I tried the Gerber Dime for a week, and here’s what I really think about it.

So I received a $25 gift card from Academy, which is always nice to get. I love going to Academy. But I wanted to make sure I stayed within the budget of the $25 gift card. Now that’s a challenge, especially if you want to get something of good quality for that price. So, after long debating whether to get a Victorinox Classic Swiss Army Multitool for $21.99 or a Gerber Dime for $22.99, I decided to get the Gerber Dime to see just how good it is and how it stacks up against tools like the Micra.

So, the Dime comes with 12 tools, which we’ll look at in a moment. It also has a Limited Lifetime Warranty. By the way, if anybody has used Gerbers Lifetime Warranty, let me know in the comments section how that worked out for you. Was it easy or did they give you a hard time? Let me know in the comments section. 

Designed and engineered in Oregon, but it is made in China. 

It’s a lightweight Multitool coming in at 2.2 OZ.

Length: 2 ¾ inch

Weight: ⅞ inch

Height: ½ inch

Compared to the Micra, this is almost the same length, but when it comes to the Width, you can tell that the Dime is chunkier. 

One thing I actually like about the Dime, even though this is a butterfly open Multitool, is that you don’t have to open it up to get to the tools, with the exception of the pliers and wire cutters. The rest of the tools are found outside. Unlike the Micra which you have to open in order to access the tools. So I will say that this is one feature from the Dime that I really enjoy. Good job on that Gerber. 

The 12 Tools included are the following. 

#1 Scissors – The scissors are easy to access, because as mentioned, you don’t have to open the tool. So that’s one step less you need to take in order to access the scissors. But I was not too impressed with them. They work fine for cutting a piece of paper, but if you’re trying to cut something thicker like in the case of a cord, it had a little bit of a hard time. It’ll go through it, but it’s not as smooth of a feeling as you feel with a Victorinox or Leatherman. But it still does a good job for paper or anything that is not too thick.

#2 Retail Package Opener – Now the retail package opener is actually a good addition because I’m sure every once in a while, you may receive a package to open up. You can use the knife, but sometimes you risk that knife going in too deep and maybe damaging what’s inside. This right here is a small blade that is easier to control and since its much smaller than the blade, the risk of it going too deep into the package decreases. 

#3 Fine Edge Blade – The fine edge blade as we all know comes in handy for many things. This measures 1 ⅜ inch. The knife is always a great addition. 

#4 Bottle Opener – You don’t have to open the tool to get to the bottle opener because this is located on one of the ends of the Dime. At first I thought it looked weird having the opener completely exposed. But if you’re someone who constantly uses the opened, then maybe this is a good thing because you have it available without the need of opening the tool. 

#5 Tweezers – The tweezers are located right next to the bottle opener, it took me a few seconds to find them because since they’re all black, you can hardly see them at first. Quite stealthy. They work just fine, but the quality is not the best. I can feel they’re a little flimsy. But let's do a little tug of war with the Micra’s tweezers to do a good comparison, to see which has the best grip. The Micras tweezers are thicker, and they’re attached to the tool. I have a feeling that the Micra is going to win. And the winner is the Micra. Clearly the tweezers on the Dime are not as strong, they don’t have the best grip. 

#6 Wire Cutters – The Wire Cutters work ok, but they slightly push the wire out when closing them. I have to put some force to hold the wire in place, otherwise it would pop out.  

#7 Spring Loaded Pliers – The spring on the pliers is actually quite strong. They quickly spring open, that’s great. The pliers have a good grip. But it looks like the black paint will be coming off quite easily if the pliers are constantly being used. Nothing wrong with that, it just won’t look like it did when it was new.

#8 Lanyard Ring – The lanyard ring does feel a little flimsy, but you can always replace it with a thicker one if you don’t want to run the risk of losing your tool in case the flimsy ring falls off. 

#9 Coarse File and #10 Fine File – The Coarse and Fine File work fine for small jobs. I haven’t really used them but I would mainly use it as nail files because they’re too small in length in my opinion for anything else, but I’m sure someone still finds great use out of them for other things as well. 

#11 Small Flat Head Driver and #12 Medium Flat Head Driver – The small and medium flat heads are always a good addition, those are always useful. I like the size of the medium flat head because that one can be used for outlet or switch covers that may need a quick tightening, or other medium size screws around the house that may need some quick tightening as well like kitchen cabinet screws. So, this can definitely come in handy for small jobs. 

While it doesn’t compare with the quality of a Victorinox or Leatherman, I give the Gerber Dime 3.5 stars out of 5.

Here are some of the Pros and Cons. 

Pros

1. Easy Deployment of tools. That is a great feature. As mentioned, I really enjoy the fact that most of the tools are located in the exterior, which makes deployment of them much easier. Unlike the Micra which you have to open to access the knife and the other tools inside of it. 

2. Affordable price. 

Cons

1. The tool quality may not be suitable for certain situations. For example, I don’t think I would trust it in extreme scenarios like camping or hiking. I don’t think it’s fit for extreme grinding conditions like cutting thick items with the scissors or the blade. Or trying to tighten or loosen heavy duty bolts with the pliers or cutting thick wires with the wire cutters. I feel the quality is just not there for extreme scenarios. 

2. The black paint will chip off. It looks nice at first, but I can already see some areas where the paint is falling. And that’s just in one week. Imagine how it’ll look in 3-6 months after rattling around with the keys.  

3. It may feel slightly bulkier compared to other mini multitools. Some may not even find this to be a problem. But for those that have tried other smaller mini multitools, they can notice the difference. But again, this may not even be a CON for some. 

Is it worth the purchase?

The answer is yes, it is a good purchase. It’s an affordable option and if it’s your first time trying to hang a mini multitool to your keys, it’s a good first multitool option to try out because of its affordable price. It may not be the most compact, because as you saw the Micra is slimmer. But it is still a fairly small size that can hang from your keys comfortably. I’m certain that with time the paint will chip off, but it should still work fine for small tasks. By then, you’ll probably already have decided if a mini multitool is something you want to continue to have on your keys, then you can make a jump to another better quality multitool that you find a better fit for you. But to begin with, it’s not a bad option. 

So let me know what you think about the Gerber Dime. If you have this multitool, have you had a good experience with it or has it been a major disappointment. Let me know in the comments.