Clark Kampfe

In the past few weeks I've used a multitool to:

• unclog a bottle of face soap (awl/reamer)
• cut packing tape off a clothes drying rack that was leftover from our move (knife)
• file down a sharp toenail (file)
• repair a hose by installing a new nozzle (Phillips-head screwdriver)
• adjust the power setting on some hair clippers (Phillips-head screwdriver)
• remove a broken keyring from a keychain (needlenose pliers)
• cut zip ties to open a dog toy (wire cutters)
• adjust a knife sheath (Phillips-head screwdriver)
• pop off a keyboard key to clean it (awl/reamer)
• cut off a ski pass-style admission ticket (wire cutters)
• file down finger nails (file)
• disassemble and clean a dryer lint trap (Phillips-head screwdriver)
• pull out an ingrown hair (needlenose pliers, couldn't find tweezers)

There is a quality that comes from having a tool on you exactly when you need it. This quality does not show up on a spec sheet. You cannot find it by comparing materials or geometry. It is a quality all its own.

The multitool I carry the most is a Leatherman Rebar. I have other multitools which are better in certain ways, but none are as good a compromise as the Rebar.

First, it's easy to carry. It fits in my pocket and isn't so heavy as to be annoying.

Second, it has tools that are useful for the types of things I end up doing (see above).

Third, it was inexpensive. Enough so that I bought it on a whim. For a tool in like this, I want to use it without reservation.

Finally, all of the tools lock open except the pliers. I don't want a tool to fold on my fingers, and certainly not a knife. I've never liked Swiss Army-style knives for this reason.

Multitools are kind of silly. They are not good tools, objectively. Every individual tool on a multitool has a better standalone equivalent. But that's not why you carry a multitool. You carry a multitool because "the best camera is the one you have with you".

Multitools are yet another example of worse is better in the real world.