I’ve only used the SOG and Gerbers.
I carried a SOG Paratool every day from getting it for my birthday in 8th grade, all the way past college graduation (16 1/2 grade ;)). My wife saw me eyeballing a Gerber at a store and eventually got me a Gerber Multi-Plier, so I’ve been carrying that since (couple years now). I’ve always carried either one in my front left pocket, in the nylon pouch it came in. Disclaimer: I know some might doubt how much utility a highschooler got out of a multitool (I would have probably get expelled for having it anywhere but a rural OK school) but I’ve worked on everything from cars to air handlers to automated bag-testing machines with my SOG and Gerber. Mostly the SOG, as now that I’m a working adult, corporate America frowns more on me whipping out a multi tool than the education system ever did. My plant is run by fucktards, in my professional opinion…but that’s off-topic.
To be honest, I really prefer the SOG. The pliers on the Gerber unit are a little more substantial for gripping, but after cutting through some heavy bailing wire with the wire cutters, the Gerbers are stiff to open and close like they’re out of whack slightly. I did that many times with the SOG with no problems. On the other hand, the way the SOG pliers fold out the side can cause them to fold up on you in some situations if you don’t hold them right. The upside of the weird folding is that you can fold it to use as a T-handle with the tools, or fold them at 180° and have a longer, skinner handle. I run into lots of problems with the bulk of the Gerber making using the screwdrivers a pain in the butt in tight spaces.
The one-hand operation of the Gerbers is definitely easier. Eventually the lanyard loop that is for one-hand opening on the SOG got loose and would rotate making it difficult to open one handed. Also, it’s possible to squeeze the SOG hard enough to make the handles pinch your palm and get a blood blister. I don’t think it’s likely with the Gerber.
For me, the biggest benefit of the SOG was that it packs a lot more stuff into a smaller size. Side by side, the SOG is smaller, and the nylon pouch it came in is much more compact (also can be worn horizontal or vertical on a belt, if you do that sort of thing). Together it’s a much better package to be dragging around in a pocket, and less conspicous on a belt. The SOG also has more useful tools, and better quality ones at that, in my experience. The knife blades on my Gerber are bent from very limited use, the SOG’s are scratched, but straight and solid, after years of being the only pocketknife I carried. The Gerber’s tools are also much harder to fold out, and while the locking function on them is nice, I think they’ll be prone to jamming up or breaking later and the SOG’s design closes in a way that accomplishes the same without needing the plastic slider doohickies.
I’ll probably demote the Gerber to a glove-box or tacklebox one of these days, and probably replace it with another SOG or maybe just keep using my old one. I do need a new pouch, as mine has worn completely through the flap.
Just my experience.
KintlaLake, What problems did you have with the pivots? Mine can get quite floppy at the joints where the pliers meet the handles, but a few minutes with the right sockets/wrenches usually solved it.
