I managed to resist the whole multitool fad for several years because everything on the market was either a teeny gizmo only suitable for fingernail cleaning best carried on a keychain or a giant brick of a folding pliers that required a belt pouch as awkward as the geekiest of '80s HP calculators. It wasn't until I discovered the Juice in early '02 that I found a multitool which offered the versatility of a reasonable number of tool gizmo thingies with a size and shape that allowed me to carry it in the pocket of my jeans like a Swiss army knife instead of on my belt like Batgirl.
Unfortunately for me, I picked the now-discontinued "kf4" model, which was the only Juice in the lineup without a beer bottle opener. The kf4 has been discontinued, and the slightly larger "CS4
" and slightly smaller "S2
" soldier on, each with a bottle opener. (Really really clever readers may note that the CS4 has made it to my Amazon wish list, just in time for Christmas!)
I carried a Swiss Army knife for better than a couple of decades...the most-used implements of which were the bottle-opener, corkscrew, and knife-blade. I replaced the spring for the scissors when it broke. I never thought anything could possibly replace it.
ReplyDeleteThen along came the CS4. It had everything my old SAK had, and added a small pair of pliers, and fit in exactly the same sheath. Due to changes in life-style and tastes, my order of usage is now corscrew, knife, scissors (more wine than beer now). The paint on the bolsters is gone where it rubs on the sheath-button and the logo is unidentifiable, but it still carries on.
GREAT little tools.
Clever readers? What?
ReplyDeleteI've been carrying the Juice Pro for several years. Mighty handy.
ReplyDeleteThe only time it is too big is when I'm wearing a suit. Then I make due with a Leatherman Squirt.
Waaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnt ...
ReplyDeleteNo bottle cap opener on the Juice?
ReplyDeleteImprovise. I've opened just a few beer bottles with a needle nose pliers which you do have on the Juice.
I have the Leatherman Charge TTi and it has a can/bottle opener, not that i ever use it. I can open a beer bottle with a Bic lighter and my thumb for leverage.
ReplyDeleteI also carry the Charge TTi. I love the interchangeable bits on it because no one in the IT industry can be bothered to standardize their rack screws.
ReplyDeleteI still have my SAK Climber in my laptop bag. Usage = corkscrew > scissors > small blade > large blade. My Gerber multitool's more Glockish in size and shape; it lives in the Jeep. Maybe I should carry it because I am a geek from the 80s. Seriously, thanks for the tip. I think that I should go and look at the S2 and the CS4.
ReplyDeleteDid you tell the FTC about your new pony? ;)
wv = "repir:" what we do to things with our multitools while holding small parts in our mouths.
FWIW, the Leatherman Micra has all those things except the pliers and fits neatly into the change pocket in a pair of jeans.
ReplyDeleteI like that the Micra has the scissors up top, but if you need the pliers then you're SOL, I guess.
I have a Micra and I do love it, but it usually sits on my desk. I should pick up a second one to throw in my turse.
ReplyDeleteLook out, Batgirl! It's Flagman and Shovel Boy!
ReplyDeleteUse your BatBelt multitool to switch the warning signs and throw him off.
Shootin' Buddy
"geekiest of calculators"
ReplyDeleteOh, no, no! I still use my HP 12C, and I have never, ever, carried it in a belt pouch! Ever! The faux leather slip case doesn't even have belt loops, or a flap! At all!
(The 12C is the one for working and converting to and from hexadecimal, octal, and digital calculations. And, yes, it does kind of use the Reverse Polish Notation rather than the algebraic input of newer calculators. And I had to scrounge the last time I tried to find replacement batteries. But, really, I just used it not two weeks ago! That was the first time in four years, and it was in the drawer right were I left it, but hey! It is one nice calculator for translating RGB colors from hex to digital and back in Adobe Photoshop Elements.)
The only calculator I ever owned that came with a belt pouch was my first, an HP SR-50, at $150. I was onboard ship, in the Navy, so I wasn't allowed to violate uniform regulations, so I never wore it on my belt. That one disappeared coming back to the states through Customs in Philadelphia. I hope that customs agent is still rotting away, and never finds the peace of the honest and true.
Besides, would a calculator that doesn't do trig like sins and cosines, doesn't do square roots, and works in base-16, base-8, and base-10 really be geeky? With that bright HP logo in the corner, and stamped in the soft black slip case? Please?
Stingray carries the giganto Leatherman in a pocket pouch AND a Swiss Army knife in his front pocket...
ReplyDeleteBetween the CZ, the extra magazines, the other knife, the flashlight, and those, he loses about fifteen pounds when he takes off his pants.
My Micra lived up to its name and disappeared somewhere. I do miss it. The next one is getting a streamer before it goes in my pocket.
ReplyDeleteJim