My Life Outdoors

For the last week or so I have been carrying around a Gerber Crucial Multi-Tool. The folks at OutdoorPros.com were kind enough to send me one to review. I admit that I haven’t been able to take the tool on any outdoor adventures…but then again the tool seems to be more of an everyday multi-tool then a backpacking tool.

At first look the Gerber Crucial is a very attractive tool. The charcoal and green colors are unique and give the tool a nice character. The Crucial has a very solid feel without being too bulky. It fits well in my clipped in my pocket.

When you open it up you find most of the tools you would need when encountering an everyday dilemma. The tool features a sharp 2.5 inch knife with both a flat and serrated edge. When you open the knife it locks into place, a nice feature you don’t always find on a multi-tool. The Crucial features your standard multi-tool needle nose pliers with built in wire cutters. There is both a flat head and Phillips head screw driver that lock into place.

While using the Phillips head screw driver I have been amazed at the range of screws it will accommodate. It doesn’t look like your typical Phillips head but rather has a unique design where one axis is wider than the other. At first this looked cheap to me and I wondered if it would break easily. To my surprise I have noticed the wide axis allows the screwdriver to work on rather large screws. At the same time both axis come down to a rather fine point allowing the screw driver to handle smaller screws just as effectively.

A very versatile design

 A neat feature I have yet to see on a multi-tool is the built in carabineer type clip. This allows quick access to the tool when clipped to the outside of your pack or belt loop. I thought I would really like this feature but have found myself using the pocket clip instead. The clip also serves as a bottle opener.

While I like this tool I do not think I will make it my primary backpacking tool. Some key features that I believe would be “crucial” while camping would be a saw blade, can opener, and small Scissors. All of which the Gerber Crucial lacks. This is not to say the Crucial is a bad tool. As I said before it seems more suited toward everyday dilemmas then those you might encounter on the trail.

Yum! IBC Root Beer. Fold out clip doubles as a bottle opener

OutdoorPros.Com has a rather large selection of Gerber Knifes. Looking around on their website I have noticed Gerber makes other tools with all the features listed above and more. All and all I think the Gerber Crucial is a good everyday multi-tool. The tool has proved very useful these last couple of weeks and as a result I plan to continue to carry the tool with me for a while longer.