October 9, 2008

Gerber Artifact Pocket Keychain Tool

With the overwhelming success of the Leatherman Skeletool, it's not surprising that some other companies are going to follow suit with their own lightweight, minimalist multi-tools. The first one we've seen is from renowned knife maker Gerber and is called The Artifact.

This stripped down little item contains a replaceable hobby blade, small and medium flat drivers, wire strippers, pry bar/paint can opener, a lanyard/keychain attachment hole, and, most importantly, a bottle opener. Not bad for something that is only 3.5 inches in length (4.8 with blade open).

Now, this is no Skeletool, it doesn't have half the functionality, but, unlike the Skeletool, it only costs $10. With the amount that we use our Leatherman, we'd bet that this small tool would be handy in any pocket out there. You really don't have any idea how often you'll use a multi-tool until you have one on you and for $10, this looks like a great place to start if you're not sure you want to give up that precious pocket real estate.

At Amazon