That's just it. A lot of people seem to think of multi-tools as tool replacements, and they just aren't. If you're doing real work, you're still going to want real tools. Where a multi-tool shines is simply the packaging. They're compact enough that you can keep them places where you can't easily keep the equivalent set of full size tools. This makes them great for those times when you just don't have access to real tools, or when you just need to do some small task that doesn't warrant opening up the toolbox.

If you're cranking on a multi-tool to the point where you really feel you are going to break it, it's probably time to go find some real tools.

Of course, the exception to that is if it's some sort of emergency where you need to do something right then and now, at which point you probably won't care if you twist the h*ll out of your multi-tool, as long as it gets the job done. Those are the instances where your worry of breaking your expensive multitool gets outweighed by the relief you got from having that multi-tool available to you when no other tools were around.