gizmodo.com: Multitools are fabulously useful, unless you do not have yours handy when you need it. It doesn't matter how many gadgets you cram into an all-in-one, if it is being a really efficient use of space on your nightstand. Frustrating. A wearable multitool you never take off, though, yeah, that sounds promising.
10 comments:
I am extremely excited for this product to be available for purchase although it does seem quite useless. I love multi-tools as much as the next person, but my biggest issue is when they do not have a belt clip, or the belt clips is too weak for everyday use and eventually needs repair. Although having on your wrist so that it you wouldn’t have to deal with belt clips seems like a wonderful idea, there are not a lot of tools on the bracelet. There is also the issue of size; yes, small screwdrivers are sometimes useful, but not often. How would you actually use the tool? It seems awkward to hold a flexible band as a handle. Also, the tools that I mostly use are the knives and pliers, so this doesn’t suit my uses much. Nevertheless, I really want to try one on just for the kicks.
While I am excited about the idea of wearable multi-tools, several of the comments on this article brought to my attention how inconvenient this tool might be in practice. If you have to take your bracelet or watch off or apart to use any of the tools on it, then it becomes a bigger hassle than help. The tools are also significantly smaller than they are usually. There is no place for a knife or plier, which in my opinion are what set Leatherman apart. I also doubt these will be made for people with smaller wrist size and as a result will be impractical for most women. I’m sure that one day they will come up with a more portable, useful and convenient multi-tool, but unfortunately I don’t think this is it.
One of the commenters did however point out this cool key cover that doubles as several of the more ubiquitous tools found on most multi tools. Here is a link:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/e25b/?cpg=cj&CJURL=&CJID=2617611&cpg=cj&ref=&CJURL=
To be frank I’m sure how I feel about this. Upon first glance at this Leatherman bracelet I thought it was kind of cool. By having twenty five tools literally at your wrist you could literally do anything. Also, it is pretty neat that shop tools can now be considered fashionable. However, then I got to thinking about the practicality of this bracelet. First off, how much would the bracelet weigh? A regular Leatherman is pretty light weight to be carried around in your pocket, but in my opinion it would probably be to heavy to wear around my wrist. Secondly, from just looking at the image, it looks pretty complex to get a tool out. Nonetheless, my biggest thing that I see happening to people who buy this product is forgetting to take it off when they go through security (like at an airport), and because it has a knife it will be confiscated making it a waste of money.
This is certainly an interesting take on every day carry multi-tools. I feel like every person I talk to has a difference preference on what kind of wearable multi-tools they like to carry or even if they like to carry a multi-tool at all. Some people carry mini pocket clip multi-tools, while others carry keychain pocket tools. For the longest time I did not want to make a multi-tool part of my every day carry, until I discovered the Gerber Shard. Anyways, my point is, that there is very likely a niche market for people who think that a bracelet and/or watch band multi-tool is a genius idea that nobody has followed up on. This tool obviously will be able to capture such a target demographic. Not sure how useful each tool with be due to the very small amount of leverage that you can achieve. That being said, I am always of the opinion that having some sort of tool is always better than having no tool at all.
It has always seemed to me that with whatever general purpose tool you have, it is not the fault of the tool when you don’t have the tool you need to do whatever it is that you are doing at the time. It is a function of my ability to remember to pick up my multi-tool and C-wrench whenever I go somewhere to work that determines how effective of a tool user I am. I don’t think that I will find the tool bracelet all that useful, but I can see that it is a good idea, at least it is in the vein of making tools more convenient to have on your person at all times, and not have to remember to pick it up in the morning. What I would really like to see however is a multi-tool style of tool that flat-packs and is still not awkward and inconvenient to use. So that it could be carried in a book bag, or a pocket with ease and not have to worry about it scratching or destroying the rest of your belongings.
It has always seemed to me that with whatever general purpose tool you have, it is not the fault of the tool when you don’t have the tool you need to do whatever it is that you are doing at the time. It is a function of my ability to remember to pick up my multi-tool and C-wrench whenever I go somewhere to work that determines how effective of a tool user I am. I don’t think that I will find the tool bracelet all that useful, but I can see that it is a good idea, at least it is in the vein of making tools more convenient to have on your person at all times, and not have to remember to pick it up in the morning. What I would really like to see however is a multi-tool style of tool that flat-packs and is still not awkward and inconvenient to use. So that it could be carried in a book bag, or a pocket with ease and not have to worry about it scratching or destroying the rest of your belongings.
First reaction: "Holy crap I really want one of these." However, as I look at it more, I am confused about how you would actually use the tools. Apparently you don’t have to disassemble the bracelet to use it, but does that mean you will be folding it in half? How will that give you the kind of hand hold you need to actually use the tool? How easy is it to accidentally stab yourself with the screwdriver while it’s on your wrist? I don’t know. Hopefully these questions will all be answered and taken care of before Leatherman come out with the bracelet. The way I see it, the bracelet aspect is great because I am one to loose or forget my tools unless they are attached to my body somehow and a bracelet is not something you will necessarily be taking on and off. So the actual functionality is the problem, not the concept. Which is a big problem. I am interested in how well this tool is going to do when it is released.
Most of the reactions I have seen in the comments have been pretty much the same. First reaction: "This is amazing!!!!" Reaction after actually thinking about it: "This is so impractical". I reacted the same way. After reading all the comments, it's making me think about all the different things this new multitool could lead to. Unless they fix some bugs and clear up misconceptions with this current model, I don't think it will be very popular, but now that the concept of a multitool wristband has been brought up, better updates are bound to follow. The possible addition of pliers or a safely hidden knife would be welcome, as well as hinges on the bracelet that would allow it to only bend in one direction or possibly ones that could lock. This would fix the problem of using a floppy bracelet as a handle.
Now that the concept for this design has been unleashed. The creators will start to get immediate feedback as to obvious bugs or overlooked problems, such as differing wrist sizes, and they can start to update and adapt for these issues.
So although I have no interest in buying this multitool now (even though I am severely lacking in owning a multitool of my own) I would definitely be interested in a few years, once this design becomes more practical and useful.
That's so cool! Very sci fi. The only issue I can think of is how easy it is to access the tools. do you have to unhook each tool? Does it fall apart? I know my leather man is very convenient, but it's bulky to keep in the pocket, and impossible in the case that what we are wearing doesn't have pockets, so in that respect, this is both convenient for easy access and constant access.
Today I saw some one using a smart screen watch. It was the kind of thing you see on TV, not in real life, very cool. It seems very useful because things could be done quickly right on the wrist, even as compared to the quick speed of mobile devices. I'd like to believe that these tools are a more tangible aspect of the same thing. I really hope any engineering flaws are worked out, because this seems like it would hit the market with a bang.
A Leatherman Bracelet Puts 25 Tools On Your Wrist · gizmodo.com: Multitools are fabulously useful, unless you do not have yours handy when ... tleatherman.blogspot.com
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