GERBER MultiPlier

The multi plier concept is the modern era’s answer to the traditional Swiss army knife – a useful tool whose handles house a panoply of smaller, ‘onboard’ tools that offer a range of different functions. Depending on the specific model, a multi-pliers set can contain anything from corkscrews to knives to scissors to bottle openers and blasting cap crimpers. The Gerber company, a major American manufacturer of knives and tools since the earlier part of the 20th century, offers a range of multi-pliers that includes dozens of different models catering to various needs and budgets.

The multi-pliers produced by Gerber are a diverse lot, as might be expected with such a large and varied market, but they share several traits. All are designed to make one-handed use comfortable and easy, with wrist-flick opening to deploy the main pliers head from the closed position, and include spring-loaded action to open the pliers jaws to assist you in using the tools while working. Gerber Multi Pliers are organized into six ‘families,’ with each family focusing on a specific kind of multitool.

The Gerber Flik Family includes slender multi-pliers with elongated needlenose heads. The Flik family is a versatile set of multitools that can be used in any situation, but these multi pliers are adapted most of all for use by fishermen.  Extended needlenose tips for removing hooks from fish, files with hook sharpening grooves, scissors for cutting fishing line, and similar tools are to be found in the Flik series, as well as the more standard saws and other onboard tools.

The Gerber Multi-Plier 400 family are compact, space-saving multitools that are designed to be as rugged and robust as larger multi-pliers. Made of the usual stainless steel, the Gerber 400 series includes many of the usual features of the manufacturer’s multitools, including wrist-flick opening of the head and spring-loaded pliers for one-handed convenience. The construction is tough and solid, and the onboard tools include such essentials as wire cutters and wire crimpers, small, medium, and large flat blade screwdriver, Philips screwdrivers, scissors, smooth and serrated knife blades, can and bottle openers, and the like.

The Gerber Multi-Plier 600 Basic family is made up of large, strongly made multitools that come in both blunt nose pliers and needlenose pliers variants. The onboard tools include a huge range of different devices, made possible by the longer length of the handles compared to the 400 family. Besides the pliers head and its built-in wire cutter, 600 Basic multitools include such tools as smooth and serrated knives, rulers in both centimeters and inches, files, screwdrivers, can openers, and lanyards.

The Gerber Multi Plier 600 Pro Scout family consists of more large and durable multitools, with finishes in either silver or non-reflective black. The Pro Scout series includes most of the same features as the 600 Basic series, but is also designed for those who work with explosives, since the onboard tools include a punch for C4 explosives and a blasting cap crimper.

The Gerber Multi-Plier Diesel family is a group of large, industrial-strength multi pliers designed to be used as main tools rather than backups. The range of onboard tools is designed to be well-rounded for a wide variety of possible tasks, rather than focused like the fishing tools of the Flik series or the explosives tools of the 600 Pro Scout family. Diesel multi-pliers are typically fitted out with files, saws, scissors, wire cutters and crimpers, knives both smooth and serrated, and various sizes and types of screwdrivers, making them a good choice for handymen, farm workers, and specialists such as electricians and plumbers, all of whom may need a large and varied range of tools in short period of time.

Finally, there is the Gerber Multi-Plier Freehand family, which is focused on providing one-handed operation in an exceptionally heavy, tough pair of pliers. The needlenose head is durable enough for heavy torque tasks, while the larger onboard tools can be loosened for extension by pressing on thumb knurls at the end of each handle. These tools include extra-large knives, pry bars, scissors, and saws, while the rest of the onboard tools consist of tiny but potentially useful screwdrivers.