General Purpose Tools

Leatherman Micra

Keychain Size Multitool

I’m a computer geek, both by trade and by lifestyle, so I’ve accumulated several boxes full of tools for disassembling and reassembling all sorts of obscure computer stuff. Since I found the Micra, most of what’s in those boxes sits unused in my office. Smaller than most pocket knives, and with the ability to unfold into a completely handy pair of snips, the stainless steel Micra contains two functional flat-blade drivers (micro and “regular”) and a #2 Phillips-equivalent screwdriver, so I can achieve most anything I need to do inside a server closet or at a customer’s desk. You could opt for the Wave, which features more tools. However, the less expensive Micra is lighter (1.75 vs. 8.5 ounces) and smaller (2.5″ vs. 4″), and overall it’s much more of an urban survival tool. It comes with tweezers, scissors, nail file, and a bottle opener, but the features that make it the most valuable to me are the “Phillips” blade (a flat blade shaped to fit into a Phillips head) and the micro flat driver blade. I’m constantly opening stuff – packages from FedEx (knife,) packages of sunflower kernels (scissors), laptops (micro screwdriver,) data racks (Phillips) and the like. This tool has everything I use on a daily basis in a simple, little package.

-- Steve Sussex 07/14/18

(This is a Cool Tools Favorite from 2007 — editors)

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