The run-of-the-mill multitool is unconvincing — jack of all trades, master of none. Its legitimate functions are limited: knife, pliers, bottle opener. You’ll use the screwdriver in a pinch, and the file for nails, but other than that, how many of the dozen-plus claimed “tools” are you leveraging in a pinch?
Gerber asked that exact question to the contractors, mechanics, outdoorsmen and military servicemen who use its tools. Then, it culled the common denominators and set out to make the ultimate master-of-a-few, failure-at-none multitool.
The Center-Drive makes better the primary tools that multitool users use. It has a full-size screwdriver with standard, replaceable bits. Its pliers are spring loaded so that they can slide out with one hand. There’s an outboard knife that Gerber claims is 30 percent larger than the competition. All the outboard tools can be accessed by one hand, and the 14 total tools (serrated knife, file, bottle opener, etc.) offer enough functionality that you won’t be carrying a backup.
With the Center-Drive, Gerber applied Occam’s Razor to the multitool. Here, as in life, simpler is better.
The Gerber Center-Drive launches today, and will be on sale on November 1 for $89.