I have always been tempted to take a multi tool, but so far I have never had the need to have used one if I had taken one in.

Care to share how a multi tool has been helpful or even saved your bacon on a trip?

Leatherman has a lightweight model that has piqued my interest and as my gear starts getting some mileage I am getting suspicious, maybe a multi tool could be useful.

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Brought one twice, used it zero
It's definitely not lightweight

I always take a multi-tool.  It keeps me from taking several other tools (pliers, knife, file, etc).

I use it all the time, and there have been times when I have had an equipment failure and really needed a screwdriver.  I use it all the time when fishing to cut line or take out hooks...It is a tool I don't leave home without.

It is one of those things that you don't really know if you need it, until you need it, then you are really glad you had it.

I kinda agree with Zski.  Leatherman's are big and bulky and you have to dick around just getting the tool you want out.  When I want a knife, I want a knife, something with heft and a serious blade.  I don't need a Leatherman to cut line, I have a pair of pliers for that that are easy to grab when I need them.  And I certainly don't want to be fussing with a multi-tool when I'm dealing with a hooked Northern.  As for screw drivers, there are a number of tools out there that are very small and quite inexpensive. I carry one of those in a repair kit bag and it's been fine for the number of times I've needed it (which might have been once or twice over the last 5 years.)  Hey, MT, read the quote for the item you're considering - "Perfect for the hobby box, junk drawer, or glove box."  Really?  This is what you want to carry with you into the bush?  I know you and you know me, we both like buying sh#t.  But you already have a good knife and pliers.  Do you really need a pair of dinky scissors and a can opener?

I hear ya Kerry. Right now I have a Seal Pup knife at my side and a pair of P-line aluminum pliers. I like both and would be loathe to be on a canoe trip without them.

In defense of the Leatherman juice S2 however
The author of this book   (You need to Login or Register
says this....."This tool has been with me on every single trip in the last 5 years" and further states "I've repaired stoves, skis, trekking poles, tents, jackets, pads, packs, bags, cook pots and more with the S2"

He is a gear tester for BackPacker magazine. Certainly someone who has been around. The Juice S2 is an editors choice award winner.

So it got me thinking......I wonder if anyone on the QJ forum says "ya, having a multi tool really saved my posterior"......

That being said.......I am probably inclined to get one but will likely take it backpacking instead of canoeing. Just thought I would see what experiences folk have had.

I have an older Gerber needle nose multitool. The pliers can be deployed with one hand so I use it when fishing often. I can hold a fish with one hand and then reach to my belt for and deploy the Gerber pliers with the other. I've also used the knife and screwdrivers often enough to warrant having it on every trip I've made in the last 10 years. I'm not sure how many multitools there are available that can be used quickly with one hand but I would not want one otherwise.

I brought a leatherman for years specifically for the pliers' side/wire cutters aspect in case I hooked myself. Now with barbless I no longer have that concern. Lately I'll bring a phillips screwdriver shaft that's bent at a 90 that I've always intended to pound/file a flathead bit on the other end of but I've never gotten around to doing that. I did pick up a heavy-duty hemostat last year.

I bring a small 1 blade locking pocket knife for cutting cordage and sausage as well as a key-chain size swiss army knife for the awesome tweezers, nail file and it's mighty fine scissors. ;)

My heavy and hard to deploy leatherman gets used often at home to fix things I'm too lazy to repair at that moment. It's saved me many a long, arduous trip to the basement.

The thing I never liked about my leatherman past it's weight was it's potential to rust if I didn't pay enough attention to it.

Used one to disconnect my thumb from a huge thrashing Northern I tried to land by cutting the hook with the wire cutters. The barbed hook was buried in my thumb all the way up to the shank and had to be eventually cut out with a scalpel at the hospital in Atikokan. If I didn't have my multi-tool right there I'm sure this would have been much more traumatic. Mine is a smaller older Leatherman that I now keeped strapped to my PFD.

I carry one. It does duplicate a lot of other things I carry, fixed blade knife, hemostat w/scissors, etc. But it kind of "backs up your back up". Kind of like 2 light sources. MT, know what I mean  ::)

My fixed blade knife is carbon and if I'm cutting limes I want the stainless steel blade on my multi tool. I also used it to remount seats, thwarts, and end caps on trips were we flew in with nested boats (nobody packed tools :-[ )

But really it's just nice to have it all in one instead of different tools here and there. Just my personal opinion. I'm sure some duct tape would have done the job instead  :D

I have a Gerber that sounds like the one KF uses. I find it very handy when fishing. It replaced most of my repair kit since it has every tool I might possibly need. I like its onehandedness deployability.

I have a Gerber that sounds like the one KF uses. I find it very handy when fishing. It replaced most of my repair kit since it has every tool I might possibly need. I like its onehandedness deployability.

I carry one and its my only cutting tool. I use it a lot cooking from opening packets neatly to using pliers to lift pots and lids. I've used it for repairs, removing the thwart behind front seat of my SR17 to solo. Between trips it stays in my cars console - with spot and strap for glasses - so would not leave home with out it. (Lot of whittling too)

gerber tool is with me anytime i'm wearing something with a belt. stainless steel so less rusting problems. as mentioned one hand pliers deployment. also when using the pliers your hand bears down on the rounded portions of the handles. as far as knives; unless you're using a fixed blade you already need some manuvering to get the knife open so that's a wash. BUT; like any tool / knife there is a spectrum of applications this works well for; other applications are out of it's leauge. won't replace "single purpose" tools or a fillet knife. still find it useful often enough to carry it most all the time.

You can say that again. :D My older leatherman (pstII) opens up like a butterfly knife with a flick of the wrist. I find it invaluable in every day life and wear it most days. I do construction work and have a couple of rentals...it has often saved me a climb down a ladder or walk back to my truck when I was scouting out a problem. I rarely use the blade-,mostly the pliers, screwdrivers ,and the body of the thing as a tack hammer in a pinch. I always have a 'real pocket knife', and a bic lighter in my front right pocket...my leg feels funny without them.  When in the woods ,I'm happy to have that stainless steal blade in a pouch secured to my belt and snapped shut as a back up should my high carbon pocket knife somehow slip out(as in fall or something). The newer Leathermen models do seem to be too stiff to flick open...maybe they could be "broken in", somehow. Don,t know how db's rusted leathermen are all stainless,as far as I know.

I have a dedicated knife, actually a few and a camp/trail saw and small Gerber hatchet.

My multi-tool is a small cheapo that I received as a  gift for buying some other outdoor gear.
It does open with one-hand and it's stainless, but I doubt it cost anything near what the name brands cost.
I like it for those small camp chores that pop-up unexpectedly. Working on a stove, fixing a loose seat/thwart bolt etc.

I'm always trading in/out my outdoor gear.
Like most of us, the older we get, the less we want to lug, but the devil is in deciding what is indispensable and what isn't.

I have a mini-multi-tool which has a screw driver tip and scissors plus some other parts I almost never use. It is mostly "just in case"...
I also carry one or two small, folding camp saws and a very small hatchet for making kindling.  Sometimes I carry a hand sized branch clippers...it works great for cutting "squaw wood" and saves on pokes and scratches if breaking twigs by hand.

all good stuff so far! as always!

i carry 2 leathermans on any given trip. an old PSTII that opens one handed and is smaller than my newer leatherman BLAST, which is 'stiff' and i cant open one handed. the newer/bigger/thicker/stiffer one is in its sheath on the belt strap of my pack. the older one-hand openable one never leaves my right thigh zipper closing pocket.

it almost saved my life once. when we swamped a couple springs ago having that tool on my body(most important part) at all times gave me access to all the tools i would have needed for survival had i lost all my stuff.

with that said, i also carry 2 fillet knifes, a camp hatchet with the saw in the handle (gerber gator II) and hemostats for hook removal.

i dont view the leatherman as an end-all-be-all tool, but rather an OH $#IT tool. i have other tools that can do specific jobs better, but had i lost my pack with all those fancy gadgets, theres nothing i would want on my body more than a leatherman.

and im gonna move the extra leatherman to my PFD, thats a genius idea.

my group all has matching leathermans and we all bring them with.

i wouldnt be caught dead WITH it  ;)

I have brought a leatherman tool in the past, but don't take it anymore.   also have a gerber tool, that also stays home  if going solo.

If my brother comes along, then he will bring his gerber tool.

when I used to bring my Peak 1 stove, I had enough tools to disassemble and attempt to repair if needed, which included the multitool

I generally bring along a small spare fishing reel, rather than hoping to repair my main reel, and I have switched form the Peak 1 stove to the Jetboil.  Before a trip, I try to remember to check the bolts on the canoe to be sure that they are snug, so wont' be needeing a tool to do that.  I have a small pair of wire cutteres, smaller and quite a bit lighter than a multitool for cutting hooks, etc.   I generally bring only lures that have the barbs already mashed down, so don't really need a pliers for anything.

as far as I can recall, the only thing I ever really used the leatherman for was the pliers to unhook fish - I now carry a pistol grip type of hook remover for unhooking fish.

so I dont' bother bringing a multitool along any more - can't see where I'd ever need one, assuming I bring my regular gear along

I personally don't bring a multi-tool because I don't believe in putting all my eggs in one basket.  I can easily see me missing placing the tool or watching it fall into the water.  I bring a backup pliers because it is way too easy to lose pliers when you are in a canoe.  Plus having so many tools in one tool makes the tool awkward to use.

Yup, always have a multi-tool in my repair kit.  I've used it a few times when I needed a pliers to fix a zipper, a screwdriver for boat repair, and a small, sharp knife.  My most commonly used tool at home and in the field is my little Swiss Army knife - the one with the 1-1/4" blade - and the multi-tool knife is better for carving than my Ka-Bar hunting knife.
The MT is stainless and not noticeably heavy.