My favorite multitool for a good decade now has been the Leatherman Style CS.
2017#
Keys change, flashlights change, laces change — but the 1MB RAM stick from my first computer and the little Leatherman stay constant.
It has its flaws — the knife doesn’t lock, and over the years it started folding a bit reluctantly — but it’s still the most convenient and most-used tool I own. It turned out that scissors are needed far more often than pliers, and opening an envelope, trimming a thread, or cutting open a package has become pure muscle memory: hand goes straight for the keys.
Oh, and it has a bottle opener too.
Lost#
Well, it did — because I recently lost it. Lost it in a dumb way, possibly somewhere in the apartment — in the couch or under it, nobody knows where it might be buried in the clutter.
You’d think it’s no big deal, just a $50 question — but no, the sneaky Leatherman sent the Style into retirement, and now you can only buy a used rusty one on Amazon or eBay for $130+.
Micra#
The alternative (or rather the successor) turned out to be the MICRA — supposedly better and more feature-rich, but…
There’s no carabiner — just a microscopic little ring, so to detach it quickly you have to add some 3rd-party carabiner, which makes the whole setup bulkier.
And when you open the scissors, other tools open too (most often the tweezers), whereas on the Style those blades sat between the handles — “inside” — when the scissors were open. On top of that, to open the knife now you have to first open the scissors, open the knife, then close the scissors.
Annoying.
Nextool#
Then YouTube serves me an ad for something called Nextool — and within a few days I have three variants in my hands, each priced at $25–$30.
Nextool E1#
This is the one that showed up in the video, and what’s neat about it is that it has a bit holder for Leatherman bits and a holder for xActo blades.
That’s about all that’s neat about it, because it’s too big for a keychain and too small for a pocket. Skeletool shown for comparison.
Mini Sailor Scissors#
I had high hopes for the Mini Sailor Scissors — in photos it looked like a perfect replacement for the Style CS.
In person, though, it’s so chunky and huge compared to the Micra that the bonus pliers aren’t worth it. And no carabiner either.
Mini Flagship#
The Mini Flagship I picked up purely out of curiosity — scissors and pliers in a micro format, what’s that even like?
This beast is already about twice the size of the Micra, and subjectively it feels like three times.
Next steps#
Haven’t decided yet which of the NexTools to keep and which to send back — the price is low, but I won’t use them. You toss one into a bag, and then suddenly you can’t bring that bag anywhere. Maybe keep one in the car, though there are already a couple of knives there as it is…
For now I’ll keep carrying the Micra, and I’ll order the timeless classic that, unlike Leatherman, doesn’t get sent into retirement.
PS#
Dammit, NexTool also makes a shovel…
Keeping my hands to myself — I already have one…