![]() ![]() Review samples are typically given away, donated, or retained for benchmark and comparison purposes. Thank you to Gerber for providing the review sample unconditionally. MSRP is $65, but you can find the Flik online for about $45. If you want a robust tool that won’t let you down, the Flik seems to be up to the task. If you want a glamorous all-in-one multi-tool, look elsewhere. With the Flik you get a versatile assortment of essential and most-used tools and features. It’s not perfect, but it works reasonably well and leads to more positive than negative feelings. Overall, the Flik’s quick pliers deployment won me over. The blades on Leatherman’s new OHT (one-handed tool) don’t look any easier to open, so it seems to be a design compromise rather than a cost-cutting measure. There are no gimmicks, but I do wish the knife blades were easier to open one-handed. In terms of tools and features, the Flik is about average. Retracting the pliers is not as easy as deploying them, but there are few re-dos after the initial learning process. The Gerber Flik has a neat one-handed flick-open plier deployment that I have really grown to like. I was pleased with how accurate and fine-toothed the needlenose portion of the pliers are. They’re not exceptional, but they’re usable and with a versatile shape. Overall, I was fairly pleased with the Flik pliers. These are not for cutting hard wire – that is best done with multi-tools that have user-replacement blades, such as the Leatherman Rebar. The v-shape wire cutters are nothing to sign praise about, but they work as advertised. I never had difficulty pulling out the smaller tools, even after trimming my fingernails. The small tools are a bit hard to reach, so Gerber made it so that sliding the locking mechanism pushes the tools outwards a bit, just enough to expose the nail nick. Gerber added in a very subtle open-assist mechanism. If you have to use them as mini pry bars every now and then, they probably won’t mind, but it might void your warranty. ![]() The bits are ground on both sides and are fairly stout. On the other side you have a bottle opener and slotted screwdriver bits. The screwdriver could not be made any better unless it was more three-dimensional, but that would have to be at the expense of the can opener. On one side you have a can opener and Phillips-style screwdriver. The most important thing is that it securely locks onto open tools and never disengages by accident. The locking mechanism is not as smooth as I would like, but I cannot see any way to improve upon it. They are quick and easy to deploy and don’t scratch me up when I try to use them. There’s nothing special with how these scissors are designed, but they perform exceptionally well. Multi-tool scissors are either really, really good, or really, really bad. It is unclear why the saw blade is pointed, but it should come in handy for piercing through foam and drywall. I didn’t use the serrated blade enough to where it really needed sharpening or honing. Serrations are ground into one side of the blade, which should facilitate sharpening. The serrated blade is also average with no major faults. One-handed opening is possible, but it’s easier, quicker, and far more comfortable to just use two hands. It’s an average blade – nothing special but without major faults. It’s straight with a pointed tip that’s great for precision piercing and scoring. The plain edge blade has a cutting length of about 2-1/4″. ![]() The four primary tools – both knife blades, the saw, and scissors – have little engravings that help you locate and open the tool you need on the first try. Since the Flik features a one-hand sliding pliers mechanism rather than a fold-open design, all tools are outside-accessible. A certain finesse is required, and you will fail to retract the pliers the first few times, but once you figure out the proper sequence of motion you won’t forget it. To return the pliers inside the tool, squeeze the two buttons on the handles and then slide them back. ![]() Next, spread the handles all the way to prep the pliers for use.Ĭlose the handles again and the pliers are ready to use. You grab the tool, flick it downwards, and the pliers slide right out with their own inertia. It takes a few minutes to become familiarized with the Flik’s one-handed pliers deployment. ![]()
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