This is STRICKLY in regards to their Keychain size Multitools.. If you had to get a new one, which would you pick and why?

Squirt P4. Have one, love it. As for the choice in general:

1. Leatherman build quality is second to none. I give them out at almost every male birthday I attend, with no complaints so far. Most Gerbers sport fit and finish issues and have been known to collapse under pressure.

2. Gerber keychain tools are significantly larger, with little gain in durability or potency (see 1.) On that point, Gerber tends to produce anemic drivers and weird looking blades. Leatherman makes a point of utilizing every millimeter of available space to the fullest, producing natural feeling tools with solid, proportional blades.

3. Leathermans are assembled in the USA. Gerber outsourced to China, if I remember correctly.

4. Leatherman is a pioneer in the field, Gerber shamelessly rips off its designs year after year. I'm no fan of Gerber, is what I'm saying.

Here are reviews on two of the most relevant tools:

Gerber Splice

Leatherman Squirt P4

Finally, as with most such comparisons: whichever one you go with, it'll get the job done much, much better than a no-name knockoff ever could. Both companies are committed to making a quality product and both stand behind their products in terms of warranty.

Hope that helps!

The Leatherman Squirt E4 is part of my EDC. It's been used enough to earn status as a keeper.

I have also EDC a Leatherman Squirt P4 for at least 3 years. It serves all my needs and has only slight scratches to show after all the years.

I have never owned anything Gerber...I just prefer Leatherman.

I EDC a Micra on my keys and a Squirt E4 in my bag of tricks. Tough little monsters, even if the wire cutters in the E4 do have a ding in them for trying to take on something as big as it is. *laughs* If I had to replace the Micra, I'd go with the S4.

The P4, not quite as much, but I don't like any of the micro pliers- no leverage. For bigger stuff, I have pliers, for little, hemostats.

My mother has the little Gerber with the scissors on her keys- I'm afraid of breaking the silly thing.

Leatherman all the way. Can't stand Gerber's keychain tools. Got two of Gerber's scisor based ones on close-out at Target. One for me and one for the wife. Total waste of money IMHO. Build quality was anything but. Scisors never cut all that great, tools were hard to access. They were quickly thrown into the drawer of shame after a few weeks.

Got both the S4 and P4. The S4 is everyday. Great pair of scissors/file to pitch in for grooming. The little blade doesn't account for much but has opened a few envelopes in its day! The P4 is handy in the golf bag (believe it or not before the grass driving range is ready to be used, we have faux grass driving mats and the pliers is used to pull the broken wood tees from the holder...)

I could care less what country it is manufactured in as long as the quality is there. And the Leatherman has it. Not objectionable to Gerber, it's just that I found what I wanted in the micro tools from Leatherman.

I have the S4 paired with a micro firesteel on a micro carabineer. (You think I like the word micro? I also have the Leatherman Micra! But I much prefer the tool access of the S4 and P4. They are easier to hold and the scissors is just a bit better.)

+1 to Leatherman Squirt P4. Gerber felt flimsy.

I think Leatherman is better quality in all sizes that I have tried. I had a leatherman Micra and a Gerber Clutch?. Anyway, my son now has the Gerber.

Tip if you are about to purchase. When you are shopping also look for combo packs. I have seen combo packs with a leatherman Kick and Mica for about the same price as a Kick alone in stores. (Why get one, when you can get two?)

I own a Clutch, SHortcut, and LM Squirt. The Gerber products are slightly larger, but are also more sturdy and will take more abuse, but I carry the Squirt because of the small size and the fact that I generally only use it to work on computers, and don't need a rugged tool.

If it isn't too late you might hold out of the PS4 - Pliars w/scissors in a keychain size tool. I've heard it'll be available around May.

R

Looks slick, only 1 place had it online and it was for around $25, so I'm sure it'll be even cheaper than that when it does come out.

I have the Leatherman P4 and E4. Both are great little tools. I much prefer the E4 to the P4 for most tasks.

- Eric

I carry a Leatherman Micra in the survial tin attached to my body armor.

Cheers,
W-W

Exactly, IMO the E4's needlenose pliers are better in that size than the tiny pliers of the P4. The wire strippers are excellent, it just doesn't matter that they're small. I was assisting a friend who was doing some ad hoc wiring away from his bench; if he'd planned on doing this job he'd have brought a tool kit. Watching him trying to strip wires with a cheap pocket knife was painful so I pulled out the Leatherman E4, "You've got wire strippers?" They worked great.

I have a Gerber Shortcut, Leatherman Squirt S4 and P4, and Micra.

I typically don't EDC any of them since I either have a LM Charge on my belt or a LM juice in my pocket, but I would go with the P4 if I needed something more on my keyring. I've never gotten around to getting a Gerber Clutch but I have been pretty happy with the Shortcut.

I'm carrying a P4. It's been rock solid.