Gerber MP600 Multi-Plier

great multi tool, just don't like the replaceable cutting blade

Great value for a gerber multi tool. The carbide cutters are amazing

Robustly built, blade is very sharp, Pliers are usable. Other associated tools are nicely fitted into the frame. My only gripe is the blade design. This one has a straight blade. Nothing wrong with the blade, I just wanted a more traditional curved blade. This is my 4th Gerber. My first, a similar model in matte stainless steel was a gift 30 yrs ago that started my Multi Tool collection.

These are issued with the CAF, at least to the army troops. They’re very functional, and I’ve never seen a broken one (seen a snapped blade though). The issue for me is that they don’t feel very sturdy (they’re alright but they don’t feel like it) and they aren’t well thought-out. To use them, you have to swing them around to use centrifugal force to deploy the pliers, or you can fiddle with the buttons to pull the plier jaws forwards. That’s required to access any of the tools. You literally have to wave tactical pliers around like a cowboy to use them, or fidget with them nervously like you don’t know what you’re doing. Zero middle ground. And it doesn’t matter if you want to use the pliers. You have to deploy it to access any of the tools. These get a lot of praise for being a one-handed tool, but that’s only for the pliers. If you want to use the knife or the screwdriver, two hands is necessary, and it’s a bit fiddly. So yeah. You’re going to swing it around like a weirdo, and then you’re going to spread the pliers open so you can unfold a knife, then close the pliers and retract the jaws into the handle. That’s how you get the knife tool out. It’s ridiculous. To make matters worse, these things are built like the AK47 was. Stamped and die-cut sheet metal housings and designed for full function with low precision manufacturing. Everything rattles around on this like a baby’s toy, and that’s even with the leaf springs that were meant to reduce the problem. That said, it makes them easier to clean and less likely to malfunction when some dirt gets caked in them. So yeah. AK47. Rugged, dependable, and somehow really rickety at the same time. Also, the plier heads are flexible and weak. If you use the pliers to put twisting force on something, say to pry a staple out of some wood, the jaws become misaligned. But don’t worry, they flex right back when you take the pressure off. Still, I’ve had $4 needlenose pliers I got from Dollarama that didn’t do this. So that’s a bit concerning. Last gripe: the handles are parallel when the jaws are closed which is awkward to squeeze on smaller objects. Now for the good stuff. I’ve seen these things take abuse like you wouldn’t believe and not break. The knife blade is very easy to sharpen. You could probably do it with a rock, which means the metal is probably soft, and yeah, they go dull quickly, but they sharpen a lot faster than they dull. The tools work. I haven’t destroyed the Phillips bit yet, which is usually a point of failure on cheaper multi tools, so good job on that one Gerber. I would recommend this tool, but the Leatherman Sidekick costs the same and is much better quality. It’s hard to compare them though because they have different tool options, so if you’re trying to decide, think it through what tools you need.