What’s the best multi-tool for women? That’s easy, it’s pink, and preferably has a flower design on the handles and can fit easily into a handbag. Yep, it’s that simple to decide which multi-tool is the exactly perfect one for about half of the world’s population. Obviously, I joke.
Saying there’s just one BEST multi-tool for a man is just as absurd, it depends what you want to do with it. If you have a specific purpose for a multi-tool that can make it easier to choose. But if you just want to carry a general purpose multi-tool for those MacGyver situations where you need to get out of trouble, that’s much harder.
And it’s the same problem for both men and women but there are some multi-tool features and tools that could be better suited to women and that’s what we’re going to look into here.
The Simple Answer
If a woman or a man has a specific need for a multi-tool, the multi-tool that’s going to be best is going to be the same for either sex. But I do believe there are some design features and tools that could be better suited to what women may want from a multi-tool than men.
I’m recommending a few multi-tools worth looking at in the full-size, lightweight full-size and keychain categories.
Women’s Specialized Multi-Tool Requirements
If you’re a woman whose hobby is cycling, camping, firearms, DIY, or fishing, your multi-tool needs are most likely the same as a man’s. There are specialized multi-tools for these types of activities and the tools a man needs for these activities are just as important for a woman. If you’ve got a specific hobby, you’ll be interested in my favorites for some activities on the Recommended Multi-Tools page.
Women’s General Use Multi-Tool Considerations
Design elements you should consider
There are a few design attributes that would be appreciated by everyone and possibly women in particular.
Ergonomic handles
It’s important the handles are comfortable when you need to put some pressure through them to grip something with the pliers. Let’s say you have a tough nut to crack and you squeeze hard on the handles, you don’t want them digging into your flesh. A good ergonomic design that doesn’t have sharp edges or awkward angles will help put the squeeze on the handles without sore points.
Light to medium weight
If you want this multi-tool to be carried every day or at least regularly, you want to look for a multi-tool that’s not going to weigh you down too much. Full-sized multi-tools weigh between around 4 oz (113 gms) to 12 oz (340 gms) so ideally, you want to aim for a multi-tool weighing towards the lower end of this range.
Easy to deploy tools
Tools that are too stiff or take a bit of muscle to deploy should probably be avoided. Some pliers are stiff to unfold. For example, Leatherman pliers typically have one handle that’s stiff to fold away (I can’t work out why that is but it’s the same on all my full-size Leathermans).
The other consideration is what sort of deployment mechanism the multi-tool uses. If there are a lot of nail nick deployments, for the user who has long fingernails, that’s going to be a problem. No one wants to break a nail every time they deploy a tool.
Leverage assistance is an advantage
Although it’s not essential, if your hand strength could use a bit of help, mechanically enhanced leverage would be a help. This is where SOG’s compound leverage mechanism for the pliers will come in handy to increase your gripping power.
Tools you should consider
There are some tools I think will be useful for a general purpose multi-tool for women. I’ve chosen these because they are commonly used in day-to-day life and will “pay their way” being worth carrying.
Scissors
A good pair of scissors is ideal for an every day carried multi-tool. Multi-tool scissors are by their very nature quite small but you’ll still be amazed at how many times you will find them useful.
Flathead and Phillips screwdrivers
There are a lot of different types of screws in our modern devices. In the good ol’ days, everything was put together with a flathead or Phillips head screw and even though they are still very common, we are now seeing hex head screws, Torx, Allen, Robertson…the list goes on. Unless you want to carry around an additional bit kit for a bit driver separate to your multi-tool, a good compromise is a flathead and a Phillips screwdriver.
Knife or at least a box opener
It doesn’t have to be very big but some sort of sharp edge will come in handy on your multi-tool. Like a good pair of scissors, a blade has a thousand uses. If you can’t or don’t want to carry a knife, a box opener might do the trick. Or you could use the next suggested tool.
Awl – thread hole optional
Another very useful little tool that has a multiple of uses. Great for digging into cracks, cleaning out tight places and doing things that shouldn’t do with the tip of your knife. The awl also has a small sharpish edge that will be useful. If your awl has a thread hole, this is a bonus because you can use it like a big needle and thread and sew things up. I say the thread hole is optional because I don’t think it’s very likely you’re going to use the awl to repair a tear in your coat for example.
Pliers
Multi-tools are built around their pliers. There’s a good reason for this. Pliers are versatile in any environment. You probably don’t need the biggest strongest pair of pliers but a decently sized pair are required. It’s almost compulsory for me to have pliers with replaceable wire cutter blades but in this case, given we won’t be putting them to heavy-duty tasks, non-replaceable is OK I think.
File
We know that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that a diamond coated file is a women’s best multi-tool friend but it’s worth having one.
A diamond coated file can be used for filing stuff like wood or steel and you can also use it to fill human fingernails and toenails. If you have a dedicated nail file, go ahead and use that instead but if you’re caught short with a broken nail, your multi-tool file will get you out of immediate danger.
Bit driver is optional
Normally I’m a big fan of a bit driver and carrying a bit kit in a sheath. Bit drivers can significantly increase your multi-tool functionality and screwdriving capabilities. But I suspect most women don’t want to carry a multi-tool and a bit kit in a sheath for everyday use. I suspect the multi-tool will be carried in a bag or maybe a pocket so the extra trouble of carrying a bit kit is not going to appeal. Therefore, I would say a bit driver and bit kit are optional.
Tweezers are optional
You don’t need a pair of tweezers on your multi-tool because they often aren’t that good. Multi-tool makers seem to struggle to make a really good pair and even if they do, they are easy to lose. I’m not saying you should avoid a multi-tool with tweezers but I wouldn’t worry about it if your chosen multi-tool didn’t have a pair.
Pocket clip is optional
Pocket clips are a great carry option if you don’t mind clipping your multi-tool to your pocket or belt. Works really well if you actually have a pocket that can take the weight of a multi-tool or you are wearing a belt. A pocket clip is also visible to other people so this may not suit some users. For these reasons, I think a pocket clip is optional.
Multi-tool Recommendations for Women
Full-size
Victorinox SwissTool Spirit X
I’ve chosen the SwissTool Spirit X/XBS because this is the highest quality general purpose multi-tool on the market. I’ve given the SwissTool the Quality Multi-Tool crown on the Recommended Multi-Tools page because I really like it’s quality feel in the hand, the design is quality and all the tools are high quality as well.
Before I go further, the one thing that might turn you off the Spirit X is that the tools (besides the pliers) are accessed by their nail nick.
Some multi-tools have nail nicks that are really stiff and feel you’re going to tear a nail everytime you try to deploy a tool. That’s not the case with the Victorinox. They are easy to use but if for whatever reason you would prefer another way to open the tools, the Spirit X is probably not for you. You should have a look at the alternate full-size multi-tool I recommend below. It still has some nail nicks, but not as many.
While we’re talking about the design, the Spirit is really compact and sleek. There are no rough edges and everything is tucked away into the handles. The handles are ergonomic with a slight curve to them and comfortable to put pressure on them.
For a full-size multi-tool, the weight is about average at 8.7 oz (247 gms) and average length at 4.1 in (10.4 cms). There’s no pocket clip and no option to add one but because of its size it will slip easily into a small bag or pocket and you’re probably not going to use a pocket clip anyway.
The X and XBS (these are the same multi-tool except the XBS is black) have a great range of tools for the everyday tasks you need to tackle. The pliers are needle nose with bolt grippers and wire cutters (of my non-preferred non-replaceable variety). All the other tools are outside accessible and you have a very good pair of scissors which rated highly in my three-way scissor test on my fingernails and toenails.
There’s a sharp awl and a sharp chisel both which can be used for a lot of different things including as a box opener. A straight edge knife that’s not too big, a 3-sided file, a well designed Phillips screwdriver, a couple of sizes of flathead screwdrivers and of course a bottle opener amongst other tools. In total, Victorinox claims 24 functions for the Spirit X and they all work well. It’s not the cheapest multi-tool on the market but quality costs and often pays for itself by lasting a long time.
Check out the current price of the Victorinox SwissTool Spirit X/XBS on Amazon
Gerber Suspension NXT
The popular original Suspension has recently been superseded by the NXT. Why this makes the list for consideration is that it’s got a lot of the tools we’re looking for and in a size and weight that we’re after.
Weighing you down to the tune of 6.7 oz (190 gms) means it fits in the full-size weight category but at the lower end and the length is 4.25 inches (10.8 cms) which are about right. You can carry this by its pocket clip or there’s a lanyard hole as well but you’re probably not going to use either of those.
The pliers don’t have any special tricks and don’t have replaceable wire cutters either. The rest of the tools are outside accessible and locking. The unlocking mechanisms are two small sliding tabs on each handle which I’ve got on another Gerber and they work well enough – even though they can be a bit stiff in the early days of use.
The knife is a combo blade – half straight edge and half serrated. Supposedly the best of both worlds or as I say, is it the worst of both worlds? For this sort of general purpose multi-tool, I can live with a combo blade.
Take your pick of flathead screwdrivers with 3 sizes to choose from and a good Phillips screwdriver as well. Add a file, an awl with a very pointy tip and a pair of mini spring-loaded scissors – like the other multi-tools on this list, that’s your manicure set right there. Gerber has been combining their can opener and bottle opener into one tool in some of their recent multi-tool releases. I’ve got one in my Gerber Strata and it’s a clever solution for a couple of very common tools, saving space for other tools.
Check out the current price of the Gerber Suspension NXT on Amazon
Lightweight Full-Size
SOG PowerPint
The PowerPint is new to the SOG range of multi-tools and it brings a great range of tools and features worth serious consideration for general purpose use.
It fits into the lightweight category because it’s only 4.2 oz (119 gms). As a way of comparison, the Leatherman Wave, which isn’t the heaviest multi-tool on the market, weighs in at double the weight at 8.5 oz (245 gms) but the same closed length. Being 4 ounces means you’re hardly going to notice it in your purse or jacket pocket.
SOG is proud of the compound leverage mechanism they’ve built into the needle nose pliers. This means you don’t have to put as much effort into the pliers to get a powerful grip on whatever you’re trying to grip – like a bolt, nut or cutting a wire. Useful if your hand strength is a little short of herculean.
Next up is a pair of spring-loaded scissors. They’re surprisingly large for a medium sized multi-tool. Plus there’s a 3-sided file and that gives you a survival manicure set to get you out of trouble in an emergency. Of course, you can use these for all sorts of other tasks!
There’s an awl with a thread hole and a small flathead screwdriver and Philips screwdriver. All good tools for common tasks. No harm in having a straight edge blade and a separate serrated blade either – unless you’re going to fly that is. They aren’t monster sized blades that will impress your buddies but big enough to get the job done.
I don’t own a PowerPint yet but it looks like it’s been put together in the very much the same way as my SOG PowerAccess. Same steel, same finish, same basic design and made in the same country – China. If it is very similar, it means it’s going to be easy to operate and good to use. The pliers, which on most other multi-tool brands can be stiff to fold out and fold away, will deploy smoothly as will all the other tools – if it’s your first multi-tool you’ll really appreciate the light action.
Check out the current price of the SOG PowerPint on Amazon
Keychain
Leatherman Style CS
If you don’t want the hassle of hooking a multi-tool onto yourself or making sure you’re carrying the bag that has your multi-tool in it, maybe a keychain multi-tool is a good option for you? After all, your keys are usually nearby right?.
What I really like about the Style CS is that it knows what it is and what it isn’t. Some keychain multi-tools try to pack too much into their small size. So you end up with a pair of pliers or a pair of scissors that are so small they are pretty much useless.
The Style CS says I’m not going to have a pair of pliers but I’m going to have a really good pair of scissors instead. So the main tool on the CS is a pair of spring-loaded scissors that are bigger than the scissors on just about every other multi-tool. There aren’t the only cutting tool though, there’s a small straight edge knife as well.
Add the file and the tweezers – which according to users reports are a good pair – and you have a great general purpose keychain multi-tool. It even has a built-in carabiner that you can use as a bottle opener or to easily hook it on and off your keyring. I say easily but you might have to be a bit careful with the carabiner as some users have reported that it’s possible to break the spring clip on it. Comes in 5 colors, including pink for the ladies or blokes if that’s your thing – buy one of each color to match your outfit.
Check out the current price of the Leatherman Style CS on Amazon.
Leatherman Leap
Leatherman says the Leap is designed to be a child’s first multi-tool but I think they are making a mistake by narrowing the market for this. I own a Leap and it’s a great multi-purpose multi-tool that will also make an excellent as a keychain multi-tool for women.
The unique selling point for the Leap and the reason it’s marketed for children is that it has a removable knife blade. Well, it actually comes without the blade attached and when you think your kid is ready to handle a knife, you can attach it in seconds – once you work out how to do it!
The leap scores points by having a lot of the design features and tools we are looking for. Unlike the Leatherman Style CS that sacrifices a pair of pliers for a big pair of scissors, the Leap has a small but sturdy pair of pliers and a pair of spring-loaded scissors packed into it’s 3.3 inch (8.3 cm) length. It’s not going to weigh your keychain down either being 4.9 oz (138 gms).
Other tools are a Phillips screwdriver, a couple of sizes of flathead screwdrivers, a file and a pair of tweezers. The tweezers aren’t going to replace your dedicated tweezers but are good enough in a pinch (see what I did there?).
Forget the marketing, this is worth a “leap of faith”. If you’re over 9 years old, choose between a green, blue or red Leap for your keychain.
Check the current price of the Leatherman Leap in Amazon
There’s not a bad multi-tool here. They’re all worth considering and hopefully one of them will meet your needs.
Multi-Tools – Don’t Leave Home Without One (even if you’re one half of the population)