# Best Multitools: the stierproducts tier list

- Source: https://stierproducts.com/categories/multitools
- Last researched: 2026-09-23T17:30:25.503Z
- Evidence base: 16 products ranked across 94 cited reviews, videos and discussions
- Method: https://stierproducts.com/methodology
- Dataset: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22062813 - every board at once, one dated snapshot per release, same licence, prices and photographs left out
- Reuse: Text, rankings, tier assignments, LP values and verdicts are free to quote and reuse with attribution to stierproducts and a link to the source URL (CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Product photographs are not covered: they belong to their respective owners and are reproduced to illustrate the product being reviewed. Do not redistribute them under this licence.

Folding multitools with pliers or scissors and keychain multitools; pocket knives belong to Pocket Knives, and bike multitools and full tool sets are separate.

## Summary

On the stierproducts multitools board, Leatherman Wave+ ranks #1 in S tier, ahead of Victorinox Swiss Tool Spirit X (#2, S tier) and Leatherman Skeletool CX (#3, S tier). The board ranks 16 multitools from S (best) to F (avoid), last researched 23 Sept 2026, drawing on 94 cited reviews, videos and discussions. Placed in the bottom tiers as ones to avoid: WORKPRO 18-in-1 Multitool, Gerber Center-Drive, Gerber Dime, and 4 others.

## Ranking

| Rank | Product | Brand | Tier | LP | Outlets | Verdict | Page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Leatherman Wave+ | Leatherman | S | 1044 | 3 | Two decades of proven ownership, a huge parts-and-repair history and the 25-year warranty make it the safest Leatherman to own for years, and it is still the top performer in recent independent testing. | https://stierproducts.com/products/leatherman-wave |
| 2 | Victorinox Swiss Tool Spirit X | Victorinox | S | 1040 | 7 | The clear number one under a longevity lens: Victorinox's lifetime warranty, tight tolerances and a decades-long failure-free reputation, plus the user-community consensus pick as Leatherman's quality control slipped. | https://stierproducts.com/products/victorinox-swiss-tool-spirit-x |
| 3 | Leatherman Skeletool CX | Leatherman | S | 980 | 8 | Wirecutter's long-running champion after years of testing roughly three dozen multi-tools. Its simplicity is a durability feature, since fewer tools means fewer things to loosen, snap or wear out. | https://stierproducts.com/products/leatherman-skeletool-cx |
| 4 | Leatherman Arc | Leatherman | A | 704 | 15 | The highest build ceiling in the category with a 25-year warranty, held back from first place only by its short real-world track record as a newer platform and mild quality-control chatter on r/multitools. | https://stierproducts.com/products/leatherman-arc |
| 5 | Leatherman Rebar | Leatherman | A | 702 | 6 | Overbuilt, mechanism-light and warrantied for 25 years. The toughness-per-dollar pick and the durable alternative to budget tools. | https://stierproducts.com/products/leatherman-rebar |
| 6 | Victorinox SwissTool X | Victorinox | B | 521 | 3 | Superb build, wrong package: heavier, bulkier and more expensive than the Spirit X that does the same job better for carry. Get the Spirit X. | https://stierproducts.com/products/victorinox-swisstool-x |
| 7 | Nextool F12 | Nextool | C | 442 | 15 | The budget community's standing recommendation, with scissors that rival far pricier tools. A modern, well-finished package whose price makes the big brands look silly. | https://stierproducts.com/products/nextool-f12 |
| 8 | SOG Power Access Deluxe | SOG | C | 419 | 1 | Well made and compact with SOG's compound leverage, but SOG's warranty downgrade and mixed long-term support reputation make it the riskiest of the picks for long-term ownership. | https://stierproducts.com/products/sog-power-access-deluxe |
| 9 | Leatherman Micra | Leatherman | C | 405 | 10 | Decades of flawless keychain service under a Victorinox lifetime warranty, with almost nothing on it that can fail - exactly what a longevity lens wants. | https://stierproducts.com/products/leatherman-micra |
| 10 | WORKPRO 18-in-1 Multitool | WORKPRO | D | 294 | 3 | Ranks fourteenth as a trap. With no expert coverage or documented durability data, it remains an unknown quantity lacking support. | https://stierproducts.com/products/workpro-18-in-1-multitool |
| 11 | Gerber Center-Drive | Gerber | D | 287 | 2 | The best of the traps and heavily cross-shopped because Men's Journal lists it among the best multitools, but documented Gerber durability deficits against Leatherman mean the Wave+ or Arc is the better long-term buy. | https://stierproducts.com/products/gerber-center-drive |
| 12 | Gerber Dime | Gerber | D | 228 | 1 | A realistic cross-shop in the keychain class, but it is outclassed in its own class by the Micra, with the same Gerber longevity question hanging over it. | https://stierproducts.com/products/gerber-dime |
| 13 | Leatherman Wave Alpha | Leatherman | F | 185 | 1 | Genuinely excellent out of the box per Popular Mechanics, but the newest tool on the board with only months of ownership history, so it cannot sit above the proven Wave+ yet. | https://stierproducts.com/products/leatherman-wave-alpha |
| 14 | SOG Tellus MT | SOG | F | 180 | 1 | A genuinely good recent tool that is well built and feature-rich, but SOG's weaker warranty and support reputation compared to Leatherman and Victorinox caps it in the middle of the board. | https://stierproducts.com/products/sog-tellus-mt |
| 15 | Leatherman Free P2 | Leatherman | F | 164 | 1 | Solid and fully warrantied, with the Free platform's one-piece build having held up well, but the Arc has effectively superseded it and it is no longer the Leatherman to buy first. | https://stierproducts.com/products/leatherman-free-p2 |
| 16 | RoverTac 12-in-1 Multitool | RoverTac | F | 0 | 4 | A value award is not a durability award: Popular Mechanics named it Best Value, which is exactly how it gets bought, but it has no warranty infrastructure and no track record behind it. | https://stierproducts.com/products/rovertac-12-in-1-multitool |

## Flagged as ones to avoid

These entered one or more research runs as a product buyers cross-shop but should not buy, rather than as a pick.

- Leatherman Arc (#4, A tier): flagged by 2 of 12 runs.
- Victorinox SwissTool X (#6, B tier): flagged by 2 of 9 runs.
- WORKPRO 18-in-1 Multitool (#10, D tier): flagged by 3 of 5 runs.
- Gerber Center-Drive (#11, D tier): flagged by 3 of 12 runs.
- Gerber Dime (#12, D tier): flagged by 2 of 11 runs.
- Leatherman Wave Alpha (#13, F tier): flagged by 4 of 11 runs.
- SOG Tellus MT (#14, F tier): flagged by 1 of 7 runs.
- Leatherman Free P2 (#15, F tier): flagged by 2 of 3 runs.
- RoverTac 12-in-1 Multitool (#16, F tier): flagged by 8 of 11 runs.

## Tier meanings

- S: Exceptional. Finishes top run after run; capped at 3 slots per category.
- A: Excellent. Strongly recommended, beaten only by the very best.
- B: Good. A solid choice with real caveats worth knowing.
- C: Fair. Acceptable in the right situation, outclassed at its price.
- D: Weak. Hard to recommend when better options cost similar money.
- F: Avoid. The evidence points you elsewhere.

## How to read this

- Each category is researched in four independent runs, one per lens (expert consensus, value, reliability, community pulse). Every run ranks a board of candidates that deliberately includes products buyers cross-shop but should avoid. Placements score on a ranked ladder (LP), and tiers are derived from LP, so no tier is ever assigned by hand.
- LP is the product's points on this category's ladder. It is comparable within a category and not across categories.
- Outlets is how many distinct outlets are cited for that placement. The per-product page lists each citation, and shows which of their links were fetched and confirmed before publishing.
- Nothing is hidden: every product the research placed is on this board.

## Limitations

- We do not test products ourselves. Every placement is consolidated from published reviews, owner reports and community discussion, so a board is only as good as the sources behind it.
- LP is points on this category ladder. It is comparable within a category and never across categories.
- A board is a snapshot with a research date. Anything released or changed after that date is not in it yet.
- Evidence is uneven across this board: products carry between 1 and 19 cited sources. The count for each is in the table above.