Originally Posted by
Retro Grouch
I'll admit they have their place, but I'm not a fan of multi-tools. I also think that the more functions they yave, the less useful they become because it gets so awkward to orient the tool to do what you need. Tightening a water bottle cage, for example, is often impossible with a multi-tool.
I agree...with a caveat. Current multitools
are poorly designed and ill fitting. They just don't fit your hand all that well. I've looked at the Crank Bros above and the Topeak Alien and others but they all are cumbersome. Ritchey made the CPR-9 back in the mid 90s and although it fit your hand better, it was mostly useless because it had no leverage.
The caveat is the Cool Tool. One of the first multitools and still, in my opinion, the best. It fits your hand like a
real tool. The allen wrenches come off so that they are actually useful. If you need more torque you can put the allen wrenches in the end and extend the lever arm of the tool. And the chain tool is actually robust enough to be useful. They've saved me from a hike out of the woods more than once.