The Gerber Crucial F.A.S.T.: Review ★★★

I received the Gerber Crucial F.A.S.T. multitool knife as a little Christmas gift for my wife. (Don't worry, she has a real one as well). We were celebrating the holidays early with my family (we'll be at her parents' house for the 25th) and I decided to get her a little multi-tool she could easily carry around in her purse or pocket.

After reading some reviews on Amazon (and noticing that it was going to have a lightning deal in two days), I decided to grab the little multi-tool for $20 (normal price $36.01).


Part of my reason for buying this was that I believe everyone, regardless of where they live or what work they're in, should carry a good multi-tool. Its personally saved my skin countless times. The F.A.S.T is rather small, which I thought would be suited for her, as she's complained about the size and weight of my favorite multi-tool, the Leatherman Wave. At $20 I decided to buy it, and if I didn't like it, I'd send it back.

On the whole, I like it. For a $20 multi-tool it does a decent job, keeping in mind it is on the cheaper side of the tool spectrum.

The Blade ★★★★

I'm actually impressed with this blade, despite everything I dislike about it. The blade is a spring assist that also locks, something I very much like. The blade opens by applying a little bit of outward pressure on a small thumb knob. The blade flies out and automatically locks. To close the blade you must first unlock it by lowering the locking mechanism.

This feature really sold it for me. I have a growing interest in spring assisted blades and although I am not obsessive about them, its nice to have a blade that opens with a minimum of effort. The locking mechanism works both ways, you can lock it in the open or closed position, and that really bumped the knife up a lot. Although it's never happened to my Wave, I've had plenty of folding knives that have fallen out of my pocket and just snapped open upon hitting the ground. This is something to avoid and the F.A.S.T. is the only multi-tool I've seen that has this feature.

There are downsides, however. A lot of them. The blade is a combo straight/serrated edge, which I personally dislike. I havent been able to find any information on the steel quality, but my best guess will be that it's 420 rather than the higher quality 440. This will mean that it'll lose an edge quickly, but possibly be a little more flexible and giving. It's about as thin as the blade as the Wave, perhaps a little thinner.

In my few tests however the blade was very sharp from the factory and it performed well on basic cutting exercises, though I haven't done any hard work with it.

I give the blade 4 stars for four reasons: The locking mechanism, the spring assist, it being outside of the pliers, and it's ability to do fine cutting work. Time will tell how long the blade remains sharp, in which case I may remove another star.

Flat Head Screwdriver ★★★★

It's hard to judge the flathead at all, it's just a simple flat head driver that also acts as a scraper. It's pretty much exactly the same as the Wave's driver.

Not much to say here, it's a screw driver. Four stars.

Philips Head Driver/Bottle Opener ★★★

The philips head also acts as a combination bottle opener. As a bottle opener it functions better than the Wave's, which is surprising considering the Wave is an $80 tool. However, as I've noted in my Wave review, the bottle opener is just terrible. The bottle opener on the F.A.S.T. actually works. The screw driver functions, though the added lip of the bottle opener does get in the way of a lot of jobs.

I'm probably being too giving on this rating, but since the bottle opener actually functions I'm giving it 3 stars.

The Pliers ★★★★

The meat of the tool, the pliers, actually function quite well. You can tell the're pretty flimsy, so I wouldn't want to use them on something that's really stuck on. The wire cutters function fairly well though I haven't stress tested them, and the grip functions adequately. The needle nose portion is a little wide for my tastes, but you have to keep in mind that this is a $20 tool. Four Stars

The Bottom Line ★★★

For a $20 tool the F.A.S.T. functions great. The one thing I feel is missing is a pair of scissors. A can opener would put this into the survival category, without that it's just a small multi-tool. As I've said multiple times, for $20 its a great tool, but you get what you pay for. If you're looking for a good gift and can find it at that price (Gerber lists the price as $58 but most stores will let it go for about $30) I'd buy it.