Review: Swiss Tech Micro 6 in 1

I'm a pants pocket minimalist. I don't like carrying around anything other than my wallet, cellphone, and keys; however, I also like tools (obviously), so the idea of carrying around pocketable multi-tools is appealing, specifically ones that can fit nicely on a key chain without adding much bulk. It can be handy to always have a knife or screwdriver, for example, on me when I need it.

 For the last few years, my only key chain tool has been the Swiss Tech utili-key. HERE is my old review from 2008. I absolutely love the utili-key. It took me a while to start frequently using it, meaning, I would forget it was there in my pocket. Of course, in a way, that's what I was hoping for. Now I find myself using it a few times a week.

As for the Micro 6 in 1, I got this tool as a belated birthday present a few months ago. Does it live up to the high bar of the utili-key? Well, the short answer is that I'm still not sure.

 

Swiss Tech Miccro 6 in 1, along with their utili-key.

As you can see, the Micro 6 in 1 doesn't take up a whole lot of space on my key chain; however, it does add a bit of weight and it's about as thick as four keys. I like how the pliers lock onto the key chain when the tool is closed. Occasionally, the handles (screwdrivers) will sort of partially open on their own. This can be annoying, but it doesn't happen frequently enough for me to worry about.

Swiss Tech Micro 6 in 1 opened.

Here it is opened. The six uses are screwdrivers (Phillips and slothead), a wire cutter, 1/8" rule markings on the sides, pliers, and... uh... I can't seem to find the 6th use. Maybe someone can tell me what it is in the comments (OK, I could just go look it up, but if I can't see it when I'm holding it in my hands, it must not be that useful).

All of the uses seem to work adequately. Keep in mind the retail price on this is under $10, so I don't have huge expectations. For this things I've used it on, it's fine. Sure, there are other tools that have these features and work better, but not many have this good of a balance between small size and usefulness.

I've only had this in my pocket for a few months now. I haven't used it all that much, but I plan on giving it more time to prove its place on my keyring.

Update: In the last few days, the arms have really seemed to loosen up. In fact, it's fallen off my key chain a few times now. For the time being, at least, I'm going to keep it on the bench until I figure out what to do with it.