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Every multitool listing leads with a number: 14-in-1, 18-in-1, 21-in-1. That number is close to meaningless. It is inflated by counting each screwdriver bit and each ruler marking separately, and it tells you nothing about whether the pliers will round off the first tight bolt you meet.
Three things actually differ between multitools. First, plier quality: jaw hardness, whether the wire cutters are replaceable, and how much leverage the handle geometry gives you. Second, tool access: whether the knife and saw can be opened without unfolding the pliers, which sounds trivial and turns out to be the single biggest daily-use difference. Third, weight, because a twelve-ounce tool lives on a belt or it lives in a drawer.
Everything below is ranked on those three plus value. The tool counts are listed because you will look for them, not because they mean much.
#ad · Live prices from the Amazon Creators API, as of October 19, 2026. Where we have no verified live price we show none — a gap beats a number that has rotted.
Outside-accessible blades change how you use the tool
On a Leatherman Wave or Surge, the knife and the saw fold into the outside of the handle and open with the tool closed, one-handed. On most cheaper designs, including the Gerber Suspension, you unfold the pliers first and then pick the blade out of the handle. In a workshop that difference is nothing. Standing on a ladder holding a cable with one hand, it is the whole product.
Locking tools are a safety feature, not a luxury
A non-locking implement can fold on your fingers when you push hard in the wrong direction. Full-locking tool sets are standard on the Leatherman range and are not universal below it. If you will use the screwdrivers under real torque, buy locking.
Replaceable wire cutters are the sleeper spec
Wire cutters are the first thing to wear out on a multitool that gets used. On the Leatherman range they are replaceable inserts; on most cheaper tools they are machined into the jaws, so when they dull the whole tool is permanently worse. If you cut wire regularly this is the specification to buy on.
Match the size to where it will live
A Surge belongs on a tool belt. A Wave is a belt-sheath tool most people will not pocket. A Dime lives on a keyring and therefore is the one you will genuinely always have. Its tools are worse and its availability is perfect, and availability usually wins.
How these were picked
I haven't handled these. Here's what I did instead.
Everyone in this category says they tested twenty of these. I haven't tested any, and I say so. What I do instead: read the manufacturer's manual and published specification, compile the numbers that decide the purchase, do the arithmetic in the open, check the live price, and name one product to skip. The scores above are judgments from that research against a published rubric — they are not measurements I took, because I do not have a lab and I am not going to pretend otherwise.
Questions
Frequently asked
Is a Leatherman worth three times the price of a Gerber?+
If you use it weekly, yes — the 25-year warranty, the locking tools and the replaceable cutters all pay off over that horizon. If it lives in a glovebox for emergencies, the Gerber Suspension NXT does the same job for a third of the money and the difference is not recoverable.
What is the best multitool for camping?+
The Leatherman Signal, because the ferro rod, sharpener and whistle are integrated rather than being three more things to lose. For general camp use where you already carry a fire source, the Wave+ is the better tool.
Can I fly with a multitool?+
Not in carry-on if it has a blade — TSA prohibits knives of any length in the cabin. Bladeless multitools are permitted in carry-on, and full multitools are fine in checked luggage. Confirm current TSA rules before you travel; they change.
Do I need a multitool if I already carry a pocket knife?+
Only if you regularly need pliers. That is the honest test. Everything else on a multitool is a worse version of a dedicated tool, but a pair of pliers in your pocket has no substitute at all.
We do not run a testing lab and we do not pretend to. Where a measured number came from a manufacturer's published specification or someone else's lab, we name them and link them. Where we could not verify something, we say so on the page rather than quietly leaving it out. Read the full method.
