Gerber Legend 800

Gerber Legend 800

Written by Ken Friday, 13 June 2008 19:29

Article Index
Gerber Legend 800
The multi-tool
Tools continued
Problems
Conclusions
All Pages

Gerber Legend 800 multi-tool long-term review

Price paid around £65 from ebay.co.uk

Every geek really should own a multi-tool, just like every extreme sports freak should. A multi-tool is just as useful repairing computers in the server room or fighting your way into blisterpack products as it is repairing a Landrover in the Sahara or fighting off a giant squid. The multi-tool of choice for most has been the Leatherman Wave, but I decided to get the Gerber Legend 800 instead.

Gerber vs Leatherman

I’m familiar with the Leatherman – most of my sailing buddies use them – so I was aware of some of its limitations, and the Gerber tool looked like it addressed most of them. The drawback is the price of the Gerber. For some reason, they are very expensive in the UK! In the US you can pick up a Legend 800 (which is pretty much top of the Gerber range) for around $75 to $90 – in the UK the same tool was retailing for £80 to £110, which is more than twice as much! Thankfully, my sister managed to find the Gerber for under £70 on ebay, and bought it for me as a present (thanks Sis!) so I was sorted.

(At this point I should note my Gerber is over a year old and has been a working tool for a good Eight months of that time, on board yachts in the Mediterranean. Therefore I no longer have the original packaging, nor is it in pristine condition! This does mean I’m in an excellent position to review its long-term use though.)

The Gerber came in a plain white box, and had a padded nylon sheath and a small star-headed allen key included. On first impressions, this is a serious tool. Large and heavy, despite the aluminium used for its chassis, it oozes quality and robustness.

The main tool is the pliers, which are opened butterfly fashion (requiring both hands). Within the handles of the pliers, and useable without opening the tool, are a knife with partially serrated edge, saw (with replaceable blade), Philips head screwdriver, sprung scissors, small flathead screwdriver, medium flathead screwdriver (which doubles as bottle opener), large flathead screwdriver, and a double-sided file (which has a slot in it suitable for use on small shackles).

Compared to the latest Leatherman wave, the Gerber lacks ruler, can opener, socketed bit-driver and diamond coated file. What tools it does have, however, it has in a much more serious and useful way.