Sidekick Pocket-Size Multi-Tool (831429)

Multi-tools are very handy to have on a job site, camping, at the cottage or around the home. It certainly beats toting a tool box around. While there are several multi-tool brands on the market, Leatherman seems to be the most dominant player. Their new Sidekick Pocket-Size Multi-Tool (831429) is billed as a full-size model geared to the first-time user.

The Sidekick is both small and light. At approximately 1/2" thick (less the removable belt clip), 1-1/4" wide and 3-3/4" long, and all of 7 ounces in weight, you hardly notice the tool once it's clipped to your belt. Even slipped into a pants pocket it's quite unobtrusive. The tool does come with both a leather case and a carabiner. I didn't particularly like the case, finding it awkward to insert the tool into the case, and clumsy to attach the carabiner to the two  eyelets on the case. The carabiner is of good quality however, and is equipped with a bottle opener and 1/4" hex bit driver. A removable belt clip, which I think most people will use, securely holds the tool on belts up to 1-3/4" wide. And, you don't have to worry about the Sidekick rusting - it's made of stainless steel.

Leather case, Sidekick, carabiner

Plier head - incorporating needle-nose pliers, flat pliers, and wire cutter

There are 15 components on the Sidekick. Realistically, you're only likely to use a few of them regularly; still, it's nice to have a flat head or Phillips screwdriver at hand when you need one. The Sidekick has two 'arms' that house the various components. When folded outwards they extend the spring-loaded pliers. The plier head incorporates three functions - serrated needle-nose pliers, serrated regular pliers, and a wire cutter. The teeth are nicely milled, and the ends of the pliers mate together perfectly, which makes holding small items that much easier.

The knife blade is likely to be one of the most frequently used components on this tool. I particularly like the fact that you can open and close the large blade single handedly. Once the blade is open it locks in place - an excellent safety measure. To close the blade you depress a small lever at the base of the blade. The 2-1/2" blade, which is super sharp, is made of 420HC (high carbon) steel, a higher grade of stainless steel than commonly used in many popular knife blades.

On the other arm of the Sidekick is a 12 TPI 2-1/2" saw blade. The blade is about 1/16" thick, making it quite stiff, and much less likely to bend no matter how hard you use it. The teeth are sharp and cut very quickly. As with the large knife blade, the saw locks into position when open.

Large knife

Saw blade

Tucked into the arm that holds the knife blade is a 1-5/8" serrated blade, file (with a 1/8" flat head screwdriver on the end and a measuring scale - imperial and metric - etched on the back), bottle/can opener, and a lanyard ring. There is a 'nib' on the back of each component that makes it quite easy to extract them with a thumb nail.

I would have preferred an alternate tool to the serrated blade - I'll end up using the large blade for any cutting that needs to be done. It's just a lot quicker to flip open the large blade than to open the handle, pull out the short blade, and then close the handle. The file, which you can use on wood or metal, will come in very handy. The teeth are single cut, bastard style.

Serrated blade, file, can/bottle opener, lanyard ring

Phillips and large flathead screwdrivers

On the other handle are a 1/4" flat screwdriver and a #2 Phillips screwdriver. Americans won't mind the Phillips head, but I would like to have seen a Robertson head included (perhaps as a replacement to the serrated knife).

Little nibs make it easy to retract the components

Fits nicely in the hand

All in all, the Sidekick is a very nice tool. I wouldn't consider it solely a tool for first-time users - anyone who wants a light, easy to tote multi-tool will find it very useful. The 25 year warranty is an added bonus. But, best of all is the price - for $37 you just can't go wrong.

Reviewed October 2011