How useful is a multi-tool out in the bush?

I need your opinions. Give this some serious thought. How useful is a multi-tool out in the woods? There's no question about its usefulness in an urban environment but what about in the woods? I see lots of people carrying these tools when hiking/camping. Other than for gear repair I just dont see the point. Do they have another purpose in the bush other than repairing the man-made gear you drag out there with you when you go? I seems to me that a good, strong single blade knife would go a lot further than a multi-tool... even the best of which have pretty shabby blades in them.

Thanks guys... I really value the opinions expressed in this forum and am looking forward to your comments.

A SAK and fixed blade knife or machete have always worked for me. As we did less backpacking and more car and group camping ( with more stuff) the multi tool was more usefull than the SAK. When I hike I generally have a SAK on me and leave the multi tool in the car.

Oh, the leatherman is most definitely a man-made stuff knife, however, I HAVE managed to use only the blade on a leatherman to butcher wild gamebirds, so it is possible. But a decent fixed blade is a good idea in the woods.

Hmmmm..... Food for thought there! Last camping trip I went on the only thing I used my multitool for was lifting the lid on my cook pot. Since I was bicycle camping the multitool was a part of my bike tool kit anyway.
gino <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

You can get some that are pretty light if you are concerned about carrying the extra weight. As for me I would much rather have it and never need it than need it and not have it. I would think that it would be next to impossible to improvise a pair of pliers or screwdriver in the wild and the file has served me well in several instances also. Before heading out the door, I usually grab my Leatherman first. The tools are like a fixed-blade or a pickup truck for that matter - you usually aren't going to need them all the time, but when you need them nothing else will do the job as effectively.

I have both a SAK and a Gerber Multitool that I carry with me everywhere.

In the 'bush', I have used the multitool for taking thorns out of my shins(pliers).
The plyers make wonderful clamps for situations that you need one, a rubber band helps!
My hands don't always work right, so I use the plyers for grabbing and threading rope through grommets.
... Cooking handle when the old one broke, definately helped save my hands, and food...
had to move a dead skunk once - had a stick, but the back end kept moving around and spreading nasties, so I used the plyers to hold the tail until it was off the trail. I hate ATV's in marked no vehicle areas.

I have found, along with the lanyard loop maker on my SAK(the actual name escapes me right now), the plyers are very useful in outdoor situations. Besides the knives.

Sure, it's helpfull :

when I have drunk all the water from my 1.5l Platypus hydration bag, I use the corkscrew from my Leatherman Juice C4 to open two Burgundy bottles and replenish the hydration bag !!!
<img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Kinda depends on what you want/need to do. If chopping full grown trees into tent pegs it is not the best choice. If you want to do some smaller scale construction, the saw and rasp/file on the Super Tool (and others) sure come in handy. You can whittle with the straight edged blades, slice just 'bout anything with the serrated ones. The awl can drill a hole in wood, leather, etc. The screwdrivers are pretty much for working on the man made stuff. P-38 opens cans better than the can openers in the multi-tools, and we always have one of those, right? Pliers are grippers for just 'bout anything.

I guess that the best way to go is to carry two blades, your favorite larger fixed blade and the multi tool of your choice. But if I can only carry something small (kindasorta) and out of the way (always on my belt), it is my Super Tool...

I'd have to agree with you. I have a super tool and while it's proved it's self time and again on site, out in the woods it's almost out of it's element. If I'm going in the woods I'll take both as you suggest. If I could only take one then I'd take the multitool. Ok the knives aren't brilliant but as I say if you could only take one, then they're better than nothing.

Lets see, I carry a Wave and I have used the following for doing stuff other then fixing commercially made things:

The pliers: I've used for rope work, grabbing hot pots and foil bags, pulling out splinters, cutting fishing line, cutting snare wire, pullig out tent pegs, as well as many other things I can't think of right now.

The can opener: Has been used to open cans and bottles.

The saw: I use it all the time, as I usually don't carry any other kinds of saws on me. I've also used it for making deadfalls and trap release mechanisms.

File: Sharpen my other knife with the diamond side, used it on wood when doing carvings.

Screwdrivers: used for punching holes and for working knots free.

I think as multi-tools get better (and they are improving, recently Leatherman released the charge series which have 154CM one handed opening blades, same as a lot of common "better end" knives) they may replace the single bladed folding knife as what most people carry on a day to day basis. It seems as if in todays technology based world a screwdriver is just as handy as a knife. A single bladed knife is becoming less people friendly, while a multi-tool is seen more like the modern version of the Swiss Army knife which is seen as non-threatning and usefull. I know of quite a few people who when they go camping carry nothing more then a multi-tool, no fixed blade, no folder, no saw. To the average camper the blade is enough and the can opener, pliers, ect are very handy for the modern camp tasks with todays equipment. They simply have no need for anything more.

Thank you to Paul and everyone else as well! This is great information! You are giving me much to think about while I try to make as much of an educated decision as possible when choosing which gear I carry and when and where. The more information I can get the better my decisions are.

As a forum newbie, I think this might be a good time to say that these ETS forums are excellent and it's due directly to the quality of the forum members! I am really glad I found these forums. I have learned so much already and hopefully I have been useful to someone at least once by sharing my own experiences. Thanks again guys!

Seriously .....

I wear glasses.
My Leatherman could allow me to do some repairs :
- tighten a screw (small screwdriver)
- replace a lost screw with a piece of wire (pliers, cutter) ....

well ...O.K.: glasses are man-made gear ... so, my answer is out-of-subject .....

another possible usage :
- had the character played by Tom Hanks in "Cast away" have a multitool, maybe he could have use the pliers to pull out that tooth (instead of using a ice-skate (is that the word ?))

(ouch................. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> )

Actually, that is one of the big reasons why I am buying a Charge to replace my Wave, I like the mini screwdriver for my glasses. With my Wave I have to carry a seperate tiny screwdriver that tends to get lost.

Paul, I noticed that newer SAKs have a small screw driver that screws into the cork screw on the SAK. It's just the right size for glasses. I got a couple of them as replacement parts and retro fitted my SAKs.

Yea, In addition to my Wave and Benchmade folder I usually carry a small SAK ( a Sportsman now) for the corkscrew and good awl. Recently I put the small screwdriver from my Cybertool in the corkscrew and it has worked out well so far. However, being I don't always carry it everyday having the right size screwdriver in my multi-tool (which I do carry everyday) would be a bit better. I wonder if I can take the scales off my cybertool and put them on my Sportsman, I like having the pen and pin.

There's a problem with the mini-screwdriver in the Charge.

There's nothing really holding it in place, so it can slide out very easily.

Mine grips slightly better when inserted one way rather than the other (the bit has two degrees of rotational symmetry around the long axis).

I'm trying to think of a way of modifying it so that the bit will stay in place more reliably.

The Leatherman Micra has an excelent eye glass screw driver in it.Plus it has tweezers to pick up those TINY screws also.
BOATMAN
John

When I read about all the small screws and tools use posted on this thread, I haven't seen any postings on one of the most important necessaties when working with small things out in the "bush".

You better bring along a large white cloth to work on. If you drop a small screwdriver, or even worse a small screw on the ground, finding it in grass, leaves, snow or even plain dirt can be a real pain if not impossible.

Lay the cloth out and work very close to its surface with movements that will not cause the part to spring out past the cloth, but rather drop straight down.

Murphy's law applies here in huge amounts.

Bountyhunter

If I'm remembering correctly, Aaron Ralston used a multi-tool during his ordeal.

Check it out.