Accessories

Gerber Diesel rating
Nice product.
However you may want to checkout the Gerber Suspension Multiplier as an alternative buy

great item
Another great Gerber product. I have purchased several over many years and the quality always gets better! Can not say that about many things these days.

Excellent all-around tool
This is an excellent tool to keep around for almost every need. Quite strong and compact, it's the ideal tool to keep on your belt (mine goes with me everytime I go fishing... about 200 days a year!) The "quick deploy" feature is very convenient; a flick of your wrist and it's ready to work, whether you need to tighten a nut or remove a hook. Highly recommended.

Hardly "Diesel", despite the name...
I've worked on the water (salt) for 15 years, so my tools see more rough environment treatment than the average. Over the years I've owned a Leatherman (original), SOG 'Paratool', the original Gerber 'slide out' needlenose plier, and most recently the Gerber Diesel.

The Diesel comes with a natty nylon sheath that goes right on your belt. The downside with the velcro closure is that over time, of course, it gets gummed up with schmutz and the like. I prefer a brass snap, but your mileage might vary.

Within a month and a half, my Diesel showed signs of oxidation, especially around the tips of the plier and the plier pivot. That was disappointing, to say the least. Although the tools did seem stronger than the original slide out design, the pivots that allow the tools to swing out became loose within a month. Halfway through the season they had developed so much play that getting the plier head retracted became impossible without manually jiggling all the loose tools.

I finally had the set sent in to Gerber for servicing. After six weeks of no response, I contacted Gerber and was informed that they had never received it.

Needless to say, I will not be purchasing any Gerber products any time soon. The Diesel was a terrible disappointment, and I bought it when it was new.

Best of luck if you purchase this device. I hope your mileage is better than mine.

Outstanding tool!
I purchased mine as a kit from W*Mart. It included the extra bit set for less than most were selling just the tool for.

I use mine in my work EVERYDAY! It was tight at first but a very tiny bit of graphite powder made that work-in go faster and it's a breeze to deploy the pliers with just a flick of the wrist (everybody I work with grins when they hear that snap-open sound.) The great bit set (standard 1/4" screwdriver bits) comes with a piece that fits over the otherwise disappointing standard phillips head that comes built in. But this bit set lets me have what I need for any situation in the field.

The wire cutters cut clean and smoothly (important for the wiring we do) and the knive will cut through just about anything I need it to. There's a great saw blade (saw/knife) that cuts through thick plastics and wood. The scissors in this are bigger than the other models and I use them all the time.

I've had this tool about a year now and all my colleagues with their Leathermans have gone to W*Mart and purchased one of these! We look like the Gerber brigade :) but that tool is one of those things I don't leave the house without, anymore!

I agree with others that it would be nice for them to have taken the 1/4 second to stamp the side with a ruler/scale like the other units. I, too, used that frequently. I've actually taken a nail/scribe and marked the thing off myself but it is silly they didn't add that feature.