My first post to this forum.

Last weekend I was at WalMart and they had Gerber Multitools on clearance sale for $11 each. Bought 4, one for me and guess what Santa will be passing out at Christmas next year?

I rarely carry a multitool on my belt, but have one in the pack, fanny pack or tackle box when I am in the outdoors. I have a Leatherman PST, Buck Tool and now a new Gerber.

Last night I pulled all three out. They all have handles that are 4 inches with roughly the same number of goodies in the handles. While mine is not that old, the Leatherman PST model has been around for years (25 +, I think).

As I was looking at them, I was reminded of a comment my father made, ? That used to be good stuff, back before they started improving it.?

Gerber ?improved? on the old Leatherman by making the plies slide out of the handles rather than having it unfold. While this ?improvement? makes the Gerber easier to open with one hand, it also makes it bulkier and heavier. Buck?s ?improvement? was to make the handles swing sideways.

The Leatherman has a ruler marked on the handles. Gerber kept a shorter scale, but Buck did away with it completely. Since it does not add any weight or bulk, why not include a scale? I,for one, have found the ruler rather handy to have.

Both Gerber and Buck ?improved? the screwdrivers by making them shorter and stubbier. They should last longer that way, because you cannot use them on screws that are not on a fairly flush surface. Buck farther ?improved? the Phillip?s head by grinding part of it off.

The Gerber and Buck ?improved? the knife by adding serrations to half of the blade. The old Leatherman has a plain blade that is easier to sharpen. Buck went a step farther and added a second serrated blade to replace the file. Two knife blades and no file, now that is an ?improvement?!

The Gerber and Buck have added locks for the blades, which in theory is a good thing. However, a couple of weeks ago I sliced my thumb on the knife blade of the Buck trying to get to
one of those short, stubby screwdrivers. The locks, especially on the Buck, make it very stiff for opening the short tools that are buried in the center of the handle. There is no such thing as idiot proof. We idiots are too ingenious.

I do not mean to trash the Gerber or Buck. They are both good tools. I sure feel that I got more than my money?s worth with an $11 Gerber and am sure that my two Scouts will be happy to find them under the Christmas tree.

But, when I put my three multitools side by side and look at all of the new ones coming on the market (including the new and improved Leathermans), I still think the classic Leatherman was
pretty good, before they started improving it.