Husky 9-in-1 Plumbers Multi-Tool Review: A Handy Backup at $16

Introduction

Job-specific multi-tools are an interesting corner of the tool market. Instead of trying to cram a full Leatherman-style toolkit into your pocket, they pick one trade and pack the most-used tools for that job into a single folding body. The Husky 9-in-1 Plumbers Multi-Tool takes that approach for plumbing work, sells for around $16 at Home Depot, and is made in China.

The question worth asking is whether a $16 multi-tool can actually earn a slot in your tool bag, or whether it is just a novelty with a pipe cutter bolted on. After spending time with it, the answer lands somewhere in between.

What It Claims to Be

Husky advertises this as containing the nine most common plumbing tools in one package. That claim deserves a little scrutiny. Honestly, if I were heading out to a serious plumbing job, the top three tools I would grab are not all in here: a Knipex plier wrench, a Cobra, maybe a monkey wrench. None of those are present, so calling this the definitive plumbing toolkit is a stretch.

That said, the claim is not entirely hollow either. For plastic pipe work in particular, there is real utility packed into this thing, and the price makes it easy to justify as a secondary tool.

The Star of the Show: The Pipe Cutting Beak

The main selling point is the PVC, plastic, and PEX pipe cutting beak on the front end, and it is the reason this tool exists. Compared against a dedicated Milwaukee pipe cutter, which now sells for around $30 and has been going strong for nearly a decade with replaceable blades, the Husky holds its own on cut quality. It cuts through plastic pipe just fine.

There are two honest trade-offs, though. There is no spring-loaded action, so it does not stay in your hand the way a dedicated cutter does. The smooth surfaces also feel slippery compared with a rubberized grip, because your hand tends to roll around the corners and miss the edges. Neither is a dealbreaker at this price, but a dedicated cutter is simply more comfortable for repeated cuts.

One practical tip: you have to lock the tool closed when you put it away. If you leave the blades open, they spread and interfere with the other implements.

The Rest of the Nine Tools

Beyond the cutter, the lineup is a mixed bag. There is a thin sheepsfoot knife blade; it would be nicer shorter and stouter rather than long and thin, but a knife is a knife. You also get a slotted screwdriver, a sharpened curved edge that appears to serve as a deburring tool, and a thin, Leatherman-esque #2 Phillips screwdriver.

Then things get shakier. The reamer is quite smooth, so it may grab on copper tubing but I would not expect it to ream anything plastic. What Husky calls a “hacksaw” is really a jab saw with a sharp point, similar to a Leatherman saw blade. It could handle drywall, but it does not lock, which is a little gutsy for a push-cut tool. And the flashlight might be the weakest inclusion: it runs on four tiny watch batteries, the O-ring does not really engage, it has been left on more than once, and frankly, any plumber using this as their flashlight needs a real flashlight. It is a huge waste of space that could have been anything else.

Who Should Buy It

This is not a primary tool for anyone serious about plumbing. But as a backup, or as the tool you toss in the bag when you do not want your good, precise cutters floating around a job site, it makes sense. For occasional pipe cutting, or field work like irrigation where you do not want to share your best tools, it is genuinely handy.

The main long-term worry is durability. There are no replaceable blades, so heavy use is a question mark. Still, for a $16 tool, the blades look like they should last quite a while.

Buying Advice

Buy this if you want a cheap, dedicated backup for cutting plastic pipe and do not mind that most of the other implements are filler. Skip it if you already own a quality pipe cutter and need a serious everyday multi-tool; something like a Leatherman remains the better all-rounder for that role.

Conclusion

The Husky 9-in-1 Plumbers Multi-Tool is easy to sum up: a genuinely useful pipe cutter attached to a folder of mostly average extras, with a flashlight that should have been left out. At about $16, it is a fair price for the cutting capability alone, as long as you treat it as a backup rather than your main tool.