The 10 Best Multi-Tools

The multi-tool everything else is measured against. Eighteen tools, four outside-accessible blades you can open one-handed, and all-locking implements in a 8.5-ounce stainless package backed by a 25-year warranty.

The heavy-hauler. Larger pliers, a swappable saw and file, and stouter blades make it the tool to carry when the work is real and weight is not the limiting factor.

Swiss-made precision with the smoothest action of any full-size multi-tool. Every tool opens from the outside, locks, and has rounded edges that do not chew up your palm under load.

The flagship. MagnaCut blade steel, the FREE magnetic architecture that lets you open every tool with one hand, and a bit driver that accepts standard bits.

A multi-tool built specifically for the backcountry: ferro rod, emergency whistle, diamond-coated sharpener, and a hammer face alongside the usual pliers and blade.

The only multi-tool with a full-size driver on the centerline of the handle, so it drives screws like a real screwdriver instead of an awkward offset stub.

Five ounces of skeletonized stainless with a 154CM blade, needlenose pliers, bit driver, and a carabiner bottle opener. The best weight-to-usefulness ratio in the category.

The workhorse value pick. Replaceable wire cutters, box-section handles, and 17 locking tools at roughly half the price of the flagship models.

A compound-leverage plier design that delivers roughly 20 percent more clamping force than conventional multi-tools, with 12 outboard-accessible tools.

Not a plier tool, but the classic Swiss Army pattern earns a spot: scissors, saw, two blades, and a corkscrew in three ounces that disappear in a pocket.