What is a Multi-Tool?
A lifesaver. It was about 20 degrees, I was exploring the Rocky Mountain National Park and I was trudging through about three feet of fresh snow. The day was slipping away as Longs Peak hovered above me and the sun was setting behind the majestic mountain-scarred horizon. It was getting colder by the moment. But, crazy ol’ me…I was still having fun shoeing around as twilight made an appearance in the Park. Dipping into a meadow off the ridge I was traversing, I decided it would be advantageous to sprint down the hill and enjoy the unscathed snow. While running, I managed to catch the front of my right snowshoe under a tree branch. As physics would have it, I was flipped awkwardly into the snow as my shoe came dislodged from the branch and my other shoe smacked a rock. After emerging from the snow and the chilly invigoration I experienced, I noticed my snowshoes had been seriously damaged. My heart sank considering I had a few more miles to hike and most of the terrain ahead was cover
A multi-tool is a tool which includes several tools in one, so that it can serve a variety of functions. The Leatherman® is often credited as being one of the earliest and most famous multi-tools, setting the bar for companies which wanted to follow suit. Many hardware stores carry these handy tools, and they can also be ordered from specific manufacturers. Some multi-tools are designed to fit in the pocket, in which case they are small, with a limited number of included tools. Others attach to a tool belt, with a correspondingly larger size, and some are designed to be kept in a toolkit, but not necessarily to be worn or carried on a regular basis, in which case they may be much larger, with a myriad of options. Most multi-tools fold when not in use so that they compact neatly for storage. Some examples of tools which can be included in a multi-tool are: pliers, scissors, knives, screwdrivers, awls, corkscrews, nippers, and bottle openers. Some are designed with removable bits, so tha
Imagine a pair of pliers with a Swiss Amy knife crammed into them. Leatherman was the first company to make multi-tools popular. Since then, other companies have offered their own multi-tools. Victorinox, of Swiss Army knife fame, sat on the sidelines for awhile before producing their own multi-tool. Their first tool was the SwissTool, and it comes in three variations. Today, I’m covering the RS version.
