To the average person, a wallet multi-tool can seem like a gimmick or a waste of money. However, with this small yet impressive tool, you don’t need to walk around wearing a toolbelt to have a set of useful tools on hand. Check out the best reasons to carry a wallet multi-tool.

What is a Wallet Multi-Tool?

A wallet multi-tool is a single handheld item containing multiple tools. Unlike other multi-tools, a wallet multi-tool is usually about the size and shape of a credit card. Since it’s specifically designed to fit into your wallet, it provides you with a versatile tool no matter where you are.

Multi-tools aren’t a new invention. The Swiss Army knife, a well-known type of multi-tool, was being provided to members of the Swiss Army by the early 1890s. At the time, Swiss weapons required a screwdriver for maintenance, so army members already had a folding pocket knife.

The military decided they also wanted soldiers to carry both a can opener and screwdriver. The result was combining a can opener, screwdriver, and pocket knife into one multi-tool. The popularity of the Swiss Army knife led to a boom in multi-tools and the eventual development of the wallet multi-tool.

Many multi-tools, including wallet multi-tools, still contain a can opener and a screwdriver. However, the tools needed by members of the army are far different from the tools required by the average person in modern life. Wallet multi-tools often provide tools like wrenches, bottle openers, and rulers, allowing their owners to tackle needs that are more relevant to daily life.

5 Awesome Reasons to Carry a Wallet Multi-Tool

Survival tools aren’t just for preppers or wilderness campers; they’re listed on Ready.gov’s emergency kit checklist. It might seem redundant to carry a wallet multi-tool when you already have tools in your emergency kit, especially because it can’t substitute for all those tools. However, a wallet multi-tool has many benefits that can be easily used outside of an emergency kit/

1) It Takes Up Less Space

Wilderness, survival, and repair tools are critical, but they can be impractical for some situations. Many are bulky, too large for a keyring, lanyard, or pocket, and some can be pretty heavy. That often means keeping these tools in a bag, which uses up extra space and gives you more to carry.

The minimal size of a wallet multi-tool minimizes this problem. The design gives you access to multiple tools in a space about the size of a credit card. Since it’s perfectly sized for your wallet, it can be easily stored in your wallet, slipped into your pocket, or carried on a lanyard. That way, you can easily take a set of tools anywhere without needing excess room for a tool bag.

2) You Won’t Leave it Behind

Large kits of tools are more than potentially impractical: they can also be easily left behind or misplaced. Even the most prepared people can be surprised without their tool kit at the ready. In an emergency, you may have trouble grabbing your “go bag” from where you stored it, forget it in the panic, or be forced to leave it behind.

Chances are, however, that you always leave the house with your wallet, whether there’s an emergency or not. By carrying a wallet multi-tool, you’ll always have a set of tools on hand. Not only does this eliminate the risk of having no tools when you need them the most, but you’ll also have them on hand in everyday life on the off chance you need them.

3) You’ll Quickly Find the Tool You Need

Carrying around an assortment of tools makes it harder to find the tool you’re looking for. When you need a specific tool, you’ll likely end up digging through your pockets or fumbling with your bag to find the tool you need in all the clutter, potentially wasting valuable time.

With a wallet multi-tool, searching for the correct tool only takes a few seconds. When you need a specific tool, all you need to do is pull out your wallet and take your handheld tool kit out to have multiple tools at your fingertips. Once you find the right side of the multi-tool, you’re ready to use it.

4) It’s Less Likely to Be Seen as Dangerous

Survival tools and certain multi-use tools don’t always have much use in day-to-day life, and carrying them can cause others to see you as strange or even dangerous. For instance, the average person doesn’t need to carry a ruler or compass to go to the store, and portable tools like Swiss Army knives will be confiscated at security screenings.

Even in emergencies, some survival tools can send the wrong impression. Many preppers have been warned about other people becoming hostile in desperate situations. If you come across someone else while you have a pocket knife or wrench in your hand, the other person may incorrectly believe that you’re a threat and react accordingly.

A wallet multi-tool is far less dangerous at a glance. They’re less likely to be perceived as threatening in day-to-day life. TSA even allows multi-tools without knives in carry-on bags. In survival situations, their size and shape make them much harder to mistake for a weapon at a distance, and they’re too small and light to easily be used as such.

5) It’s Cheap

Even though survival tools are essential for everybody, they can be costly. Buying a single tool can easily cost you between $10 and $25, if not more. It’s easy to spend hundreds of dollars on a basic set of survival needs: an adequate emergency or survival kit requires multiple types of tools, and some people need to build more than one kit.

On the other hand, a single wallet multi-tool provides you with a wide variety of tools for affordable prices, typically 30 dollars or less. For example, the Endeavor by Zero Day Gear gives you 11 tools for less than 10 dollars. You get multiple survival tools for a fraction of the cost, and their low prices make buying multiple or replacing a lost or broken tool easier.

Find the Best Wallet Multi-Tools and More at Zero Day Gear

Whether you’re a budding survivalist or simply self-sufficient, it’s always good to have the tools you need on hand. At Zero Day Gear, we provide a variety of survival and utility gear, lockpicking supplies, and more for affordable prices. Browse our online store today to find the right equipment for you.