Columbia River Knife and Tool (CRKT for short) has been well known for their fair priced knives made from well known and respected members of the knife community. CRKT makes a knife for virtually every kind of task you can think of and the only thing they haven't ventured into is the multitool market, until now that is.

About six months ago CRKT announced on their website that a division of their company called I.D. Works (which is an acronym for Inspired Design) is producing two multitools that will be released in June. The multitool enthusiasts and the general market alone was not only welcoming them with open arms, but the market needs a fresh face to it. So many of the tools out there are being made by manufacturers that have been making them since time began, and it was time for someone new with a fresh perspective to add something to the picture.

Nowadays the multitool market is quite diverse. Ordinarily we focus on the higher end tools, but I recently received some more affordable tools that are available at many chain and hardware store. I was impressed with the overall quality for the price, especially with the Mountaineer.

Leatherman’s Blast model was a pleasant surprise when I received it. After having the Kick for a while, then moving up to the Fuse I appreciated the locking mechanism but I was so disappointed by the new scissor design that I think it jaded me. It took the Blast to really get my attention again in this series.

While the PowerLock seems to be the first tool that comes to mind when one thinks of SOG tools, the Pocket Power Plier is perhaps my personal favorite. The more compact size of the Pocket Power Plier seems to be the more “carry-able” version of the big powerhouse.

This is another one of those things that I looked at for years and could never really see the point of. In fact, I couldn’t even figure out how the darned thing worked from most of the pictures I saw, so I never really paid it that close attention. Until now.