Gerber Crucial FAST

Somewhat heavy and klugy, but mostly well built and functional.

I originally purchased an earlier generation of the Crucial which I found pretty useless. The drivers on that one were too small to be of any real use. I mentioned this to a clerk where I bought it (REI) and he gave me this newer one in exchange, no questions asked.  I was not happy with the product, REI remedied that problem.  So now I have the Crucial F.A.S.T.. 

The drivers are longer and seem to work better, the knife blade has the assisted-opening so it is quicker to deploy, and the pliers...well, don't tackle anything requiring great torque. Fix a stove or other small device and you can expect it to work OK.  

For the money and the weight, you don't get a lot of tools with this item. Upon further reflection, I wonder why we feel we have to put all our tools on one platform? A screw-driver with interchangeable bits, a pair slip joint pliers, and a good single blade knife would not weigh much more that this and the tools would all work better.  However, the drool factor would be less, I guess. 

Overall, the tool is OK, but I don't carry it. It is sitting patiently in a a spare emergency kit, waiting for an opportunity to prove me wrong.