Today, the multi-tool market is overfilled with competition. Popular companies, as well as small firms and sole makers, produce superb multi-tools for EDC since these tools are worthy in our society and have proven to be helpful in any situation.
A multi-tool is ideal for outdoor adventures and daily tasks. You can use it to light and create a fire, catch food, and it can be an alternative to your kitchenware and even your first aid tools. Also, there’s a great edge compare to single-use tools in terms of cost, space, weight, and the number of functions.
In this article, we’ll point out the 10 best multi-tool hacks and give you enough information about the capacities and edges of multi-tool compared to single-use tools. By the end of this article, you’ll have ample knowledge to make an informed decision on what to buy.
Whether you’re planning to go on a camping trip or preparing for an emergency, having a multi-tool can be a life-saver in any case. If you’re looking to replace your old tool or buying a new one, we have the best camping multi-tool for you.
10 things you can do with your multi-tool
Multi-tools are known for their versatility, reliability, and overall function. They’re useful in any situation. For instance, when you go camping, they could help you place and pull your tent pegs, fix your zip, catch food, deal with splinters, and much more.
Here are ten hacks you can perform with your multi-tool.
1. Lighting a fire
Pliers of your multi-tool can help you out light a fire without scorching your fingers. Simply use the pliers to grip the match to avoid burning your fingers when toasting your food.
2. Flipping your food
Rather than carrying a pair of kitchen tongs into the wilderness, having some sort of pocket-tool could help you out. For instance, the pliers on your multi-tool would be perfect for gripping bacon and flipping it. They could help out with other cooking tasks, too. Whenever anything hot requires handling, use your pliers instead of your fingers.
3. Placing and pulling your tent pegs
It’s not just the various blades that can help you. You also pay for the casing, and the case has enough width and heft to give a good whack to a tent peg.
You can also pull the pegs out without having to dig your fingers into the numbing ground. Just hook one of your curved blades beneath the peg, set it in place, and wrench the peg out.
It’s not worth carrying a two-kilogram hammer on a hike just to knock in a few pegs. Some people also use stones to do this task but this can often be awkward.
4. Use it for hanging bags
It’s important to get any food well off the ground, at a safe distance from your campsite, or else the bears will come for it, especially when hiking in a bear country. But, some people have failed to hang a bag over a branch because of a lack of something to weigh it down – in which case the breeze carries the bag, which crashes down and arrives in the claws of a grateful bear.
A multi-tool can help you out. Start by tying a rope to the middle of your multi-tool before attaching the bag — which should weigh enough to stay up the tree. Just ensure you tie the rope firmly to the multi-tool.
5. Fixing your zipper
If you break your zipper in your jacket or pants, you can use the pliers of your multi-tool instead. When your fingers can’t grasp a broken zip firmly enough to wrench it up, the pliers on your multi-tool can.
6. Tightening your belt
After a serious adventure, you may lose weight and struggle to tighten your belt, after discovering that your pants are too loose for your waistline. You can use the head of the screwdriver of your multi-tool to burrow a new hole through the leather of your belt.
7. Dealing with splinters
You don’t have to carry scissors nor tweezers because your multi-tool can deal with your wood splinters and porcupine quills. But, some sensible hikers bring a first aid kit with them, just in case.
8. Starting a fire
It’s suggested that you use the back of your saw blade to generate the spark. Combining the ancient art of fire-making with your modern pocket tool will impress your campmates.
9. Catching food
Catching fish and small animals won’t be a dream anymore. With the aid of your multi-tool, you could cut rope or utilize pieces of wire to rig traps, twist items you found into fishing hooks, and improvise a fishing line. Combining your hunter-gatherer ancestry with modern aid could save your life.
10. Your own hack
The nine aforementioned hacks are fun and effective, and they can show you how to enjoy the outdoors with exploration and improvisation. But, a multi-tool offers limitless functions – go out there and discover your own hacks.
Just like any other camping equipment, you need to properly maintain your multi-tool if you want it to last. To help you with this task, follow our guides on how to clean a multi-tool and how to oil a multi-tool.
Multi-tool vs. Single-use tools
Sometimes, it’s better to have a multi-tool on hand rather than a bunch of different tools in a large toolbox, especially in a survival setting, while going camping and hiking, biking, fishing, or even in your daily life. Let’s see why.
Variety of functions
Multi-tools come in handy in innumerable troubles while single-use tools, such as knives, can be used primarily for slicing and cutting things. Sometimes, knives may not even be the perfect tools to cut things, but a pair of scissors from a multi-tool may be a better choice, as knives are not as versatile as multi-tools.
Space
Multi-tools are appreciable if you only have limited space. Although single-use tools are helpful, they take a lot of space. Plus, you have to organize your single-use tools each and every time for them to be used properly. In that sense, multi-tools are great because they offer multiple tools in one small object.
Affordability
Multi-tools are great for people on a budget. Indeed, paying for single-use tools is expensive and can add up to hundreds of dollars if they are of high quality. Meanwhile, you only have to pay for one multi-tool, and they are commonly found at a reasonable price. Therefore, multi-tools are great because you get numerous tools for one object.
Carrying capacity
Single-use tools become hefty after broad use. Each tool adds up in weight and it will eventually become too weighty to carry around while trekking. Whereas, multi-tools are very practical for hunters and campers because they don’t overburden your carrying capacity. Hence, they are ideal and notable for campers who go on long trips.
Removing metal caps
Instead of bringing kitchenware, such as an opener, a multi-tool already provides useful tools in one hand and usually has its own bottle opener to remove metal caps from bottles.
Some multi-tools also come with corkscrews to help take off the plastic stoppers or corks from wine bottles. It might not be useful all the time, but any multi-tool is worthy and should come with a bottle opener.
Multi-tool for cyclists
There are a lot of multi-tools designed to cater to the needs of a cyclist in distress. Indeed, cyclists who ride on or off-road need tools to deal with maintenance at some point, as technical issues can happen everywhere while they’re away from their bike shed. The main tools you’ll find on cycling-specific multi-tools are flat and Phillips screwdriver heads, as well as common bike hex bit sizes.
For campers and hikers – multi-tool or individual tools?
Hikers and campers are like cyclists and need to carry their tools on themselves or in a bag. Lightweight and minimal space are the main criteria they’re looking for. Plus, they get a lot of tool functionality in a low-weight by choosing a multi-tool over several individual tools. A multi-tool also offers them a good pair of pliers, knife, bottle opener, flathead, and Phillips screwdriver.
The basic tools you must look for in a multi-tool, or individual tools you should often bring with you include:
- Needle-nose pliers
- Conventional pliers
- Phillips-head screwdriver
- Flat-head screwdriver
- Knife
- Wire cutters or small scissors
- Adjustable crescent wrench
- File
Everyday life
In modern life, having a big toolbox for single-use tools is invaluable because multi-tools are truly enough to be carried in your pocket for Everyday Carry (EDC).
EDC is all about making a setup that suits your needs. Obtain and carry what you need heeding to your lifestyle, location, profession, daily routine, style, budget, and so on.
Multi-tools are known for their efficiency, convenience, versatility, and overall function to solve daily life problems. Today, there are so many of multi-tools available that choosing which one to get can be a bit intimidating. Before you buy your equipment, first you need to know about the 6 different types of multi-tools.
Conclusion
It’s our goal to supply you with the most significant aspects of multi-tools. Each attachment of the multi-tool is designed to help you with your daily tasks. Such equipment is not only designed for hunters and campers, but for ordinary people as well. Acquiring a multi-tool is the first step towards having a quick fix to most of your troubles that may arise in the future.
We hope that the knowledge that we shared on the 10 different ways to use a multi-tool and the advantages of having it over a single use tool inspired you to discover more about the nice features of multi-tools. They are lightweight, versatile, and can easily fit in your pocket; what more can you ask for?
