Center-Drive Multi-Tool / Gerber
Most multi-tools bury a screwdriver in the handle at an angle that wastes torque. The Center-Drive's defining move is to fix exactly that: the bit driver opens and locks along the tool's central axis, so it behaves like a real screwdriver rather than a folded compromise, and it takes standard magnetic bits. Around it sit a full-size 3.25-inch outboard blade that opens with one thumb and spring-loaded pliers on a sliding rail, both reachable without unfolding the whole tool. Everything is geared to actual daily work rather than emergency preparedness. The cost of that capability is weight: at roughly 280 grams it is a heavy thing to carry, and the construction earns the heft rather than hiding it. It is a tool built around correcting one long-standing compromise, and it commits to it fully.
Design intent
- +The centre-axis driver gives a folding tool the leverage and rotation of a standalone screwdriver, which no conventional multi-tool layout manages; it is the reason the tool exists.
- +One-thumb deployment of both the blade and the pliers removes the fiddly setup that keeps most multi-tools in a drawer.
Trade-offs
- -The rotating driver adds moving parts and channels that collect grit and eventually wear, more mechanism than a simpler folding tool.
- -It is heavy for its class at around 280 grams; the build quality justifies the weight, but it is a deliberate carry rather than a pocketable afterthought.
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View allMost multi-tools bury a screwdriver in the handle at an angle that wastes torque. The Center-Drive's defining move is to fix exactly that: the bit driver opens and locks along the tool's central axis, so it behaves like a real screwdriver rather than a folded compromise, and it takes standard magnetic bits. Around it sit a full-size 3.25-inch outboard blade that opens with one thumb and spring-loaded pliers on a sliding rail, both reachable without unfolding the whole tool. Everything is geared to actual daily work rather than emergency preparedness. The cost of that capability is weight: at roughly 280 grams it is a heavy thing to carry, and the construction earns the heft rather than hiding it. It is a tool built around correcting one long-standing compromise, and it commits to it fully.
Design intent
- +The centre-axis driver gives a folding tool the leverage and rotation of a standalone screwdriver, which no conventional multi-tool layout manages; it is the reason the tool exists.
- +One-thumb deployment of both the blade and the pliers removes the fiddly setup that keeps most multi-tools in a drawer.
Trade-offs
- -The rotating driver adds moving parts and channels that collect grit and eventually wear, more mechanism than a simpler folding tool.
- -It is heavy for its class at around 280 grams; the build quality justifies the weight, but it is a deliberate carry rather than a pocketable afterthought.
