I have a few muti-tools and a swiss army knive that I use almost daily. The swiss army I carry constantly and I also misplace them regularly, so, over 60 years or so or carrying them, I ‘ve owned about 10. I dunno which model it is, it’s the one with the tweezers and toothpick. I only gripe I have with the toothpick is that I wish it was made of a sturdier material, as I use it as a tiny pry bar.

The two multi-tools I’ll cover are the Leatherman Rev and the Perwin PMT01SR-15, both of which I bought on Amazon.

The Leatherman I’ve had for at least 10 years, I think. The Rev has 13 or 14 tools depending on who’s counting. The site https://activegearreview.com says 13 and those are: needle nose pliers, regular pliers, hard-wire cutters, wire cutters, a 2.6” stainless steel knife, package opener, 1.5-inch ruler, can opener, bottle opener, metal/wood file, Phillips screwdriver, flathead screwdriver, and small screwdriver. I concur with the tools available. The locking mechanisms for the tools aren’t the greatest, but if you’re careful about putting pressure on the tools, it’s serviceable. The pliers aren’t spring loaded, as I wish they were as sometimes various fingers get pinched because you have to manually open and close them, a minor annoyance. It also has a clip to attach to your belt, but I always pocket it. Overall, the tool is small and light enough to be the tool I carry almost as much as the swiss army knife.

Heftier and more full featured is the Perwin multi-tool. No clip, but it’s got a case. For the feature list, I’ll show the brief manual instead:

Oh well, that mostly unreadable, so here goes: needlenose pliers, regular pliers, heavy duty wire cutters, philips screwdriver, threading needle, saw, scissors, knife, file, 2 slotted screwdrivers (medium and small), ruler, wire stripper, can opener, separate bottle opener and rope (or string ) cutter. the scissors come handy a lot more frequently than you might expect, just like the ones in the swiss army knife. I use the rope cutter like the package opener on the Leatherman and just use the scissors to cut string or light rope.

The locking mechanisms are much studier on the Perwin and the pliers have a spring opening. The wire cutters are clamped on the tool and appear to be made of a different metal. They cut easier than the Leatherman’s does. The file is much more serviceable than the Leatherman’s and the saw has proved to be useful, if small. The ruler is actually useful, not the joke that the Leatherman has.

If you get the felling that the Perwin, that I just bought recently is a better deal, then congratulations. As of May 2026, the Perwin is priced at $24.95 and the Leatherman Rev is priced at $44.95. Go for the name brand or go for the cheaper, better tool, your choice.