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Gerber is one of the top tier brands that make high-quality multi-tools. Their tools are specifically for the military. Therefore, there is no doubt that they are rock solid. They target their tools toward rescue professionals, military, and law enforcement agencies. Gerber tools are readily available for consumers to use. However, there are so many of them in line that it is hard to choose from them. Different Gerber multi-tools come with a different feature set, and all of them might not have all the features you are looking for.
These are the top five Gerber tools that cover all the multi-tool utilities. Although there is no need to test these for quality because they are military-grade tools, our quality team has tested these rigorously to see how well they perform. These tools are reliable and highly durable, so you aren’t likely to change them for many years.
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Best Gerber Multi-Tool – Top 5 Reviewed
Gerber Diesel Multi-Plier
Features
- One-handed pliers
- Partially serrated knife
- Sheath design
- Comes with 12 tools
- Awesome wire cutter
- Smooth anti-pinch handle
Gerber first introduced this handy tool in 2005. This tool is available in both brushed stainless steel and black designs. Both of them work the same and consist of the same material.
Gerber Diesel is ideal for the military. There is no rattling, and it is very sturdy. Furthermore, the design also gives it a very nice grip. It has a silent design that is good for stealth operations. When you open the handles, they separate, which reduces pinching. With a comparatively long and strong blade and Torx coupled with the large release buttons, it is extremely convenient to use it.
You might be wondering why it is called multi-pliers. That is because the pliers are the flagship feature of this multi-tool. The pliers slide within the handle, and just a small flick can extend the plier jaws. However, for other tools, you have to make some manual effort to dig them out. This is undoubtedly one of the toughest and feature-packed tools that you can get at this price. Coming with as many as 12 tools, this tool covers all your needs.
The seemingly sturdy-looking tool has a surprisingly smooth flick operation. The stainless steel blades are bigger than the usual size and after flicking, they safely lock into their place. This ensures maximum safety. They like to call it the Saf T plus system. The one-hand deployment system of pliers works nicely, though you may need a little bit of time to get used to it. The pliers give a tactile feeling with each flick. If you want to flick it smoothly, don’t hold the handle too tight and just let it go softly. To release the pliers, just press the jaw release button.
The stainless steel knife is also one of the core tools. The knife lies inside the handle and you. It requires you to manually open the pliers, extend the jaw, take out the knife, and then close the tool. The blade is pretty narrow and has a thick back. The front part is razor-sharp clean cutting edge while it is serrated on the other half. As far as durability is concerned, it is surprisingly strong. It can cut a little more than two inches in length.
The Gerber tool comes with a sharp wire cutter that worked really well for 9 AWG wires. As opposed to the inboard tools, they certainly have an edge. The smooth handle body gently squeezes the cutters and is very maneuverable. This eliminates any pinching from the tools.
While the wire cutters are perfect, there should have been extra blades on the wire cutters. Since these cutters are not ideal for heavy-duty cutting, we doubt that one blade will stay for too long. Their recently updated MP600 have tungsten carbide blades, so everyone expects Gerber to update the Diesel as well.
Read complete review: Gerber Diesel
Gerber MP600 Multi-Plier
Features
- All parts manufactured and assembled in the USA
- SAF T locking patented locking system
- Upgraded tungsten carbide cutters
- One-handed operation
- Comes with a lifetime warranty
This is probably the most famous of Gerber’s tactile tools. The MP600 model is quite old. But it has proven time and again that it is one of their best. Their recent tungsten carbide wire cutters have made this even better. Gerber claims that it can cut 26 gauge wires or number 2 fish hooks. Anything bigger than that is not recommended.
Tools include blunt nose pliers, tungsten carbide insert cutters, a wire crimper, a plain edge knife, a serrated knife, a crosspoint screwdriver, flat blade screwdrivers, a lanyard ring, a can opener, s bottle opener, a filer, and a ruler.
Now comes the best part about the cutters. If you somehow damage the cutter, you can rotate it to get a completely fresh side. You can rotate it three times. Once all of them go dull, you can replace the whole cutter. IT would be nice if it came with extra blades. But they were nice enough to include a wrench to replace the blades. If you need a replacement, you can easily find it on Amazon.
Coming to the tools, we can only say that these are almost perfect. This is partly because of the excellent locking mechanisms. The deployment is pretty easy, and there are no play blades. It has one of the fanciest ways of deploying the pliers. This is very untraditional, though. The pliers slide out when you press the pair of release buttons. On a new unit, it may take some time for it to operate smoothly. Just give them a couple of slides, and you will get used to it.
As far as durability is concerned, the outer shell consists of a thick oxide coating. This helps prevent corrosion. The coating is not that strong, however. It will come off the tip of the screwdriver after a couple of uses. Furthermore, it is unlikely to withstand abuse. We also experienced some black oxide getting released on the hands. So if you want to keep your tool new, it is better to go with the stainless steel version.
You do have to get a little bit used to its operation as it works quite differently. A good example is how you open the pliers. Although it is not hard to do, you do have to get it out by sliding your middle finger through the handles. But I guess it gives a much stronger grip, so we have no complaints about it. The tool also comes with a nylon sheath, and we got to say that it is of great quality. It is sturdy, rip-proof, and very easy to open. We think that this is a very portable way to carry the tool.
Read complete review: Gerber MP600
Gerber Suspension-NXT Multi-Tool
Features
- Comes with all sizes of flat head drivers
- Extremely sharp serrated blade
- High functioning can opener
- True cross driver
- Includes many miscellaneous accessories
This tool is a butterfly open multi-tool built on Gerber’s 12 functional suspension system. The Suspension-NXT is much lighter than its counterparts. Weighing only a little more than six ounces, it still has the same features as the Truss. Surprisingly, this one has longer tools and more functions than the Truss model. We wonder how they were able to pull this off.
This model works on spring-operated pliers with a needle nose and is housed inside an all-stainless-steel chassis. The closed length of this tool is about 4.35 inches and goes to about 6.25 inches when fully opened. The pliers are a needle-nose design, making this tool a great choice for delicate tasks like working with electronics.
It also comes with a handy wire cutter that can cut thin wires. One great tool in this Gerber multi-tool is the serrated knife-cum-edge knife tool. The combo blade is of mighty fine quality and does not wear off that easily. Just be careful with the serrated part as it is extremely sharp. It also comes with scissors and a true cross driver for handling different screws. It has flat drivers that come in small, medium, and large sizes.
We also loved the handy can opener that requires minimal effort on your part. Unlike other can openers, the grip of this one is very good. The miscellaneous accessories include an awl, a filer, a wire stripper, and a handy ruler.
Gerber 31-001134 Dime Micro-Tool
Features
- Small pliers
- Blister package opener
- Can opener
- Handy weasel tool
- Super grippy handle
- Razor-sharp knife blades
The Dime Micro-Tool is one of the tools I personally use. They are smart, compact, and very portable. This is the micro-tool that you will want to be reaching for a couple of times a day. It is an amazing gift to give on birthdays, and anyone who is into tools is going to love this. The tool has a pretty nice finish and has a considerably sharper knife. This can be an effective tool to do your chores.
Whenever you feel like there is a job, you will want to reach out for this handy tool as not only it performs extremely well, but because it feels so good in the hand. It gives a tactile feeling when you open the pliers as well as other tools. Additionally, it is one of the best looking micro tools out there. It has amazing aesthetics and will fit the pocket of every man. Using this is so much fun that you will look for things to fix them. Just don’t break any of them, though.
We liked the knives. There is no comparison here. For the price, we would say they are spot on. They are sharp, sturdy, and durable. This is your one-stop-shop for fixing your household things. In such a small package, it gives you an extremely versatile set of options to deal with the things you want to fix. We tested the knives on thick plastic containers, and boy, it was fun. It cuts like butter.
The included bottle opener is something I have grown so fond of that I have skipped cans. Just put this in your pocket, and you will see how much good use you can put it to. For gripping or twisting light things, the pliers are super grippy. That is why it is a perfect tool for small jobs. This little guy can do so much and packs a lot of other features as well.
We won’t say that the wire cutters are the best out there. But they certainly do the job. To give you a good idea, they can cut a big paper clip easily. We can say that overall it has well thought out design and is well made. The case is sturdy, and the tools are easy to pull out. It is also very safe to operate. You can easily operate the razor-sharp blades without having to worry about your fingers. However, we did have problems with the smaller knife. Also, just be careful of the serrated side.
Read complete review: Gerber Dime
Gerber Center-Drive Multi-Tool
Features
- One-handed easy operation
- Spring-loaded pliers
- ‘X channel’ railing system
- Comes with a rotating carbide cutter
- Fully magnetic center axis driver
- Includes a bottle opener with a pry bar
- Serrated knife blades
- Includes all other tools like an awl, filer, lanyard hole, magnetic flathead driver, and Phillips bits
The Center-Drive tool has got some pretty innovative features. But does it stand against other Gerber tools? If you are a professional, then your tools are likely the most important part of your work. For the most part, I require these multi-tools when I need a quick fix and don’t want to go grab a standalone tool from my bag. But most of the time, these multi-tools aren’t as effective as the standalone tools. Now we can’t expect a multi-tool to perform the same as dedicated tools, but then what is the purpose of using them? The thing is that it should come close to the performance of the dedicated tools if not the same.
The Gerber Center-Drive is one such tool that has almost the same performance as dedicated tools. This is a tool aimed at people who want a quick fix and want to be ready for anything that comes their way. But how does it work for full jobs? That is what we are eager to find out here.
First, let’s look at some features. I got to say it’s pretty darn impressive. Putting it on that table makes it look more attractive than in your pocket. Although there aren’t as many tools as in other Gerber tools, there are still a handful of them, which makes more sense as there are only a few that most people require for most of the jobs.
This time, the plier deployment is different. It doesn’t have a butterfly style. You have to slide open the pliers from the side. This is quite new to us as well but is very simple. Just keep pushing it up until the slide lock is in its place, securing the pliers. This is where the spring operated handle comes into play, and you can expose the pliers to use them. The plier design is also a bit non-traditional.
The screwdriver is the center drive from where the tool gets its name. The offset design enables it to extend to more than three inches. This essentially helps give more control of the driver because the center drive gives it a natural axis of rotation. We would say this is a pretty intelligent move to bring the performance closer to a dedicated tool.
As far as the knives go, you can still access this without having to open the tool, which is excellent. The blade is a plain edge and has a drop style, which is very easy on your hands. The blade is quite long, and the build quality is amazing. You will likely not have to sharpen it for at least a year of use.
Read complete review: Gerber Center-Drive
Conclusion
These are some of the top-selling Gerber multi-tools that are high-performance portable equipment to get small to medium range jobs done quickly without having to reach your box. These Gerber tools are military-grade, and many of them are supplied to the US army. If you want to own one, you can choose one from our list as we have reviewed them in detail.
If you ask us, we would say that the Diesel Multi-Plier is the best value choice as it comes at a budget-oriented price and still provides almost the same features as other Gerber tools. But it lacks the replaceable carbide blades that come with the MP600. So if you can up your budget a bit, we suggest going with the MP600. If you want something more premium, we recommend the Center-Drive multi-tool as its performance comes very close to dedicated tools.
Hi, I’m Johnny, the chief editor at Svetools.com. Since I was a kid, DIY has been my thing – playing around with all sorts of tools, from power tools to classic wrenches. I started the Svetools blog to share my love for DIY and all things a house Handyman should know. Whether it’s product reviews or essential how-to’s articles, I cover it all. Need assistance or have a question? Hit me up using the details on our contact us page.