subject: Gerber 01471 Suspension Butterfly Opening Multi-Plier, with Sheath best selling [print this page] Gerber 01471 Suspension Butterfly Opening Multi-Plier, with Sheath best selling
Gerber 01471 Suspension Butterfly Opening Multi-Plier, with Sheath
I am not going to rehash what others have already said: it is a great tool, very solidly built, and strong. Metal is great.
However, watch out for the two different versions, and why you should purchase this in store instead!
I was at my local Target where they sell this tool. I picked one up to purchase and inspected the tool in the packaging. The metal was strangely low quality-looking with lots of pits and crevices. Overall, the quality seemed very poor: metal of poor quality, low quality bolts, and a poor surface coating where you could see pits in the paint. I looked on the back: Made in China.
I was ready to purchase it anyway when I walked back to the display and too a closer look at the other ones on the rack (same model). I noticed that some other ones had much better polished metal, smooth glossy paint, and round & smooth torx-headed bolts. I thought, wait, how can these be the same item and some be made so much better. I looked on the back: Made in Taiwan.
It appears that Gerber switched production some time in 2008 from Taiwan to China. The quality has greatly suffered as a result.
You should be aware that most of these reviews on Amazon before 2008 are for the Made in Taiwan model. This is the model you should get! Unfortunately, because Amazon stock moves so fast, you're likely to get an vastly inferior Made in China model. This is why I strongly suggested purchasing this in the store instead so you can look for a Made in Taiwan model or at least inspect the Made in China model first before purchasing.
Pros:
Under $30 (bought mine for $26)
Solid, neat looking frame, very nice gunmetal looking finish
Spring loaded pliers, contours my hand perfectly
Nylon sheath
One handed open for major blades
IMO rivals $50-$60 leatherman products, I have owned both
No complaints at all about craftsmanship, plier heads line up
Blade lock mechanism works well
Cons:
inner tools are stiff
watered down phillips head is not usefull on larger screws
no file
primary knife blade is small
Overall:
Good job Gerber, I think this is the lowest price plier centered multi tool, but in no way feels cheap, does the job.
Having owned several Leatherman multitools in the past, I decided to take advantage of a deal on this Gerber. It's a nice tool, well-constructed and attractive. The gray finish on the "suspension" part is very nice. The metal is high quality, the machining is well done, and all the tools lock firmly in place. The release mechanism was a little tight at first but now works pretty smoothly.
The emphasis in this tool is definitely on the pliers. They are sturdy, and the curve in the handle makes the grip comfortable. The spring-loading is very nice -- even my Leathermans didn't have that.
Be aware that the pliers wouldn't work well in a small hand -- even fully closed, the handles for the pliers span 2 3/4 inches. Holding a 1/2 inch diameter pen in the flat part of the pliers, the handles span 4 inches.
On the big Leatherman tools I've owned, the knife blades were nearly as long and wide as the tool itself; not so on this Gerber (or Gerbers in general, I think). The flat blade, serrated blade, and saw are each under 2 inches long. That's particularly bad news for the saw blade, of course, since you need to move it to and fro.
The scissors is the worst part of this tool. The blade has a tiny 5/8-inch bite. And the spring-loading for it is too strong; it's too hard to close given that it's pressing a fairly narrow piece of metal into your thumb. Maybe that will loosen up over time. If you don't use a scissors much, the scissors may not be an issue, but if you need something like the scissors on the Leatherman Micra then this tool is definitely not for you.
The two blades have little flanges to help you open them, but the leverage isn't good, so they're a little tough to open with one hand. But with some WD-40 it's doable. Some of the other tools are trickier to get out, but I've found that to be true on all multi-tools I've owned. What works for me is half-opening the butterfly and sticking my pinky in to pull the tools out. You'll see what I mean; it's not ideal, but it's not a big deal. If you have a fat pinky, though, you might be in trouble. :^)
Not much to say about the screwdrivers except that the Philips is not full-width. That is, they took a 1/4 x 3/32 inch piece of metal and cut as much of a 1/4-inch Philips head into it as they could. Obviously it's less than half as wide as a full head would be. I've seen other tools with heads like this; they're usable in a pinch but you probably wouldn't want to use it on a screw that's in pretty tight -- you might strip the head of the screw, and it would probably be hard on the tool as well.
The sheath is pretty basic: nylon, Velcro closure, loop for your belt. Not as durable as a good leather sheath.
It might sound like I don't like this tool, but actually I do, particularly for the price. It does have its faults, though.
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