TGO Rating: 2.5
A compact, genuinely pocket-sized multi-tool, this has practical functions but they’re all very small. The knife blade is well placed on the bottom handle but is too tiny to be up to much action.
TGO Rating: 5
This is a top-quality knife which contains tools, not a multi-tool with a knife blade. It is just about light enough for backpacking and feels balanced and comfortable in the hand, whether you’re slicing onions or wrestling alligators.
TGO Rating: 3.5
This robust tool is suited to life in a car-based toolkit, not in a rucksack. Blacks has punched holes into the handles but there’s no getting away from the 325g weight. This includes 10 bits (see features list) that sit in a separate pocket in the nylon case.
TGO Rating: 4.5
This is a heavy duty knife with pliers inside, rather than a multi-tool based around pliers. It will seduce any would-be Rambo, with its no-nonsense, locking, serrated blade and tools that could outlast a nuclear explosion.
Heavy, in an ergonomic shape with rubber grips around a steel frame. Butterfly-opening reveals needlenose pliers with a long reach: the plier blades are almost 6cm long. Long handles offer strong leverage.
TGO Rating: 1
Classed as a pocket-size pen knife, this is small enough and light enough to live permanently in a pack or pocket for emergencies. But, it’s pretty pointless.
TGO Rating: 4
TGO Rating: 2
A neat, compact, lightweight tool, this is certainly portable. However, these attributes are also its undoing: it is just too flimsy for any serious work.
With its anodised handles and smooth edges, Juice looks funky (almost feminine!) and feels comfortable. All functions can be accessed with the tool closed, except for the pliers, which are revealed after butterfly-opening.
A work of art. Made from brushed-finished stainless steel with Swiss-cheese cut-outs to reduce weight without compromising strength. A minimalist, angular yet curved piece of metal, its shape sits comfortably in the hand.
