherman Surge, which is very nice, but it's stainless steel, and has the standard, shiny finish, which does not seem like a good idea for use in a combat zone. Is a larger tool needed, or is a smaller, lighter tool the way to go? My Leatherman seems more sturdy that Gerber models I seen, but I really don't have much experience with any of the Gerber models. Any suggestions would be helpful!

[Bruce Lancaster]

I vote a different way.
Multitools are clumsy when used as knives or screwdrivers, have pliers that are weak because of cast jaws and hinged handle, and generally have problems because most either lack blade locks or have blade locks that are difficult to unlock. My solution I think gives you better tooling on all fronts, and is really about as compact.
Get a pocketknife whose array of blades and screwdrivers suits you. My personal choice is a Bundeswehr pocketknife that is fairly common in surplus. Then get a small set of pliers, the Channelock general type with jaws tilted to size.
Small for use in respectable society will differ from small for field use with big pockets...smallest will be sold as ignition pliers, next step up for capacious pockets is a couple of inches longer and capable of fairly heavy use. Good pliers, capable of use as wrench within their size range, and tip contact area usually serves as a powerful wirecutter. Real forged pliers that are almost unbreakable, if you get a respectable brand. Soup'em up a bit by grinding a handle tip to screwdriver, too.

[Eric Daniel]

Bruce,

Do you have a reference for the Bundeswehr pocket knife?