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The Gerber Multi Tool / Plier line
I must admit, I have had many different types of multi tools over the years. But for some reason, I have never lost or really damaged my Gerber units. They seem to always be in my kit, travel bag, glove box etc. This is not by design, or is it?
This will not your normal review. I am not going to get into the minutia of details, just basics, and my personal opinions on the products at hand.
My first real introduction to the lineup is this oldie but goody, the unit pictured below. I have no idea what the model number is or the year of manufacturer. I only know I have had it for at least 20 years, and it seems to always be right where I need it. I have abused it like any other tool I have, but its still going and a strong unit in my box. This tool has always been by my side even though others have came and went, expensive, discount, gifts, etc, I still have it.
Why is that.
My next unit was the Multi Plier 600 series I came across on accident. Not even sure where I got it, but once again, always with me and never lost. I have been lucky enough to take some adventure motorcycle trips and some interesting travel, and this unit has been a mainstay. I actually used this unit as a clevis pin to pull a stuck van out of a massive hole in Honduras, taking the tow strap and feeding it through the safety chain slot on the front vehicle and using the Multi Plier as a pin to secure the loop onto the vehicle. I was sure this would have
To recap, I have used 3 different tools over the years. I have had this tool for a very long time, and is part of my lightest weight quick travel gear bag. I do not have a model number for it, but it is the one identified as Gerber 1 in the images. I have had this unit for at least 15 years, give or take. Yep, the amber light still works.
I rode motorcycles from Tucson AZ to Cabo San Lucas Baja Mexico 2 years ago and my Multi Plier 600 series Stainless was a vital tool for our trip. We had a few mishaps along the way, and I really found the value of it in the field. Was always at the ready in my tank bag.
Fast-forward 4 months. I would assist with an Ocular Brigade (medical mission) to Honduras for 5 days. Knowing the value, I just had with it, I took it with me. Of all of the uses I had for it during the trip, I wanted to tell you about one that I was sure would have destroyed it. We were lucky enough to get the Medical Van stuck in the middle of now where Honduras. We did manage to get a vehicle to assist with us. Growing up in rural Kansas, I have unfortunately gotten a few vehicles stuck. We had a tow strap with a loop at each end. One loop I ran through the frame of the van, and back through the loop, the other end was to attach to the receiver hitch on the truck pulling us out. No luck. It had a receiver hitch, but no receiver. I thought for a sec, and remembered a trick from a long time ago, so I pushed the loop down through the safety chain hole on the side of the receiver slot, and used the 600 as a clevis pin, and pulled the slack out, basically pulling the multi tool up against the hitch. The truck pulling us out had to get several running starts and attempt to jerk us out. No luck, the truck was too light and the van was too heavy, but no issues with the multi tool. I was convinced it would have been bent, not wanting to open, let alone utilize the plier function ever again. I had no issues. No bends no problems.
Fast forward to 2018. I completed a motorcycle charity ride through Central America and purchased the Multi Sport 400 (I think) for the trip, as it was lighter. We attached it to our bikes on the front forks and took off for Honduras. Well, the bikes didn’t make it, they both had catastrophic failures, and we had to purchase new bikes in Mexico and Guatemala. We transferred the multi tools over to the new bikes and continued on. We almost gave them away to a Honduran Police officer to “Help” us get our bikes out of impound and into the country, but the issue was handled at a different level, and we were able to keep our multi tools. There were too many details and issues we had along the way, but the tools were invaluable to us whether on the side of the road, or at a stop with routine maintenance. Product was mounted on the fork tubes on the red and yellow bikes, and on the rear license plate mount on the green and blue bikes.