Purchased this for my sons first knife. Has everything he needs for camping with his troop. Not Boyscouts! Anyway, it is an awesome first time knife and does the job needed for a cheap price.

Works great full size not pocket size

This thing cost about $12 when I bought it. Yes, the lock/release mechanism is weird and therefore slower to deploy (requiring two hands), but the locks are SOLID. It lacks a pocket clip but comes with a case you can use to strap it to your belt or kit. It is both larger and heavier than a Leatherman. IT COST $12!!!

I have an old, Wal-Mart multitool I bought for my tacklebox years ago that had NO LOCK of any kind at all on any of the tools. That thing is just useful enough to cut a fishing line with the pitiful blade, and the pliers could be used to remove hooks with some difficulty. It sucked! The blade/tools moved all over the place and the pliers did NOT have a spring. I think I paid $15 for that at the time at Wal-Mart, which was more than my tacklebox/beer cooler.

If you want something a little more refined than this, you could pay more for a Gerber or SOG- but even that's still FAR from the beloved $150 Leatherman. Aren't those also getting up into the $30-$60 range? Do they have pliers with springs?

You could just use this and buy a new one if you were to lose it every month for a YEAR! That would cost the same as ONE Leatherman. Now, imagine losing the Leatherman or Gerber"¦ that'd be annoying, right?

I keep mine in a fantastic, admittedly pricier, leather tool-belt along with a few other things I use constantly, like an excellent Olight flashlight, a durable pen, a good folding knife, and it even has a place for your keys or something on a clip. I'll write a review for that next. It's pretty cool and just slides on and off your belt.

If I was rich, I'd buy whatever Leatherman has all the same tools as this, was one-handed opening, but ALSO had spring-loaded-pliers. I just don't need to. I'd rather put one of these tools in my desk, one in each vehicle, and carry one in my tool-belt. I could even get wild and replace that thing in my tacklebox. That would probably still be the price of one Gerber!

It breaks: $12. You lose it: $12. It's an impressive tool for the price. I don't know. I'm not a handyman or contractor. I do a lot in IT and a lot of recording and gigging for music. I use this tool at least four times a day. It's FINE for whatever I come across when I don't have a specialized tool set with me.

Maybe I'll buy a Gerber or SOG to see if it's worth it. But it would have to have the same tools and the spring-leaded pliers. I just don't know if that's worth the price difference. If I get a SOG or a Gerber, I'll come back and update this review. But I'm pretty sure my Gerber dime was about $30 and that little thing is meant for a keychain, not for any real use.

None of this is meant as a criticism of Gerber, SOG, Leatherman, or any other brand (except that thing I got from Wal-Mart). But if you're like me and take a deep breath every time you gas up your truck, why not try to get your twelve dollar's worth first? Even if you wind up not liking it and ultimately want to buy something more refined, just throw this in your glove-box. Someday you'll be glad you have it. If it winds up in your tacklebox at least you're not making a mess of your more expensive multi-tool.

at this price point I was not expecting much, but wow! these are very nice quality. The blades and very sharp and the joints are tight, so everything feels significant. Also the cutters are able to cut wires from 14 to 22 awg no problem.

This multi tool is great the pliers are the main reason I got them and they work great. I like the locking latch. It latches very well and the knife is good for carving wood. But the knife did need a sharpening. After using the screws did come loose but that's easy to tighten back up.