So I am trying to find a manufacturer that lets you choose what tools go in to your multi-tool. I know Gerber had somethign a while back that let you choose various tools, but that is no more. I have googled my ass off (sorry for the visual) and come up empty. Anyone know of a multi-tool manufacturer that allows you to pick and choose which tools you put in?
On a related note, is it just me or is “Multi-Tool” unnecessarily awkward? We could make Leatherman generic, like kleenex, or shorten/alter “multi-tool” somehow …MT?..multALL? …mullit?..mool? maybe a completely different term? SuperTool (STool?) go with an achronym…All Purpose Tool (APT?)…I actually kind of like that one, kind of references the word apt, which is kind of, well, apt…
If the second part puts me in IMHO territory, feel free to move me (FFTMM) Mods
You’d think Leatherman or somebody would jump on the Homeland Security/TSA/Mouse bandwagon and market a tool without a knife blade. I’m getting tired of leaving my MT at home every time I travel. I always end up needed it before the trip is through.
It’s less so than “Swiss army knife”, but that still hangs on.
And mine (generic, I think) has one of those adaptors and bits, but the case doesn’t really carry them very well, so I end up having to leave them at home lest I lose them. Not really a good solution.
astro - Yeah, you are probably right, I think Victorinox tried it at one point too. Probably to make it economically viable they need to charge prohibitively high prices, especially inititially. Paying 3X just so you can get scissors instead of an awl probably doesn’t make sense. It would have to be one of those things that was incorporated in the manufacturing process from the get-go, so that the ability to choose tools was standard.
silenus - Really good point, i had never thought of that. Maybe a removable knife blade option would do the trick too. The raison d’etre of these this is to be prepared when in the field, and now due to HLS you can’t take it into the field…very interesting. You should totally ping Leatherman about that.
As for the “checked luggage” idea…until this latest flap, I never checked luggage, for any reason. I’ve had too many horror stories in the past to let my bag out of my sight. If I can’t fit it into my carry-on, then it stays at home. I can do two weeks that way. I usually carry a Juice Pro on my left hip (to counterbalance the cell phone), a Squirt in my left front pocket and a Gerber folding knife in my right front pocket. Leaving all that at home makes me a pound lighter but unable to fix anything!
Well, I’ve been checking my bags for years, as have the great majority. True, bags get lost, but so many more make it that it’s still a pretty good system. Besides, I take too more clothes for a 2 week trip than I can carry!
I think that in the future you’ll also find less and less baggage being allowed as carry on. Hell, we’ll probubly have to strip naked, undergo a cavity search, and fly in paper clothes while sedated and strapped down in the future.
Echoing silenus, I never put anything I care about in checked luggage if I can help it.
astro - re the risk of confiscation no matter what the tool does or does not have. You are right, but I have gotten through, with stuff that could be used as a “weapon”, especially if it is on a keychain.
It might be very hard (or impossible) to make one that is passable for security but is still useful. But if I was a marketing wiz, I would get an “officially approved” tool list and market it as such. “don’t let the terrorists win, use the official DHLS approved Leatherman” or “the terrorists don’t want you to be prepared, with the the official DHLS approved Leatherman you are”
I actually just sent a “Dear Leatherman”…which sounds way more homoerotic (not that there is anything wrong with that) than I intended it too.
quoting myself -
“Like most geeks, I never ever want to say “I can’t fix/solve/help because I don’t have the right tool”, the most odious part being the “I can’t…”. To that end, I always (always) carry a Leatherman with me… The one time you don’t have it is the time you will need it.”
“…A) hope that the baggage handlers don’t take it B) hope your luggage doesn’t get lost C) hope you remember to put it into your checked baggage (i.e. you either leave it at home accidentally or get it confiscated at the gate), and D) can’t use it on a major portion of your journey (especially with layovers, etc.)”
I understand you, but I have flown on…counts on fingers 7 round-trips and 1 on-way. Out of those 8 trips, 5 were international. Out of those, they have lost my bag once, and it was my fault: I neglected to remove an old tag that had my SO’s name, and then attached my tag, too, so they had no idea where to send it. And they found it in two days over the Thanksgiving holiday.
I used to, and my wife still does fly a lot. Using just a carry-on makes the pick-up go faster, you can beat everybody else on the flight to the cabs, and you never have to check into your hotel and then ring for the necessary amenities. It also makes me pack lighter.
<sigh> I guess I’m going to have to check it now. I’ll start a pool on the first time Southwest loses my bag.
In the spirit of the hijack that I totally contributed to, I got a reply from Leatherman.
"We do have one tool called the “Knifeless” Fuse.
The clip point knife has been replaced with a wood/metal file.
The TSA & airlines do not certify any companies products and with the ever changing airline alerts, it is hard to say at any given time, what TSA will allow."
So no dice, and I can not imagine them letting someone take the Fuse, “Knifeless” or not on a plane.
I don’t think you’d get any kind of pocket tool approved for taking onboard an airliner at the moment; even if it doesn’t include a blade, it could (be argued to) be used to fashion a weapon from materials onboard such as metal trims in the washroom (which may be hard to remove without a screwdriver).
In the interest of fighting ignorance I should point out that according to the TSA nail clippers are OK and have been for several years. Tools of less than 7" are considered OK as long as they are don’t have knife blades.
Of course this list is about 8 months old, but according to the TSA FAQs which is current there have been no changes concerning these items.
Flying from The UK involves a different set of rules, set up by the Brits. They are more stringent.
Rick, you totally Fought My Ignorance (FMI), thank you.
I wish I had a 7 inch tool
Although…according to my wife, I may BE some sort of tool, although she usually does not get specific about length or the exact name of the tool, she does go into great detail about the lack of effectiveness of said tool (me) at anything other than shoving my own head up my own ass. Whatever tool that makes me, I do not know.
Why don’t you put it in your checked baggage? I have a mini-multi-tool and I always put it in the checked baggage and bring it along.
