The flashlight/phone debate reminds me of the multi tool/knife debate. Do one thing well, or 20 things okay…
I have a tool bag with a nice flashlight in my car for bigger jobs, for random quick stuff my phone and Leatherman cover 95% of what comes up. Best of both worlds. Not that I’m really going to debate anyone about the shit they carry around. If someone present has a better tool for the job I’ll applaud their preparedness. I just don’t personally find it worthwhile to carry the extra items on me all the time. I’m still more prepared than most with just the Leatherman.
I carry a Gerber Dime, just right for a quick little fix on something, and a Kershaw Brawler because I find the knife on the Dime frustrating for anything besides cutting tape on boxes.
Just having a bottle opener makes you more prepared than most people nowadays.
I carry a skeletool. It’s only slightly larger than the folder I replaced with it and it works great for everything I use a knife for while also having the pliers, screwdriver bits, and bottle opener. There’s also an extension for the screwdriver that makes it a little more useful but I don’t keep that on my person and honestly most times I’ve used it I haven’t even bothered putting it into the tool. I did get a Milwaukee Fastback when I was doing a lot of box opening to preserve the blade on the skeletool, but otherwise I’ve been using it for everything for over a decade. Probably one of my favorite possessions.
I have a tool bag with a nice flashlight in my car for bigger jobs, for random quick stuff my phone and Leatherman cover 95% of what comes up. Best of both worlds. Not that I’m really going to debate anyone about the shit they carry around. If someone present has a better tool for the job I’ll applaud their preparedness. I just don’t personally find it worthwhile to carry the extra items on me all the time. I’m still more prepared than most with just the Leatherman.
I carry a Gerber Dime, just right for a quick little fix on something, and a Kershaw Brawler because I find the knife on the Dime frustrating for anything besides cutting tape on boxes.
Just having a bottle opener makes you more prepared than most people nowadays.
I carry a skeletool. It’s only slightly larger than the folder I replaced with it and it works great for everything I use a knife for while also having the pliers, screwdriver bits, and bottle opener. There’s also an extension for the screwdriver that makes it a little more useful but I don’t keep that on my person and honestly most times I’ve used it I haven’t even bothered putting it into the tool. I did get a Milwaukee Fastback when I was doing a lot of box opening to preserve the blade on the skeletool, but otherwise I’ve been using it for everything for over a decade. Probably one of my favorite possessions.