It’s hard to nail down one aspect of the Arc that I like best, because it does just about everything well. The opening and closing mechanism is responsive and every tool is accessible from the outside. Plus, the 20 listed functions all work well, as opposed to those on some other multitools that feel like afterthoughts for the sake of an eye-popping marketing claim. This effectiveness across the board is precisely why it is our new best overall pick.

In comparison to our former best overall pick, the Victorinox Spirit X, the Arc shines the brightest when looking at its blade. Unlike the Spirit X which is made entirely of stainless steel, the knife on the Arc is made of MagnaCut. That means it’s more resistant to corrosion and rust and retains its edge longer.

Beyond this, the blade is simply wider, longer, and based on a pretty basic touch test, feels a lot sharper. In my hands, it made it easier to poke through boxes sealed with duct tape and slice off a chunk of an apple.

The Arc also comes with a larger set of scissors, a thicker saw, and a larger file. Furthermore, it’s equipped with a hip clip that slides directly on to your pants while the Spirit X requires a holster that must be looped through your belt to carry it on your person outside of a pocket.

Full Leatherman Arc Review

Key Specs

RoverTac’s 12-in-1 initially caught our eye because it has a good number of useful tools—and it’s affordable, too. While it might be bulky and heavy, we have to admit it’s a decent value. We don’t expect it to hold up to intense use, but in a “save your butt” kind of capacity, most of the tools functioned acceptably well.

The long-nosed pliers, wire cutter, and wire stripper all worked reasonably well, as did the can and bottle openers and various screwdrivers. RoverTac claims the tool includes a saw blade, but it’s more like a serrated knife, which worked—just not very well.

The plain knife blade is sharper than it looks and easily cut through rope and twine during our tests. The 12-in-1 comes with a sewn nylon sheath to attach to your belt. Don’t expect this to be the pride of your tool collection, but when you need it most, it will be there.

Key Specs

Fresh out of the box, the Swiss Tool Spirit X impressed us with its design and finish. The tools are packed into the frame very closely, like scientific instrumentation. All the tools—save one—deploy from the outside of the frame, so you can access them without much hassle. The company claims 24 tools in this multitool, but we counted 23, including one that’s simply a hook for a lanyard.

While the needle-nose pliers, wire cutters, scissors, three standard screwdrivers, and can opener work well, it was the less common tools that really impressed us. This is the first multi we’ve seen with a metal saw, which is on the edge of the file. It cut through mild steel hardware surprisingly well and the file did a nice job cleaning up the edges when we were done.

The Phillips screwdriver shank flares out at the end so that all four points on the head are the same size, making for very solid engagement. The Spirit X’s bottle opener is made from wide stainless steel stock, which keeps it flat on the bottle cap so it doesn’t slip or cut into the cap. The combination reamer-punch efficiently opens up holes in wood, leather, and soft metals, and it can drill holes through 3⁄4-inch pine board.

An all-around great pick, this multitool will get the job done, no matter what that job happens to be.

Full Victorinox Swiss Tool Spirit X Multitool Review

Key Specs

The next iteration in one of Leatherman’s most popular lines comes with a weighty price tag. But it’s justified, since we had a hard time finding fault with the Wave Alpha.

The multitool comes with a standard knife blade, a saw, a file, and a pair of scissors. The file worked well smoothing out nails, and the saw comfortably powered through small branches. However, we were most pleasantly impressed with the scissors. They’re much larger than any other pair of scissors we've seen on a multitool (“the largest cutting surface ever on a pliers-based Leatherman,” according to the brand). Because of their size and the spring that pushes the handle back up after every snip, we were able to hold the bottom still in hand and easily use our thumb to press down on the blade to cut. This simplified cutting through large pieces of paper, even for those of us that are lefties (since nearly no scissors are designed for cutting with our dominant hand).

The classic pocket knife is made of MagnaCut steel, which is corrosion-resistant and has great edge retention. During testing, we focused on everyday items like twine, paper, cardboard, and zip-ties and opening sealed packages. We never needed more than one stern pull of the blade to get through any of them.

The central tool of the Wave Alpha is the plier-wire cutter, which we found easy to use thanks to the biting grip of the ridges and the ergonomic handle.

Though Leatherman lists 16 tools, we counted closer to 12. For instance, the file is designated as separate tools, with the traditional flat side counting as one, and the diamond-coated edge counting as another. That’s a fairly common embellishment with multitool descriptions.

Full Leatherman Wave Alpha Multitool Review

Key Specs

With its svelte minimalist frame featuring three main tools, this Gerber cuts down on the unnecessary junk and keeps its tools simple and effective.

As a pocket knife-based multitool, it features a full 3-inch, locking plain blade. Although it isn’t the sharpest right out of the box, it was keen enough to cut cleanly through paper, plastic, rope, twine, and steak, and was adequate for some light whittling. The side opposite the blade features a hex bit driver and scissors. The driver has a reversible bit in a magnetic holder—we love this because you get legit flat and Phillips screwdrivers that just plain work.

The scissors are a bit larger than those found on other models, and were easy to control cutting out intricate shapes from paper to medium cardboard. Between the scissors and the driver is a sharp, narrow awl. We weren't able to use this to drill holes in wood and plastic, but it works well, as intended, to poke holes through leather and canvas.

Rounding out the eight functions is a nice bottle opener that pivots off the end of the tool frame. It doubles as a pry bar (the bottle opener flipped over) and a “hammer” (the wide base of the bottle opener). Is it less a hammer and more just a flat surface for hitting things? Sure. But when you need to finish tapping in a tent stake or small nail, it’ll do.

Key Specs

The plier-based Leatherman Signal comes with several standard items, including a stainless steel blade and a serrated saw. However, it most impressed with its several outdoor-specific functions.

This includes a detachable ferro rod that, in combination with the serrated saw, creates sparks for your campfire. The ferro rod also doubles as an emergency whistle. During testing I was particularly pleased with the carabiner on the bottom of the multitool. While not a major feature, being able to clip it onto my hiking backpack and forgetting about it made it so much easier to carry with me than other options.

Perhaps the only major downside is the hammer tool. It functions more like a blunt, flat end you can use in a pinch.

Full Leatherman Signal Review

Key Specs

Everyday life doesn’t always require a saw, hammer, or bulky pliers. The Leatherman Micra is a keychain tool that understands what it’s about. Instead of trying to replicate an even smaller version of your tool kit, the Micra hosts a number of items that are still quite handy when small and, importantly, are often the most useful in day-to-day life.

The multitool is built around a pair of scissors, which are the perfect size for cutting tags and snipping loose threads. Tools on the body include tweezers, a nail file and cleaner, a small screwdriver, and a bottle opener, among others.

Carrying around the Leatherman Micra is almost surreal, simply due to how often you end up using it. I frequently pulled it out for small tasks like picking something out from under my nails, plucking a small hair out of place, or tightening the screws on my sunglasses hinges.

The Micra works so well because it knows what it is. The convenience and portability make it hard to go anywhere without it.

Full Leatherman Micra Review

Key Specs

This multitool from Gerber is compact enough to fit comfortably on a keychain. Despite its size, its pliers, wire cutter, package-opening blade, and bottle opener all proved quite effective in everyday use.

The pliers are the highlight of the entire construction. Because they’re spring-loaded, they stay open on their own, which makes life 5 percent easier because you don’t have to open them back up every time you need to grip a new nut or bolt. Alongside the foldout tools—a file, screwdriver, and scissors—there’s also a removable set of stainless-steel tweezers.

The biggest reason to get this multitool is its condensed, portable size. When closed, it’s less than 3 inches long.

We don’t expect this to fully replace a tool kit or even a larger multitool, but this one is small enough to fit on a key ring. In moments when you have nothing else on you besides what you carry in your pockets every day, this keychain multitool is the go-to option.

Key Specs