I carry a knife on me all the time. No, not a massive OJ blade, but something that’s part of a mutli-tool. They’re very handy for everyday uses from opening packages and letters all the way to doing a quick fix around the house or car. You never really need to go looking for a tool when you’ve got a multi-tool in your pocket.

Besides, ever grab a piece of fruit from the store and have to go looking for knife only to find a cheap plastic blade? Well, I don’t have that problem. I’ve got my own, always.

I used to carry a Leatherman model, but I lost it coming back from a hike a few weeks back. I got a free made-in-China model shortly after, but I still need to pick-up a Leatherman replacement.

Don’t know Leatherman? They’re hard-core, US company that assembles each tool out of Portland, Oregon. They’re the makers of the “swiss-army” pliers.

These fold-up pliers include everything from a bit-driver, multiple screw tips, blades, saws, wire cutters, and of course, the needle nose pliers they’ve become so well known for. Tools like this is absolutely essential in any “geek” or normal survival gear pack, especially if you don’t normally carry one around with you.

My Leatherman had similar blades to this cheap knock-off, and I’m only using this as an example. The real Leatherman includes nice touches like a built in ruler on the handle, tough handles, heavy duty pliers with a needle nose tip, and solid stainless steel construction. The blades will go dull, but not until after some serious usage. Mine were going on 5+ years of regular usage every 3 months, for about 3-5 days straight. I haven’t needed to sharpen them, but they were due after this last trip before I lost them.

You’ll find a typical big blade, small blade, saw blade, can opening, bit-drivers, and whole lot of other stuff that you’ll find uses for.

But multi-tools are absolutely critical in an emergency pack as you never know when you’ll need a tool. Stories abound about multi-tools saving people’s lives. There are a few and two types always standout. One, is directly related to a Leatherman. It’s said that a pilot flying his own small airplane in Alaska or somewhere wild like that ran into engine trouble. In fact, his engine lost power all together. While the plane was gliding in the air, the pilot took out his Leatherman and repaired the electrical problem on his aircraft. The quick fix provided him enough power in his single engine plane to make a safe, controlled, emergency landing.

The other type of stories involve emergency field surgeries where the Doctor who just happen to be nearby, uses a sharp, sanitized blade from a multi-tool to remove something from a patient and thus save his/her life in the process.

Pick one up. Leatherman (my fav brand) starts out around $20 bucks for the little tiny ones and all the way up to around $200 for the real hi-end multi-tools. They’ve got a lot of models with a street price of around $30-$40 that will more than meet your emergency pack or everyday needs.

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