Other stuff I take along: Leatherman Squirt

Apart from my BUPK, which I keep always in my pocket or in my backpack, I tend to carry other things that can help me overcome *minor* emergencies in my daily life.

One of the latest additions is a Leatherman Squirt P4.
The Squirt is a miniature multi-tool and, believe me, it's small.

No, I stand corrected, it's not a multi tool, is a "keyring tool". A big difference in smallness.

Is it any good? Well, depends what you want to use it for.

Construction is very good. It has a good mechanical feeling when you open and close. It gives the impression of being tough enough for reasonable use.

The pliers are pretty good - you can apply quite a lot of force, although I would have preferred to have the needle-nose pliers to be more needle-nosed for precision work. You can bend and unscrew and hold... within reason. Won't help you unbolt large bolts, to be honest.

The wire cutter is somehow disappointing - used it to shorten some electrical wire, the cut wasn't as good as I expected.

The blade is sharp, but its size makes it useful for opening letter, some minor work and nothing else (won't be useful to slice salami or fillet fish...;-).

File: ok, don't work on your nails with that, go for a small Victorinox. Good to remove that fraction of a fraction of an inch that prevents something to fit into something else, forget about doing much more.

Scredrivers: adequate for small screws, forget about applying a lot of force, the handle is too small.

So, is it a toy? Almost, but it's a good toy ;-) It's so small it's easy to always keep it to youfor occasional or very minor use and applications. And the first rule of usefulness in survival situation is: "It's good only if you have it with you. Now."

When I feel that some more honest work is required or that it would be wise to have someting stronger with me (as when I go saling or trekking) I take my old trustworthy Leatherman Wave (very good for preparing sandwiches with locally bought farmer ham or cheese, by the way).

Considering that I spent (on eBay) less than 10 $ for it and that is a good conversation piece.. I love it (but might consider buying a Juice later on. The good thing about the Juice is that you can use it to open wine bottles ...)